gill
HENEY A. PAKSONS, Jr., Editor, and Publisher.
ELK COUNT Y flfjS REVUHLtCAN i R T Y.
Two Dollars ter Annum.
VOL. I.
RIDGWAY, PA., THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1871.
NO. 43.
1
THROUGH LIFE.
We slight the gifts Hint every season bears,
And let them fill unheeded fioin our grasp,
In our great eagerness to reach and clasp
The promised treasure of the coming years j
Or else we mourn some great good passed
away,
And, In the shadow of our grief shut In,
Refuse the lesser good wo yet might win,
The oifercd peace and gladness of to-dny.
8 through tlio chambers of our life we pass,
Aud leave them one by one and never stay,
Not knowing how much pleasantness there
was
In each, until the closing of the door
lias sounded through the house, and d'ed
away,
And In our hearts we sigh, " For evermore."
BEGINNING U- THE WILDERNESS.
BY MRS. F. VT. GILLETTE.
Early one soft, mellow twilight in the
May of 1823, a small birch canoe floated
noiselessly into a little curve of the Clin
ton River, (it was not the Clinton then,
for that was the Anglo-Saxon christen
ing ; but I have not been able yet to find
for it an Indian name,) and anchored
in that forest valley, at the base of a
heavily-wooded hill. One of its occu
pants a man of something more than
thirty years, with a face bronzed by ex
posure to tho wind and sun, but gleam
ing all over with the sunshine of a great,
heroic s)ul sprang quickly to the
shore, and lifting out a beautiful young
gin, seaiea ner upon tne bans, ana pro
ceeded to fasten the chain that held the
canoe to the body of a large tree close
to the water's edge. Then he led tV.e
little woman carefully up the hillside,
as tney reacnea tne top, they lound a
large, broad flat of heavy oaks, and saw
that they could stand upon the verge of
tne mil ana look through the openings
in the wood, far over the broad, deep,
blue stream, that wound, unobstructed
by mill-dam or race-course, along its
forest-shaded and hill-guarded valley
bed. Standing there, this sturdy Eng
'lishman exclaimed, " Linda, this is the
spot ! This is our home 1 How beauti
ful we will make it! How like my
bltsied boyhood's home in Old Eng
land I" and suddenly the sweet home
tenderness so flooded his good, warm
heart, that the tears brimmed his eyes as
if it had been indeed a child ; but soon
he found her a pleasant, mcsssy seat,
and saying cheerfully, " Now rf st, while
I run down and get our trap?," he hur
ried away, return'ng in a moment with
a small basket of cooking-utenuls, aud
a not very large bundle of clothing, aud
a couple of Indian blankets. It required
only a short time to kindle a fire and
prepare the supper, and by the time they
Lad eaten, the moonbeams looked in
upon them, golden aud silent, and the
whipporwils sang all through the long,
deep, woodland arches.
These two this brave Englishman
and his little French wife, scarcely more
than a child had floated all the way
from the Huron waterj, with never the
sight of a white man's face, past the In
dian villages on the banks, stopping at
mid-day iu a little bend of the stream,
and eating their lunch of cold fish and
hard bread ; camping at twilight by the
river side. The large, white fish that
Fred caught in the liver was cooked
over the Are, made by a fallen log ; their
lodge was entered through avenues of
grand old tree", and roofed with the
clouds and the stars. And now, after
this long, wear!s3me and yet pleasant
wandering, Fred D.ibyell has found the
spot his heart yearned for the spot that
could be wrought into the broad fields
and the wooded pm'ks that make the
beautiful English homesteads for Fred
Dabyell, iu his thought of home, was
English to the heart's core.
Fred Dabyell was the brother of the
heroic Capt. Dabyell, who was killed in
the Fontiao conspiracy. He had been
sent to Detroit on official business before
the war of 1812, and after the ratifica
tion of peace in 1815, he conoluded to
remain and try his fortune in the West
ern World. M. De La Motto was one of
the few white men who, with the frioud
ly Indians, established the French set
tlement of Detroit under the direction
of Louis Frontenac, then Governor of all
New France ; and here, just eighteen
years before our story opens, was Linda
De Li Motte born. She had been reared
iu a world of dauger, but in a home of
love ; and believing thoroughly iu Fred
Dabyell's protestations of tenderness,
and his promise of fidelity and protec
tion, she had put her hand in his, and
come away from everything of civilized
life to found a home in the wilderness.
All night Fred talked in bis sleep
about Euglish hedges and English
homes to the Indians and the new coun
try. All night Linda fancied sho heard
the light tread of dark feet as they
passed over the fallen leaves, and saw
great, wild eyes looking down upon her.
