(Crntrc grmotrnt.
■ ■ ■
BELLEPONTE, PA.
TbLar|Mt,Chapsitauil Best Paper
PUBLISHED IN OKNTHK COUNTY.
OLD-TIME INCONVENIENCE.
, ELECTION RETURNS IN YEARS GONE UY.
A writer in the Cambria Freeman dis
courses as follows upon some pom la in
the early political history of the coun
try :
On the day after the last November
election, when the telegraph bad sub
stantially announced the result in the
State, a young man who then cast his
first vote, asked me to tell him, if I
could, in some future number of the
Freeman, how long a time it required
before the telegraph onrnc into general
use to ascertain the vote of the State,
and how the election returns were re
ceived. I told him I would do so. and
1 will now not only fulfil that promise,
but refer, in addition, to some matters
not immediately connected with the
subject.
My earliest accurate recollection of
the incidents connected with a political
campaign goes back to the memorable
contest tor Governor in 1838 between
Jos. Kitner and David K. Porter, tin
first named having been renominated
by the anti Masonic party, and the other
(Porter) being the Democratic nomine*.
This was six years before the first tele
graph line in this country—that between
Washington and I altimore- was erected
by Morse, its inventor, in the face ol
almost insurmountable difficulties. The
Kitner and Porter campaign was, so far
as my knowledge ot elections extends,
the most exciting and hotly contested
one that has ever occurred in this State.
It became so in consequence of the vin
dictive and bitter attacks made upon
the personal character ot Porter by the
Kitner press, and also from the settled
and deliberate determination of Thad
deu* Stevens, then one of the Canal
Commissioners, who was the power be
hind the throne, greater than the throne
itsel r , and ol Thomas 11. Borrower, Sec
retary of the Commonwealth, and Chair
man of the Kitner State Committee, to
carry the election at all hazards, by lair
means, if they could, but in any event
to carry it. The amount of money
staked on the result was enormous.
Belting became a perfect mania all over
the State, and it was a rare thing to
meet a man who had not wagered some
thing on the success of his candidate.
If it was not money, it was a coat, a hut,
or a pair of boots, and often a horse, a
cow. or an ox.
Two four-horse stage coaches, forming
the line between l'ltt-burg and Ham
burg. passed through tins place each
day, one going east and the other west,
and the waybill, in addition to the iit
of pas-engers, contained the first and
subsequent result of the election in the
different counties along the route. Be
fore the stage left Pittsburg, on the day
after the election, the agent of the line
in th-t city wrote on the way-bill wliat
be then knew about the vote in Alle
gbeny county, and gave what wu re
garded as the probable re-ull in that
county. When the stage arrived at
Murraysville, in Westmoreland county,
Gen. Murray, a veteran Democrat, at
whose hotel the stage stopped, added
ou the way-bill the returns from that
count),as far as he knew them with hi*
estimate of Porter's majority in the
county. At Biatrsville the vote of In
diana county, as far as received, w#
noted down and when the stage reached
this place the vote of Cambria, then
containing len election districts, was
added, and in all the other counties a
the stage passed on to Harrisburg. The
way-bill from Harrisburg to Pittsburg
was used for the same purjtose. and by
Thursday night the returns on one way
bill going eat and those of nnother
going west were known here; but, n
they were'verv meagre.no intelligent
opinion could be formed of the general
result. By Friday night, although the
way bills contained a great many addi
tional returns front the north western
and remote eastern counties, they did
not afford any decided encouragement
to the friend* of either candidate ; still
they formed the material out of which
the adherents of each built innumera
ble castle* in the air. It was believed
that all doubt would be removed by
-Saturday night, when the stage arrived
from the east, and such proved to he the
case. There wa- a general ru-li to the
hotel when the sound of the stage
driver's tin horn announced hi* near
approach —even the amsll boy of that
day participating in the excitement, and
forming a [urge and important purl of
the anxious crowd. Among Die siege
passenger* was the late John G. Miles,
Esq., of Huntingdon, on hi* wav to Puts
burg. He wus known toall the citizen*
of our town, and both Michael Dsn
Magehan, a Kitner man. and Dr. Smith,
a Porter man. immediate)v undertook
to interview him. Mr. Miles, who was
a strong Whig, or anti-Mason, wa* evi
dently not just then disposed to tell all
be knew, and therefore kept the excited
crowd for a short time on the ragged
edges of hope and fear; but at length
he announced that the returns received
at Huntingdon that morning from Brad
ford and the northern tier of counties,
showed that they had given Porter ma
jorities so largely in excess of what had
been anticipated, so as to render bis
election certain by about five thousand
majority. And Dm* the long agony
was over on the fftk night after the
election.