Toward morning, Fred was wakened by
the barking of a dog. Springing up, he
cried, " Linda, that's a white man's dogl
God has led us to a friend !" and he
dashed down the hill toward the wel
come sound. But Linda, called, " O,
Fred! take me." Then he turned, ran
back and said, with a sort of petting ac
cent, natural to his voice, " Getting a
coward, is she 't Well, we will go down to
gether."
Going down the hill on the further
and southern side from the river over a
narrow, level space, and climbing to the
top of another and higher hill, they
saw, at a little distance, a large St. Ber
nard dog watching by a rude log chapel.
The chapel was surmounted with a
cros?, while over it floated the Fleur de
Lit of France, and the stars and stripes
of the new colonies. In the doorway,
just under the cross, stood an aged Jesuit
priest; his hair, parted in the middle of
the broad, deep forehead, fell away in
ripples of snow far down his shoulders ;
his face was fair and childishly innocent,
and with the glory of the breaking dawn
upon it, it looked almost divine.
To the little French wife, this chapel
in the wilderness this Jesuit priest
under the cross was home, was rest.
With a glad cry she ran forward, and
kneeling at his feet, reached up her
clasped hands for his benediotion. Sur
prised, as though some sweet, fair face I
from the vine-clad hills of Lorraine had
looked up to him at the confessional, he
yet, without a word or a hasty gesture,
placed both hands on her bowed head
and gave her his blessing ; and as her
husband came up and lifted her to her
leet, the put st said, kindly, " Children,
come with me," and he led them to his
own log cabin, not far from the chapel.
rattier Mesnard readily prepared a
breakfast of " Sagamittee," a kind of
broth, made of fish boiled in water, and
tne Hour of corn. Their drink was clear,
cold water from the woodland spring
As they ate, the lather told them that he
remombered having seen Fred in De
troit, as he had been many times there ;
and that Linda's father and mother he
had known and loved in far-away
France, so that Fred's words of the
morning seemed to be true, for God had
truly led them to a friend.
Fred wanted the land on the south
side of the nver, and that was very
ensily arranged between him and Father
Mesnard and tho Indians ; and although
they must meet the " Council at Da
troit, before the matttr could be wholly
arranged, enough could be done so that
Fred could select six hundred acres of
unbroken wilderness ; and before noon
he had struck his first blow for a home,
on the spot where he built their camp-.
hie the night betore.
The cabin was built of rough, unhewn
logs, the windows and doors made of
twigs interlaced into a sDit of lattice
work, and fastened to the house by
hinges made of bark. Primitive indeed
was this new borne, and primitive too
was this beginning of housekeeping, al
most as much so as the life of Adam and
Eve iu the Garden of Elen. And yet,
although in the very heart of the wild
erness, separated entirely from the
white race, Linda Dabyell was V(ry
happy during this first summt r of house
hold care. Love brightens everything
it touches, and Linda loved her husband,
and her great love filled the wildwood,
and all the strange, new world with
bloom and song. She had, too, a nature
sd sympathetic, that it gave to every
Indian woman, man, child or baby, a
kind word and a helpful deed ; and this
brought her in return much rude tender
ness. Then there was the good Jesuit,
always faithful and affectionate and
wise.
But this first summer, peaceful and
full of beauty as it was, was also full of
fearful tragedy. The Ojibwa Indians,
living and holding the lands on the
north side of the river, were not as
peaceful as the OttawaB. They were not
at peace1 with them cither. In early
summer they were very kind to Linda,
because she nursed their brave young
chief in her own home through an al
most mortal sickness, caused by a fearful
struggle at her own door with a power
ful Ottawa. But toward the autumn
they began to look savagely upon her
because she bestowed the same care upon
an Ottawa youth who had killed an
Ojibwa near her house, and being him
self severely wounded in tho deadly
strife, had crept, coverod with his own
blood and the bl jod ot bis lallon toe, to
her threshold, where the good mission
ary and Fred had taken him up, sup
posing for many minutes that he, too,
was dead.
This hatred did not break out at once.
But ona November evening Linda sat
alone by her hearth, having fastened her
door as firmly as she could against the
heavy wind that had come up at night
fall, and lighted her pine knots and
placed one in each corner of the chim
ney, wishing their gleam might go out
through the lattico window and door
and beacon her husband home through
the darknes3. Fred had been gone since
morning, a thing so unusual tor turn
that Linda was nervous with nnxiety.
She had said to herself a hundred times
that evening if Father Mesnard
only come they could certainly find
Fred. But the father did not come ; he
had gone on his yearly mission to the
upper lakes, and Linda knew if Fred
had lost his way, or if some calamity had
overtaken him, that she was left wholly
to tho fearful mercies of Indians and of
wolves. As she sat in her loneliness and
anxiety, the door burst suddenly open,
and the young Ojibway chief, whom she
had so kindly cared for, too'c her in his
arms, put his hand over her mouth, and
said, in his broken Euglish, as he ran
with ner to the chapel, "Ilistl young
chief no hurt. Young chief take care."
lie carried her into the chapel, closed
the door, and seated her under the cru
cifix. Then he stepped back, crossed his
arms over his breast, and looking 'up to
the cross, said, " No come here. White
squaw no Iraid. " lie went across the
chapel toward Linda's home, and climb
ing up over the logs looked out of a
small opening beneath the roof. Linda
heard footsteps among the fallen, frozen
leaves and branches, and soon the
crackle of fire and the loud wild whoop
of the Indians sounded through the
.heavy darkness. Creeping to the young
chiet a side, she saw ner home in names,
and several savage looking Ojibwas
dancing and screaming around it. Sud
denly the clouds parted, and the moon
light broke around them in full splen
dor, and as it fell over the shining metal
that pointed the cross upon the top of
the chapel, one of the Indians saw the
unusual brightness, and pointing toward
it he fled down the hill followed by the
others.
As they went, the chief turned toward
her, lifting her with one arm while he
lowered himself with the other and tried
to tell her how he had just got back
from a long journey, and having discov
ered the intentions of his tribe or a por
tion of them when it was too late to de
feat them, he had come himself to defend
her or to die in the attempt. Then he
carried her back to the cross, placed her
under it and going to the door sat down
against it as though he would save her
with his life. Toward morning he went
noiselessly out, but Lindaknaw that his
Indian ear had caught the fall of ap
proaching footsteps, and she was ready
to die by those savage hands when the
door agein opened and Fred and Father
Mesnard came in, followed by the faith
ful chief.
Words could never tell how happy
Linda and Fred were, nor bow tender
was the voice of the missionary as be
fore the cross he ottered up his gratitude
for his little wife's safety, nor how the
dark face of the young chief brightened
at the sight of so much joy.
'
This was Fred and Linda Dabyell's
beginning in the great Western wilder
ness. Would you know its close P . Not
many years ago, Fred, somewhat bent
and feeble with his journey of eighty
winters, but young yet with that warm,
fresh stout-heartedness that blessed his
early life, and Linda, many years young
er, but with her hair all silver, and
cheeks where life's red rose had faded to
the white these two together, as in that
early time, stood upon the broad veran
dah that encircled their large stone
mansion built upon ' the spot where
the first cabin stood and looked across
to the top of the other hill where the
chapel ence was, but where now was a
sunken grave with a white cross at its
head, and down the hillside, over the
river, and across the valley, to a large,
flourishing city; founded upon the land
that he, Fred Dabyell, bought of the In
dians on that long ago May morning.
In that city lived their oldest son a
thriving lawyer, a man honored and be
loved ; they spoke of him as they stood
there, and the daughter who, with her
husband and children aroand htr, kept
ths care in their own beautiful Home a
home that answered to thur early hopes.
They talked about their youngest and
their idol their brave Mesnard who,
like the father they both loved, had
built him a rude chapel on the Rocky
Mountain summits and hung above it
the flag of his country and the cross, of
his Master. And 'they remembered, also,
that mellow twilight, when they floated
in that little birch canoe into the river
bend below them. As they stood there,
the calm, peaceful joy of the present en
folding them like softened sunshine, and
the past lying out so brown and golden
to their vision, dear, good grandpa
Dabyell as we all call him reached
his feeble haud to his old wife, and
drawing her close to him, said, " We
were climbing the hill then, Linda,
love." And "Linda, love" leaned her
pale face, still beautiful with its sweet
tenderness, against his shoulder, and re
peated, in her low, broken voice :
"And now that we have wandered down,
We'll sleep together at the loot,
John Anderson, my Joe."
Ladies' Repository.
Strange Delusion.