As an indication of the extremely
bitter feeling that msrked the contest,
I recollect that as soon as Mr Miles
made the statement that Porter wu>
elected beyond all doubt, a prominent
Ritner man in the room avowed hi*
willingness to lwt ten dollars to five
with any "liOco-Foco" thst Porter would
be in the penitentiary before the end of
the y<ar 1839, and lie would have put
up bis money without hesitation, so wild
was the political frenrv of the day.
It may be here stated that the news
papers in each county, on the day after
the election, issued small slips, or ex
tras. containing the returns of their
respective counties, so far as they were
known, and when these extras reached
the printing offices to which they were
sent they furnished data from which to
make a gradukl approach to a more in
telligent estimate of the general result.
A most notable feature of that re
markable campaign wa* the powerful
influence exerted liy the addresses to
the people of the State, Ifmod by the
Chairmen of the two State Central Com
mittees. Such productions are now
generally regarded with indifference—•
a- mere sound ar.d fury, signifying noth
ing. They were published at short in
tervals, were usually of extreme length,
and were written with great ability.
Their appearance in the county papers
was looked forward to with intense in
terest. and it was made the business of
the party leaders to seo that they
reached every nook and corner of every
county in the Commonwealth. Each of
tne two parties put its best loot forward
in these addresses and regarded the
argument* they contained a* the strong
est possible appeal that could be made
to the voters in favor of the election ol
its candidate. So important were they
considered, that it a newspaper of either
party had for any reason whatever omit
ted or neglected to publish one of them,
i i.e offense would never have been con
doned.
The Chairman of the ifitner Slate
Committee was Thomas 11. Jturrowes,
who, as before slated, was Secretary ol
the Commonwealth, and Dr. Daniel
Sturgeon, of Fayette county, then the
State Treasurer, was Chairman of tin-
Porter State t 'cmmil tee. The uddresses
issued by that Committee were especial
Iv vigorous and able, and bad given I'r.
Sturgeon a very strong hold on the grati
tilde of the Democracy of the State. ID
was not, however, their author, that
credit being entirely due l<> <' :-l h.
Johnson, F.-q.. a I-wver of II arm burg,
who was awarded by tlovernor Porter
with the ollice ot Attorney (b-nei.d.
11l January, 1840, a little more than a
year after the campaign was ended, Dr.
Sturgeon Was elected to the I lilted
I States Senate bv the Democratic nit
' jority in the Legislature, and nothing
contributed so much to bis success HI
the Democratic caucus as the belief on
the part of most of its members, tbat In
bad written the able and admirable ad
dresses of the State Committee, and that
the Democracy owed him the S natcr
ship.
Dr. Sturgeon was a man of unques
tionable integrity, and possessed a large
' share of strong, sterling, common sense,
t but he was absolutely guiltless of havu.g
written anything I ui hi- name to tin
addreatr* referred to, and which aided
so materially in bringing about the elec
lion of Dtvid II- Porter.
AN INDIAN ADVKNII KK.
A RE RI N I9CENCE or THE EARI.V IIISTOKV Of
TIIE JIM ATA VAI.UV,
From lli Altiiuii Trtl-iius.
i'li" early settler* of the Juniata val
ley had m*ny an<l thrilling adventures
with llin aborigine*. These setller*
were mainly of Scotch Irish descent and
were harily. Retire and often intelligent.
They encountered vnt difficulties, li
••|i|M>intliient and danger* in reclaim
ing the primeval forest* front the do
minion of the savages wlio roamed at
will over or made depredatory incur
; riona into these now peo-cfuland thriv
| invalley* Often they were driven out
1 or murdered l>y predatory hand* of In
dian*. and only those who had a know)
edge of or were "killed in the running
and treachery of the man were ah|e to
-uree**fully defy their raid* and hold
their ground.
Among the*e waa Judge Wrn. Brown,
who wa* among the first settlers of the
K i*lia< nipiilla* valley, in Mifll n county.