The Woodford (Ky.) Weekly has the
following singular story :
A young lady named Miss Nellie Stay
was tried before Judge George on the
27th inst. for lunacy. There was no evi
dence showing her to be a lunatic, but
her own statements clearlhowed her
to be a monomauiac. Sho seemed to be
firmly under the impression that she was
married to Mr. Alexander, of Woodburn
Farm, in March last, in Lexington j and
again she would say that &he had been
told that she was the child of Mr. Alex
ander, and that her true name was Nel
lie Alexander. We did not learn which
of the Alexanders she claimed to be des
cended from, but she seems to think that
the late II. A. Alexander had left her a
foitune, and asked to use his will. Upon
other subjects she spoke rationally and
intelligibly, and gave a very connected
account of her life. She was partly
raised and educated at the Orphan School
at Midway, and taught school recently
in the neighborhood of Spring Station.
The only relative she has that is known
is a half brother in Louisville. So
seemed to be vary well educated and ac
customed to refined society; appears to
be delicate, of nervous temperament.and
is prepossessing in appearance. The jury
in the case found her a lunatic, and that
shhad become a lunatic within the last
year ; was about twenty-thrje years of
age, and had no estate.
Homely (Jills.
How did that homely woman contrive
to get married 'i is not unfrtquently re
marked of some good domestic creature
whom her husband regards as the apple
of his eyes, and in whose plain face he
sees something better than beauty.
Pretty girls who are vain of their
charms are rather prone to make obser
vations of this kind ; and conscious of
the f-ict that flowers of loveliness are
often left to pine on the stem, while
weeds of homeliness go off readily, is no
doubt in many cases the bottom of the
sneering question. The truth is, that
most men prefer homeliness and amiabil
ity, to beauty and caprice. Handsome
women are sometimes very hard to please.
They are apt to overvalue themselves,
and in waiting for an immense bid occa
sionally overstep the market. Their
plain sisters on the contrary, aware of
their personal deficiencies, generally lay
themselves out to produce an agreeable
impression, and in most instances, suc
ceed. They don't aspire to capture par
agons with princely fortunes, but are
willing to take anything respectable.
A "Horsj" Advertisement.
The following advertisement of a
" horse restaurant" keeper is published
in a Nevada paper :
Live stock faster than anybody's, and
all trained to respect woman's rights
also children's yet warranted to get
away from anything else on the road.
Buggits, broughams, barouches, . hacks,
sulkies, road wagons, hearses, and every
kind of vehicles for slow or fast travel
with horses to match. Funeral turnouts
cheerfully furnished, and guaranteed to
make the proper impression. Bloated
aristocrats from abroad taken on to any
road, and warranted ahead of any stage
or any other conveyance for money.
No complaint is ever heard from stack
fed in this stable. More hilarity' than
was ever known in any other collection
of dumb animals since the procession
from Noah's landing. No hay ropes
about this establishment everything is
turned loosa ; the key to the barley sacks
hangs dangling within the reach of the
humblest horse iu the stable, and no
pains are spared to make the guests of
the establishment distinguish the differ
ence between this and the desert waste.
Do Solo's Treasures Perhaps.
Here 5s a tough but readable story
from the MemphiB Avalanche of Nov. 23 :
A decendant of one of De Soto's fol
lowers, Senor Jose Munoz, by the mer
est accident, found in a blind closet, the
existence of which was only brought to
light by the tearing down of a part of
an old mansion on a bluff near Memphis,
with tho view of rebuilding it in a more
modern form, a parchment which set
forth in substance that, at a point near
that city, was deposited in the earth a
helmet containing a diamond, a sap
phire, and a ruby of immense value, to
gether with an order of knighthood and
a sum of money ; that this treasure was
the property of one Jesus Munoz, who
had been the scientific adviser of De
Soto, but having fallen under suspicion
of practising witchcraft, had anticipated
his doom by suicide, first confiding to
mother earth, with certain incantations,
the -wealth that weuld suffice to ransom
a prince, when princes were worth ran
soming. Upon the strength of this information
a party of leading, citizens was at once
organized to investigate the matter. It
was about ten o'clock when the adven
turers landed from their skiffs on Presi
dent's Island. Placing his theodolite
exactly in front of the venerable tree,
Captain B proceeded to lay out his
first angle indicated by the parchment
scroll. To the surprise of every one, the
"distance" brought the party to a lone
ly epot on the shore of the river, where,
in a gulch, worn by the mad freaks of
the storm in times gone by, were the re
mains of a boat of a fashion that no
workman has designed on the North
American Continent for more than two
hundred years, although the same de
scription of vessels still navigate the
coasts of South America, and are still
built by the descendants of the same
Spanish people who first brought to the
knowledge of the world our Mississippi.