True, there were isolated individual*
who i n ered the valley previously to hi*
apt earanee and settlement near what
wi* for many year* know a* Brown's
mill*, hut i* now al>*orbcd under the
title of Heedsville. hut were driven oul
by tlie Indians. Judge Brown settled
in lhe valley ahout the year JTfiT, or
I'ftH. He was at the land office in
llarrishurg, a* appear* of record, in the
year ITftS, at whirh time lie entered the
land which wa* subsequently occupied
by hi* deseendents for more than three
quarter* of a century, hut ha*, within
the pa*t iwenty five yeai*. passed into
the hand* of othera. Strange, indeed,
are the vicissitude* of fortune, when it
i* noted that one of the finest of these
farm* i* now owned l>v a man who, for
!y venr* ago. plastered a hou*e for one
of Judge Brown's grandchildren.
But to our slorv. Alter Judge Brown
had erected hi* eabin, near where the
gri*t null now stands al.ore {feed*ville,
he started out to view ' the landscape
o'er " He hen I III* slep* toward the
hoi torn land lying between Tea creek
ami the west I ranch of the Kishaco
rpidla*. erotsiog the Jailer and rontin
uing hi* ofweiva'ions of the land lying
at the ha-e of Jack's mountain and the
mam creek. While thus engaged he
suddenly esme upon a roving hand of
Indians. lie had no sooner observed
the savage* than thev recognised him.
The surprise and astonishment wa* mu
tual between the parties and for a mo
ment each was at a loss what course to
take.
The problem was soon solved bv
Judge Brown, who beat a hasty retreat
toward the creek. The Indian* gave
immediate chase, hut they had a foe
man to encounter who was a* wily a*
themselves and a* full of stratagem*.
Judge Brown wa* a fall, slender man,
wiry and a* fleet on fool almost as a
deer. His pursuers at first made no
perceptible gam on the judge and he
reached the creek considerably in ad
vance of bis enemies. He entered the
creek at a point where the ea*l branch
of the Kishncoquillaa form* a juction
with theniher two branches. Inateilnf
crossing to the opposite side he waded
up the siream, on the west side, a few
yards when lie espied a large sycamore
tree standing on the hank. Into Ihia
fie forced hi* body and concealed him
self. The hank of the stream was heavi
ly fiinged with a thick undergrowth
which, thoroughly concealed the ope
ning frolll the fund side.
The Indian* dashed into the slreact
and crossed to the opposite shore. Tliey
saw on the west hank the footprint* of
the while man. hut they could nowhere
on the eaat side find any trace where be
had emerged from tie water. They
searched the ground faithfully, hut their
cunning and skill to discover the trail
wa in.vain. The Indian* were non
plused and reerosaed the stream. They
passed and repaased the place of Judge
Brown'* concealment. He could dis
tinctly hear their footitep* and their
astonishment in language aa to what
hail become of the while man.
It was momenta of awful suspense
ntid dread to .fudge Itrown, hut he tiairi
tained ipiiet and kept up hi* courage.
Finally IIIH lot * gave up the aentch ; he
no longer heard their atepeor conversa
tion. Aa a matter of precaution he did
not deem it safe to venture out of hi*
place of concealment, though in* qtiui
tera were ipnte uncnmfortahle. He w
compelled to assume a ataliiling posi
tion, which he nccupied from early 10
the forenoon until a late hour at night.
When he voluntarily released himself
front In* involuntary imprisonment the
aavagea were no longer heard or seen,
and he wended his way to his cabin,
lie subsequently fell ill with Logan,
and in him lie had a warm friend aim
protector until the Indians ceas-d to
make mid* into that valley, and I.ogan
went to seek better hunting gmuiid-.
The tree in which >ludg* Itrown t>.>k
refuge t, raved the storms which awe pi
down the valley and the tooth of time
for n-arly a hundred years after. For
filty yeacs la-lot- it leil into the str-ain
slid Was floated KtvaV by the Hood, It
was a brant hletu trunk some thirty feet
HI height. No axiuati seemed sufficient
Iv au IttClolH t<> hasten its decay and "le
• miction, but it stood lorth as a hallow
ed memento of the past, cherished a- a
r-l <• which saved the life of one of the
first settlers ot i|, K-hocoqiiillas val
ley. Its companion* were Idled around
it, and the undergrowtil ha* withered
away, but the venerable trunk of many
centuries was left to its own dissolution
in its own time.
A Nt'tv hind of "Jliia*."