The boat had been constructed from a
single log, and was about forty-six feet
in length of keel. The wood had almost
been transformed into coal by some
strange atmospheric cause, and the truth
of what we say can be verified by a piece
of this antique bark, which was brought
from the spot by our reporter, and is
now on exhibition at this office. From
the ruined stern protruded an iron which
had once secured the rudder upon which
was still visible the initals " F. & I."
Whether or not this is the remains of one
of De Soto's boats it is impossible to de
termine with certainty, but Professor
Dillington was decidedly of the opinion
that the wood of which it was composed
had been exposad to the action of the
elements for more than two centuries.
The inference was irresistible. In the
course of ten minutes the workmen had
excavated a pit about three feet in diam
eter and two in depth. Just at mid
night, by Captain B 's time, the
spade of McGowan struck some metallic
substance it proved to be ancient hel
met, the upper part of which was cor
roded, and eaten away by the rust of
years. Fashioned as it had been to re
sist the stroke of lance, sword, and battle
ax, it yielded to the first blow of the
modern and homely spade. It was cleft
in twain, and as the light from the lamps
flashed down upon its oxidized surface,
from the interior was flashed back three
wondrous rays of radience, diamond pure,
sapphire blue, and ruby red, all beauti
ful and dazzling, while gazing down
wtrds the awestricken tamperers with
what man uses or examines at his peril
saw three gems of fabulous size and
lustre, lying upon a faded and decayod
order of nobility, and within the rusted
head harness of a knight, who laid his
lanee in rest for the last time before any
city on the North Amerian Continent
had any existence.
How it Ft els to bo Poisoned With
StryeliiiinCi-
A man in Harrisburg recently attempt
ed to commit suicide by taking a grain
of strychnine. The skill of his physician
having saved his life he narrates his ex
perience for the benefit of science. He
says :
" In course of five minutes I began to
feel slight cramps in the calves of my
legs. The cramps increased in intensity
and extended to the feet and thighs,
causing the most intense pain. I at
tempted to rise from the chair, but fell
to the floor with convulsions in the low
er extremities. Unsuccessful attempts
were made to bathe my feet in hot wa
ter, each effort to raise me bringing on a
violent paroxysm, in the last one of
which I thought my jaws had become
unhinged, 1 was now perfectly para
lyzed from the hips down, and suffering
the most excruciating pains, which be
gan to extend upwards ; the muscles of
the shoulders and neck soon being con
siderably convulsed, the forearms still
being free from pain.
" 1 now prepared for the final strug
gle, which I knew must be near at hand,
as I had become rigid from the neck
down, save the forearms. The convul
sions of the muscles were becoming fear
ful, and the torture awful to endure.
My hands were drawn in to my sides,
with the fingers drawn apart, and slight
ly bowed, and the jaws became rigid. I
felt myself raised as if by some mighty
power, and fixed immovably, with only
my feet and head touching anything. I
became unconscious of everything ex
cept my own agony, which was now be
yond all description. I could feel my
heart fluttering, and my brain beating
and throbbing with an irregular motion,
as though at every beat it weuld burst
from its confinement, Every joint was
locked, and every drop of blood seemed
stagnated. I remember thinking it
could not be long thus, when I must
have lost consciousness.
" I remember nothing more until I
felt a sensation of relief, as though the
garments of death, which had been
drawn over me, were now being drawn
back. Those terrible cramps seemed to
be descending to my lower limbs. A
feeling of relief stole over me, and I be
gan to be again conscious. ,
" From that time I resumed conscious
ness, when I was entirely free from
cramp, with the exception of a little in
the feet. I had but one attack of cramps
afterwards, which was immediately re
lieved by a dose administered by my
wife the doctor having left for a short
time and when ho returned I felt that
the poison wai. completely neutral
ized." Ho is not likely to try strychnine
again.
Fanners What Should They Know I
Whether it is that as a class farmers
have not kept up with the rest of man
kind in what might be termed book
learning, or that they have been slower
to grasp the ideas and adopt the fast
ways of the world, and thus the mind
associates the business of farming with
the recollection of years agone, it re
mains the same indisputable fact that
farming is thought to require a smaller
amount of knowledge than any other
pursuit in life indeed, we are not sure
but this opinion prevails largoly among
farmers themselves. How few there are
among them who will admit that an ed
ucation will assist them in their busi
ness j are they not much more likoly to
sneer at auy information derived from
books, and to argue with the old man
who couldn't see that his young neigh
bor (who had a year or two before
moved into the country and commenced
farming) with all his books and papers,
did any better than himself, with simply
his experience and practical knowledge
to guide him'r1 overlooking the fact
that the young beginner's books had ac
tually brought him in a short time to
equal the farmer in success, and that if
he, the farmer, had but added the expe
rience of others (which be could- have
had by reading) to his own, his store of
knowledge and qualifications for success
would have been largely increased, and
perhaps rendered unapproachable to his
amateur neighbor.