11 seems now to be lioul.tful whether
(tin duel piarttc.d r<- uli achieved by
v ciin' >r Mnbone and hi* follower* i- I II
simply mill Milrly aim demonstration
ol I In- fact 111 :i t tin* negro vole run I"•
ued by uncruptilou leader* who know
how to influence it, no mutter what
their objects may b*. It hardly needed
are adjuster |.:rl y or the repudiation ol
Southern debt* to tficli ui lli; ; lor the
carpet bag government* *-t up through
out the South at the close of lln< war
h nl | roved it airel'Jy, Thedein igogue#
of the reconstruction p-r.oi ca*t the
negro vote a* they |<lrnH->l, n<l they
cant it, too, for purpose* as directly
antagonistic to the true interest* of the
hlarks as any lor which the Hourhoiis
since their disappearance have uaod it.
It ha* now been "voted'' hv M .hone HI
Virginia in |>reciely the tame way. The
(act i, and the sooner the fact i recog
nised the sooner we shall he rid of many
dang.roll* illusion* With regard to the
future of the country, that the negroes
constitute a peasantry wholly untrained
in, anil ignorant of, thoae idem of con
•titutional liberty and progress which
are the h rthriglit of ever )* white voter :
that they are gregariou* and emotional
rather than intelligent, and are eaaily
led in any d.rection by while men ol
energy and determination. Such while
men may he demagogues, as in the c <se
ol Mahone. or they may he filled with a
Sincere desire to etfect desirable political
objects ; hut their relation to the negro
vote, until the character of that vote is
materially changed through education
and material improvement, will he ut.
atantially what it is now.
j he importance of tbe Mahone move
ment lies in the fact that It will pr<>bs
bly lie followed by other movements of
a similar kind in other part* of the
South. Mahone's imitators will not ne
ceasarily make use of his cry, for in
most of the Southern Stales repudiation
is a dead question. Hut almost any crv
will, for the reasons we have mentioned,
do equally well. In any movement, an
Independent now starts with the ad
vantage that he is necessarily an enemy
of the Botirhons, and can therefore ad
vertise himself as a friend of lil>eral
ideas, and count upon a certain amount
of sympathy as a friend of Ihn negro.
Such movements, if they are allowed lo
remain local, can do little harm, and
may do much good if they fall, as here
and there t hey rnust fall, into the hands
of men with s <mething more than mere
selfish interests at stake. Hut it is evi
dently the intention in certain quarters
at the North to utilise them for a pur
pose which Hepuhiicans have the right
to consider good In itself, but which can
only he advanced in this case, hv means
lull of danger to the country. The pur
pose is to strengthen the Hepuhlican
party at Ihe South; the means, the oe
of Federal patronage in aid of any inde
pendent movement that may l>e started.
How fr the administration of President
(Isrfield actually wrent in placing the
Federal "machine" in Virginia at the
dis|>osal ol General Mahone and his
Iriends, it is ddlirult to say ; but that it
was extensively used, and became a
potent factor in the campaign, there
en be no doubt. It ia now projeased
that in Georgia, or South Carolina, or
wherever an lnde|>en-leiit leader shows
any "strength'' among the negroes, this
scandalous ahue ol |wwer shall be re
flated. arid I bat the custom houses and
post offices of the general Government
shall IMI converted into local political
machine* to stimulate the movement.
It ia hard to Iwlieve that any admin
istration which avows itself in favor of
civil-service reform can lend itself to a
scheme so ineonsistenl with all profe*
sums of reform as this.— Topitt of tht
Time," in Tht (tnluri/ for April.
THE HTORY OF A HEROINE*
NOW KATI anci.ttr *AV*(> A TRAIN ran*
DRSTRtrCTION.
II Ixmto ilM*.Lmorral
The atory of the girl Kate .Shelly, to
whom the lowa Legislature haa voted a
liohl medal, i worth more then n |>a*a
ion notice. It in a atory Willi ell the
elements in it of what R noted writer
cll "primeval action of the Homeric
kink.'' Think a moment ol the circum
■tancra. A simple girl, reared in pover
ty and unacquainted with liooka or
(treat experience*, eland* at a Cottage
window looking out into a night of
tilark and terrific elorm. Suddenly the
headlight of a coming railroad height i
eeen to touch a bridge in a deep gorge,
to waver an inetant, and then go down
with an awful craeh among tba rock*
and the roar of swollen watera. The
girl aeiww a ehawl, kiaaeg her mother
and aUlere, and baatena through the
eceno of the wreck, only to find one
living man, and he heyond her reach.
Then, nothing daunted, vhe haalened
on a mile further to the ataiion, creep
iog on benda and kneea aeroaa another
intervening bridge, with a river beneath,
and arriving just in time to stop u pas
senger train and save it from destruc
tion.
It ail reads like on invention, or like
n leaf out of some old apociyphn of he
roic examples. And yet it is only n
plain statement ot fact, from a remote
corner of a neighboring slate, and the
choice young heroine only sixlcen years
of age, belongs to our own time, and is
as authentic as the daughter you meet
at breakfast rveiy morning. She is not
conscious, we venture to say, ol having
done anything extraordinary, and no
doubt the pretty medal will be a sur
piisn to her. It i u-uuliy so with those
who achieve such tnumphs.
Peril aps if she had reali'/ed what she
was accomplishing, or had entertained
anv thought of applause or medal, she
wotild have faltered and measured Ill
risk at the expense ol 10-inglier oppor
tunny ; certainly she would have mi—ed
that tine effect of unseHishties* which is
llie essence ol true hero *UI. It KM by
not taking herself into the account at
all that she did herself the highest 11011
or. And thus is vindicated anew the
anomalous hut sound per -naive truth
that thtougli forgetfu rie-s we find our
Way to the best of remembrance.
It i* not the great astonishing snd
forceful deeds that most merit tubule
and commemoration ; or at least such
deeds ure riot entitled to a monopoly of
recognition and praise, the storming
of a hostile battery, the rescue ola cap
lured ll ig. the facing of d-ath because
relreal would be dishonor. mut ho call
• d splendid and worthy of golden men
tion: t>nt the service of tins obscure
g rI, in art important aspect, outshines
lb- best of such exhibition*.
Site "Ijit not do her duty, simply ; she
did f.ir more, and (10l it voluntarily
ami with no dream of fame or reward.
The Occasion which cttne to her w is
one *h- might have avoided without re
proach. There was no responsibility,
legal or moral, resting upon her lor the
safety of those endangered lire*: and
had they all been sacrificed the fault
itnd reproach would not have been hers.
Niie chose to make herself a imroiue
without knowing that a heroine w;u
needed—anxious only to avert a disss
ter for humanity's sake ami get bark, if
Mod pleased. In her humble home and
the daily round of rooking and sweep
mg, of eating and sleeping. And yet not
I 'feopatra putting on her crown to a
lute death "after the high Roman la*h
ion'' i* a nobler figure than K te Nhelly
creeping across the lie* Moines bridge
in storm ami darkness to save those
lives which but for her intrepid venture
uiust hare perished
A Supreme t'onrl Sensation.
TTIR jcrirr# snotsrii av T n A ANTO ■ or A
IMI tiwrii.
Til* dignity of the justices of the S i.
pretn* i our I of the United Si ite* was
dreadfully rutfl-<i on Friday. An insur
ance rase was under review, and a West
ern lawyer, with absolutely no respect
for the feelings of the judges or regard
for their supeifine idea* of decorum,
came forward to make an argument.
Hi* dress and hi* manner were startling
in tbeiraimplicity. lie had on a home
spun suit of pronounred country cut.
He wore no collar or necktie, and the
slurt (ront displayed t y his unbuttoned
v— t wt not a* white a* the driven enow
Hi# cuffs were worn near the elbow*,
revealing a wealth of red flannel under
shirt, which blended picture-quely with
the dirty brown of hi* long, t>ny hand*.
He had a good sited quid in hi* mouth
and, a* he rolled it from side to side,
f'tosn rivulet# of tobacco juice trickled
down hi* long and gray goatee. He
came forward with a jerk and appteared
in full view of the hotrified justice*, a
perfect sfiecinier) of the far Western
jurut. Consternation was visible on the
face* of every member of the bench.