One reason for the growth of this
feeling against reading, especially at the
South, is found in the apparent unprofit
ableness of farming. We say apparent,
for you will see it is not real when you
consider how little actual capital how
little actual brain is usually required to
support in moderate comfort otttimes a
very large family.
This apparent unprofitableness has
also the effect of driving most of the ac
tive minds of the country into tho cities ;
the allurements of wealth and apparent
ease of life therein persuading young
men that in the city they will surely
find a more profitable sphere-of ac
tion. Alas ! Alas ! They do not see that the
effect is taken for the cause that if the
Sinie amount of tnergy and brains that is
required in the city were applied to
farming, success would not be wanting
and that this rush for the city, this
drain upon the country,naturally robs it
of an essential element of success ; that it
is only the superior and better informed
mind, so to Bpeak, of the city which
makes this apparent difference in suc
cess. If, indeed, tho young man cannot be
educated at home, then by all means let
him come to the city, if ' only long
enough to get a good practical business
education. For this much he will cer
tainly need in farming if he goes into it
as he should, that is with a view to suc
cess. Do not suppose for a moment that a
little common sense with a sturdy frame
added to his wordly possessions, are all
that a farmer has need of as in every
other occupation, the more cultivated
brain you bring to your assistance in
farming the better will be your chance
of success.
In no employment is there more
knowledge required. In other lines men
may often confine their scope of know
ledge the manufacturer, for instance,
of boots, of cloths, of cutlery, of machin
ery, &.O., may require to know only what
appertains to his particular production j
but tho farmer produces grain and hay,
butter and best, pork and cheese, wool
and cotton, &c, &o. He should know
how much of each to provide for, and
how best to dispose of them afterwards ;
he should know how to feed his stock to
the best advantage, and what breeds of
stock suit his purposes best. Perhaps he
needs to know something of timber, of
building and repairing, to say nothing
of his medical necessities; construction
of drains, qualities of soil, properties of
fertilizers, &j. In short, the farmer
might well be a merchant.manufacturer,
physician and chemist. Then do not
say a farmer need not be educated fully
as well as for any other business of life,
for by neglecting his education you
simply curtail his advantages and lessen
his chances for superiority and success.
He needs to be something more than " a
hewer of wood and drawer of water."
Georgia Home Gazette.
Turtles lu Brazil.
The immense size of Brazilian turtks
may be imagined when the statement is
made that the flippers and feet of one in
crawling over the sand leave a track of
two irregular grooves, three or four feet
apart, as though a great wagon with
immense cog wheels had been driven
over the ground. It is an easy matter
to And a turtle's nest by this track. She
comes out of the sea and travels far up
on the beach to lay her eggs in the sand,
digging a hole a foot and a half or two
feet deep for the nest. Professor Hartt,
who was in Brazi.'. with Professor Agas
sis, says that he saw a turtle deposit one
hundred and forty-three eggs in one of
these nests. The eggs are all laid at one
sitting, then covered up closely with the
sand and left to hatch. The eggs are
rather larger than hen's eggs, round,
and covered with a tough white skin.
The Brazilians eat the eggs and also the
flesh of the turtle. The creature is cap
tured in a curious way. Two persois
go behind it, and taking hold of the
shell, turn the animal on its back, in
which position it is at the mercy of its
captors for it is impossible for it to
turn over on its feet again. The hunters
are obliged to creep up behind it cau
tiously, for as soon as it is alarmed it
thrusts its fore paddles into the sand and
throws it behind, so that if the pursuers
do not quickly close their eyes they are
likely to be blinded.
Fireproof Materials,
Mr. II. J. Runadell, iu a Washington
letter to the Cincinnati. Commercial, giv
ing an account of an interview with Mr.