Tliey gathered themselves together,
elevated their eyebrow* and showed
symptom* of profound disgust. One of
the justice* Wn* disposed to administer
a severe reprimand to the half dressed
lawyer, but hi* brethren, while being
equally indignant over this breach of
deoorum, prevailed u|on him to sup
pre** hi* feelings for the nonce. The
unconscious object of their displeasure
proceeded with in* address and revealed
method* of oratory as uncouth a* hi*
appearance, lie swung his arm* around
with reckless abandon, and now and
then, when a member of (be bench
seemed inaltenl tve. would snap his
hnger# vigorously and bring hi# fist
down on the table with a bang to com
mand attention. The • (licet# of the
court were amsted at the tree and-easy
manner of the sirnnger, who w-ut on to
the end ot his speech ulteiljr indifl. retil
to or ignorant of the sensation he was
ctusirg. The judges gave a sigh of re
lief when he concluded, but their sere,
nity was again ili*tur!>ed when he threw
himself in a oliair and showed a disposi
tion to place hi* feel on the counsel
table. It i said one result of the collar
leas lawyer's </efmf will t,p a revival of the
agitation to oompel all lawyers ap|>ear
ing liefore the court to wear gowns, after
the fashion of the counsellor* on the
oilier side of the ocean. The offending
lawyer was from Kansas. He was ad
milled to the Supreme t'onrl on Thurs
day. Yesterday was In* first appearance,
and unless he mend* his liahit* of dress
and speech, the judges are not only
anxious tut determined it shall be hi*
last. Such shocks as they experienced
yesterday cannot tie endured more than
once in a generation.
Reform in the Marriage l-aw*.
The Newark Ihtily A<ivtrti**r in aome
remrka on the necessity of a rovied
marriage law for New Jerey Ml} s The
Uaraene** of the marriage law* through
out the Union, and their want of uni
formity, are one of the scandals of the
country, and it ia time that some effort
waa tnide In *lop absolute crime, tiie
product of thi* evil, and' the oourae of
heedleaa clergymen and magistrates,
who tnnrry tho*e wlio come betore them
with the readineae produced by com
bined inditferenoe and a protective
fee. The Journal point* lo Ihe caae of
the wretched victim. Mina Muller, and
her murderer, Kinkowski, and a*y*:
'"Meitherof them were legally free to
marry, yet married they were by a dig*
t nguished ch-rgvrnari to whom they
Were utter atrangerv, In whom they pre
vented no proof that the marriage con
tract between them would be legal and
proper. He married the pair merely
because they asked him to <lo it, and
the a-l witi on their part and u
groa* indiscretion, and impropriety on
hi"." What kiri-J of a law should be.
pii-*i->l in, of court#, n subject of grave
••ominli ralion, liut there should lie IOIDD
kind of preliminary announcement,
either by reading the banns in achurch,
by n card in the paper*, or by a system
of license that HIIHII be a guarantee to
the officiating party that he it right in
going ahead. Marriage u once con
-id-red a holy sacrament; now it it to
limm—l v entered into a* to loe all it*
tucrtdnet*. and from thiw point we may
trace the many unhappy matrimonial
live* atid the chu-w ol numerout di
vorccs. Let there he a reform.
The Terrors of a Trance.
'1 lie following iii the horrible mm-
Mill ami physical experience of Mm*
| -I'lM-phiii- hymnn, a handsome young
j lady "d hvutisville, Indiana, who i*
Hist ri covering from a severe illm —,
I during w liicli she wa*, while in a trance
pronounced dead for three days, and
|all prcjiaraiioiiH made for her inter
im i.l. Si,c relates the circutustuuius
: with thrilling exactness of detail :
"Oh, sir, i: wa* horrible. A* I lay
[there on my back, stretched out oli
the boards, with my arms crossed and
f'-ct tied together, with the lighted
I candles about my head, and could si e
I tilv si.*(er* and neighbor* come and
into my face,it wa* awful. J heard
O'.erv Word spoken. My ISMIV, limb*
ami arms were a* cold a* ice. I thought
'd the agony of being buried alive, of
' being nailed in a coffin anil lowereo in
ill- ground. I tried to make some
uoi-c, or move just a little, to let them
know that I was alive, but it was itu
po--iblc. I saw my *i*ter come in one
by one and look into my face. 'l'oor
Josie, she'* gone.' Their tuir* drop
ped on my hair, and tln ir ki-o# w. re
warmth to my lip*. As they turned
t<i leave me it seemed a- if I must tntik •
an effort to attract their attention, if
only by moving my eyelid*. Hut I
couldn t tin it. I felt like screaming.
I tried to, but I couldn't move n mu*-
■ le. Ihe priest came in and felt my
arms and wrist*. He shook hi* head
I lien he placed hi* car to my heart.
It wa* no ue. He could not bear it
I neat. After saying a prayer for the
. repose ~f I,IV *, lU | | Ur „,. ( j Bn ,j
! '• li me. and mv agony ami horror wa*
redoubled. * \N* 111 no one find out that
( I live?' I said to myself. 'Must I
; lie buried only to wake when it is too
at' ? Must I come hack to life when
they put me in the vault, ami all of
the p.si pie have gone away, only to
die of fright and horror and suff' at ion ?'