Mullett, the supervising architect of the
Treasury Department, elicits some inter
esting opinions as to the lessons from
Chicago, especially tho following, relat
ing to fire-proof materials :
"Iron," said Mr. Mullett, "I mean
cast iron, absurd as the statement may
appear, will not resist as much heat as
good sound oak timber of the same di
mensions. Firo expands the iron and
warps it, and it breaks very easily. In
deed, if oak timber should be treated by
any of the processes, of liquid silicate, it
may be considered almost a fireproof ma-1
terial compared with cast iron. As for
stones suitable for building purposes, as
I told you before, there are few that are
fireproof, though some approximate the
necessary conditions, and, except in se
vere conflagrations, may be generally de
pended upon. Granite, marble, and
sandstone are not to be trusted, as they
soon perish by exporure to tho heat, as
has been shown a thousand times. But
I am strongly in favor of liquid silicate
as a preparation for wood to be used for
building purposes. My attention was
directed to this material some years
since, but I have not had an opportunity
to investigate the subject fully. I be
lieve, however, that it merits taore atten
tion than any other suggestion that has
been made public, and may yet prove
one of the most practical solutions of the
question of non-combustible construc
ture that has yet been offered. Whether
this or some other process for making
wood non-combustible is the more de
sirable, I am not prepared to say. I am,
however, decidedly cf the opinion that
any process by which wood can be ren
dered non-inflammable at a reasonable
cost would not only be an inestimable
blessing to the public, but its use should
be rendered imperative by law."
" Well, Mr. Mullett, do you still think
that brick is the only fireproof material!"'
" I looked into th at subject at Chicago
with much interest. Now, it is very
hiird to make an absolutely fireproof
building ; but I believe that a building,
properly constructed of bricks that ure
well made, and of iron or non-combustible
timber, protected by fireproof shut
ters ond door, will resist the fiercest con
flagration. Itsmernber, I say fireproof
doors and shutters, not iron. To make
an absolutely fireproof structure, how
ever, well burned and homogeneous
brick must be used. The walls must be
of sufficient thickness, and should be
built with an air space to prevent the
transmission of heat. The joists should
in no case be carried into the walls, but
should be supported on corbel courses of
brick, aud connected with the walls
only by wrought iron anchors. The
windows and doors to bo protected, as I
have said, with fireproof shutters, and
the roof to be of slate or motal. The use
of roofs composed of coal tar, or other
similar substances, Bhould be prohibited
by law in cities. Ordinary iron shutters
are scarcely more fireproof than those of
wood. They heat rapidly, warp from
their fastenings, and admit the fire to
the interior, and are in fact a means of
facilitating the conflagration by ob
structing the efforts of the fire depart
ment. I see no reason, however, why
fireproof shutters should not be produced
at a prico that would place them within
the reach of all."
" What do you think of dry pressed
bricks '(" " I never had much experi
ence with them, and I don't believe in
them. They are certainly not so good
as the ordinary kind. A very littlo ex
perience with brick will show that tho
more thoroughly the clay is tempered
the better the bricks are. One great
trouble in obtaing good brick is in the
indipositiori of brick makers t teuiner
..heir clay enough."
" What do yon think of terra cotta r"
" Terra cotta is a material to which I do
not think sufficient attention has been
given in this country, though in Europe
many beautiful and durable specimens
have beeu produced. I feel confident
that it will be found, if properly made,
one of the most desirable articles for the
use of an architect in the erection of
fireproof buildings. It should be used
iu a legitimate manner, and not as an
imitation of cut stone."
A Xejrro II ink on the White Folks' Plan.
Sam Johnson, of New Orkans, was a
great authority on the levee, and ono
day he called his satellites together and
addressed them on tho importance of
adopting a fiscal policy more nearly re
sembling that which had raised to opu
lence their Caucasian neighbors. "Nig
gers," said he, "if you want to get rich
you must save your money. You must
have a bank. Dat's de way de white
folks dots." These words fell on a pro
pitious soil. The project went into swift
execution, and the earnings of the week
were promptly forthcoming. "Niggers,"
Bays bam, "I'll be de cashier; you must
'posit de money wid me, and when you
want any you must draw onto it. Dat's
de way de white folks does." All went
merrily for a while, and the depositors
were highly elated about " de bank."
But' by and by there began to be trou
ble not with the deposits but with the
drafts. It was found easier to get funds
into this model institution than to get
them out again, and Sim was compelled
to face the angry customers and explain.
" It's all right," says he ; de bank's
only suspended, and in a few days she
will 'again resnme;' dat's de way de
white folks does." This expedient lasted
but a little while, however ; suspicions of
ioui piay aay oy day increased, and the
storm was about to burst on tho head of
the great operator, when he found it ex
pedient to gather once more his infuri
ated depositors, and " face the musio "
frankly. " Niggers," said he, "dar ain't
no use a moufin about it. Da money's
spent, and de bank's broke, and dat's de
way de white folks does !"
Partou is ungracious enough to
remark that many Amerioan ladies,
were they sentenced to be hanged to
morrow, would ask as their first ques
tion, " Have I a banging dress r"
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
Clara Louisa Kellogg is said to have
closed a contract to ting twenty nights
in San Francisco for $10,000 in gold.