Ihe t bought wa* madness! 'W'l.y
j doo-ii I the doctor do something to
! bring me to myself? lam not dead.'
It wa* no use. There I lay thinking
and listening to every word that wa*
-aid. 1 could hear a woman giving
! direction* a to the making of the
shroud. I heard the time set for the
funeral and all. I could see every
"lie wiio came to look at me. I tried
to look room iou* and let them know
that I understood it all, hut it was im
possible. It wa* a wonder I did not
die of fright and agony. I often think
' that I would sooner die, a thousand
! time* sooner, than go through that t x
petience again.
"Finally, when all wa* ready, when
the shroud wa* finished and all had
left the room but two or three, some
one said : 'Ain't you going to cut her
hair otr?' My hair wa* done up in
long braid* and fell down my hack.
Yes,' said my sister, 'we'll cut it ofr
! now.' Then they got the scissor* and
• ann tut I" me. While one of them
took hold of my head and turned it to
> one side the one with the scittsor* be
gan the cutting. I could b-el the cold
steel on my neck. I rtniized that thi*
j. alvuit the last thing they'd do be
i fore putting nte in the coffin. The
woman la gan to clip, and in a second
or two one long hraid of hair wa* ta
ken off and laid a*ide. My head wa*
then turned the other way to allow
tlntn to get at the other braid,but thi#
wa* not touched. Thank (Jod ! fome
nting in my condition or some move
ment, I don't know what it wa*, caus
ed my sister to sor< am, and I wa# *av
ed. The scissor* ilropjKtl to the floor
with a loud noi#e, the woman jumped
backed nearly scared to death, ami I
sat up. You should have seen that
house a little while after that. 1
thought everybody had gone craxy.
'Vetiie'a alive!' The whole neighlxir
hood came rushing in a* soon a* they
heard of it, anil fbr several day# there
wa# nothing talked HIKHII but me.
My folk* thought I didn't know what
had been going on. Little they thought
that every word spoken in that room
wa* heard and understood by roe.
They tried to keep everybody from
referring to the fact that my shroud
was bought, the coffin ordered and the
funeral arranged. They made an ex
cuse, too, for part of my hair being
cut off. Tbev told toe the reason of it
wai that a piaster had bum put on
the hack of my neck, and nty hair got
an tangled in it that it had to be cut
away. I didn't say anything. One
day my little brother said to me, 'Ve
nie, you was going to be buried last
Thursday, and they cut vour hair off.'
lie never imagined that 1 knew more
alw.ut that than he did. The recollec
tion of those terrible days and eight*
will never leave me. I pray to God
that I may never be callled upon to
pas* through it again. 1 would rather
die."
The piprn t*ll of I courtahip and
mnrni|r by • onto writ
ten on an egg shell. It ia lh mo*t
affair. The two bttrb
are now yolked together.
North and Houth IP-fore and After
The War.
In "Oddilim of Southern Life," on
trit.uif-.l I ,y Mr. Henry W,,-Orson k
Thr (,nlury lor A|ril, lite author hill
off in the following happy mariner th*
change* in (ectional trdu.g nnce th*
*ar:
IIIi I how day* there were no bloated
bond holder*. \V<- had not even risen
to the dignity of the insurant-- agent.
<-apital was really timid, and, for' the
most part, repr<--uied in t),,,
South, a- far a* the l'a-t was eonceru
•d, bv the peddler, tie* e-||*rteur,ami
tin' vender of lightning-rod*. The*-,
who made theriiaclvea familiar with
Southern thorough fare* only, were im
' prc-aed by the manner* of our swag
gering hero; they *to.*l abashed U
lore hi* bullying; they were arnu-c<l
by hi* vulgarity ; hi ing for the rno-t
part miver-i-(j n, 1 1,. w ; ,y . 0,,. Wll ,| | | |
except that of trade, they were bound
to fall into mistake*. Not unnatural
ly, therefore, thev mjto,|c the soulh
ern swashbuckler for the Southern
| gentleman. and carried home a dag
ii'Tieotyp- "1 r ,utb<-ru life taken fr- in
their adventure*, whi-h, u we may
j conjecture, were rarely of the nice*!.
I lie South, on its patt, got it- view of
the North from the wandering mid lb
men who were la t known to it; an,l
tfiti- a mutual u i-, one ptiou -urm -
into existenc* taking it- idea- ami
example*, not from the la-lter -In-...
'of society, but from the w- r-t. Toe
truth i-. that IM bind tbi -•• the people,
of the North and Smih lived, movd,
and bad their bicng ; ~i tie one - , .
lion, relying upon personal tiiriit and
indu-try to build up foriun--; in tb
' otiier s-<-lion, vi tinm to eir, no-tan--;
ratler than d<-igti, a cumulating
debt- a- they aeeumula'.ed slave-. J
am sure that 1 am n>,t loi-tal., u in
this ; and, imhw-d, events are verifv i g
it. After y< ar- oful'-tition and war,
tlieoh-tnieiivi i-,r< - - i;r<- pas-tugawuv.
and what d , w,- .-<•< '! W'l.v, in the
South, io- king northward, we mi- a
ree, kilidre,i to our-h i-, a little ]>-
fhi-ive, but hardly )e-- genial, aina
dv disciplined and <-piippc-l to strug
gle again*! tl,. wind- ami the
In the North, looking —uthwar-l, the
philo-ophic oti-, r\- r set*, not a hud
dle of lazy I nitbariaiis, e,,rup.,—-,] in
large part of murderers and gamblers,
but a great body i . < hii-tian men and
women, who lone bad a hard struggle
with fate and fortune, but who have
sto >d against toe < 1,-hk nt- with a for ti
ll de that eon I radii •-1 he character is to -
formerly irnput<-d them; he see- the
mast'r of ve-terday th< toiler of to-dav;
lie se> - the initr< -• ■ 1 domain-ion, sti 1
n gentle w onaii in the tru<-t sense,
striving and saving, pap-hiug. pitt ing,
and pitching to make lx*th end* meet ;
he sec*, in sh<>rt, a people, born to the
luxury of a rich soil ami a warm climate
and inured to mulling! xcept the pri
vations ofdisaslroua war and unex
pected poverty, throwing tbemselve*
bravely into the exigencies of real life;
nowhere indolent nod idle; nowhere
demoralize*!; everywhere cheerful, ac
tive, and sober.
Destruction of American Ftrfdfc
lltr|Ti Nifuittf I t Aj>tll,
In our country *o have gone l the
forefl* in a kind of freebooter style,
cutting, and buroing Wore than we
could cut, acting for the moat part as
though ail the while iu a frolic or a
j tight, until now at length, after a cen
j tury or two of thie sort ol work, we
are waking up to the facta that our
| '>nce IMHIIMIIOM wood* are di*app*-ar
; ing. and that wo are likely to suffer no
j little low thereby. Hut it ia only the
few who seem now to have any ade
| "juale sense of our condition a* effected
i by the threatened loss of the trcca. Iu
■ a recent publication, i**ucd by autho
■ rity of one of our Western States for
j the express purpose of attracting set
tler* from Kuro|w-an countries, the
1 statistics of it* great lumber produc
j lion are elaborately set birth, accompa
j nied by the assurance that the present
, enormous consumption of trees for this
purpose may be continue*] ten or fif
! teen year* longer before the forest*
I will W destroyed. The cool uncon-
I cern in regard to the future shown in
I this is very noticeable. "After us, the
deluge." A corresponding feeling,
| though working on a much smaller
scale, is seen in an advertisement, and
of a class often appearing in our older
•States. "Brace up. Young Man. You
have lived on your parents long enough.
Buy this farm, cut off the wood, haul
it to market, get your money for it,
and pay for the farm. The owner es
timates that there will be 500 cotds of
market wood." And so, all over the
country, on the large scale and on the
small, the axe is laid at the mots of
the trees, and our forests are disappear
ing. It is estimated that 18,000,000
acres of forest land are cleared everJ
year, and that in the ten years previ
ous to 1876, 12.000,000 acres burned
over simply to clear the land.
Tin first step toward making a man
of your son ta to train biro to earn what
he (fends j the best step is to teach him
to save his *<rniiipi.
Nin as has sometimes made a fool,
hut a coxcomb is always of a roan's own
making.
Cratostvr is a thins that makes us
look over other people * affair* and over
look our owp.
Tut leas of two good things becomes
a positife evil if we follow it to the Lf
gleet of the better.
ACTION may not always bring happt
neaa; but thore is no happiness without
action.