The Burihan Ambassador will have a
pleasant reception at Buckingham Pal
ace. Ho is the bearer of a gold necklace
weighing ten pounds, as a present for
Queen Victoria.
Tho tedious routine of flirtation, intro
duction; courtship, engagement and mar
riage was successfully gone through
with by an Arkansas couple in tbirty
six minutes.
" Indian Joe," a Piute modicine man,
well known among the whites, was
stcned to death by his tribe, having
failed to restore to health two sick In
dians. The practice of medicine among
Indians evidently has its unpleasant
features.
During a lira at Portsmouth, recently,
a person whose residence was burned
was awakened by a parrot calling the
servant's name and Bcreaining "fise."
They barely hjid time to save their
clothes and a portion of their furniture,
and but for Polly might have been burn
ed to death.
It was so cold in Chicago last week
that the papers state everything froze up
except the coal-bin. The editor of the
Pont says, " Our stove frcza up so that wo
had to soak its feet in hot water this
morning before we could get it to draw."
A Yaukeo would ask where the hot water
c imo from Y
The Helena Daily Montan i Herald, in
view of the approaching leap year, pub
lishes a list ot' eligible old bauhelors in
Helena, and follows with thirty or forty
genuine names of citizens who are in the
main, it says, " in a good state of pre
servation." The daring editor proposes
to supplement the list with another of
" all the old maids and marriagtble
young ladies in Helena." .
Here is a mother-in-law of at least
two-husband power: A man whosa
home is in Wisconsin hns been working
at Negaunee, Mich., for some months.
A week or so since he was taken danger
ously Bick. He sent for his wife to come
and care for him. Now, the witVs moth-,
er is Bick, too, and she sunt this despatch
to her languishing husband : " Dsar
Tim, mother is sick ;
Do the best you can.
your body homo."
I can't loive her.
If you die, send
Doctor O'Lsary says that a girl
can die of too much love as well as from
too little. " If you ever see one of tuosj
turtle-dove pairs who are always 'my
loving, 'my dearing,' 'my ducking,' each
other," says the doctor, ' you may set it
ilown that ono or the other will die of
heart disease or consumption within
I hree months, and it is almost invariably
tho woman who dies. Those women,"
he .adds, " who always scold and speak
crossly to their better halves they never
have the consumption or die of heart
disease."
This is tho oflical report of a Califor
nia vigilance committee : " We, the five
hundred emigrants, quietly marohed to
the Justice's Court and demanded tho
prisoner. They refused to give him up.
We, the five hundred emigrants, took
bim, tried him, condemned him, and
bung him on the same tree he had mur
dered his victim under. Farewell,
vain world,' were his last words, as the
mule walked away and left him there.
We, the hve hundred emigrants, follow
ed tho mule."
This is the way a Western editor wel
comes a new-born contemporary : " We
are sorry to receive JNo. 1 ot tho Coman
che County World. The World is badly
printed, aud has a sickly, poverty-strick-
i n appearance. Mr. John Smith, its
publisher, is an idiot. If the 'leading
men ot Comanche County are responsi
ble for the foundation of this paper, they
ought to be sent to the Penitentiary. We
trust that Mr. Smith will stop the pub
lication of this paper and save his
money."
There aro large numbers of very dd
and poor persons along the coast in the
.New Iuglaud btates. Many ot the
men followed the sea in their early man
hood, and a largo number of the women
are widdows of Bailors and fishermen
who barely got a living in their b.'.st
days. Nantucket furnishes a noteworthy
oxample of these elapses. In the poor
hous3 of that town thore ure fourteen
persons rangiue; from seventy-one to
eighty-nine years old, whose aggregate
ages amount to 1,139 years.
A lady in a town not a thousand
miles away was considerably anuoyed
by hens who pecked the loose plastering
from the wall. So one morning, while
washing dishes, she thought she heard
her fowls pecking as usual, and, dish
cloth in band, she hastened to open the
door, and, giving her rag a warlike
flourish, she uttered a tremendous " shoo-
o-o 1" Imagine her dismay at behold
ing, not the hens but a stranger, who,
titer wiping from bu tace the drops ot
dishwater with which he had been
sprinkled, said in a perfectly calm voice,
"Well, mum, if you've got any more
spare rags, I should like to sell you
some tinware for 'em."
A correspondent who has seen, Miss
Nilsson in New York, speaks of the
gaunt, straight figure ; the strong, pale
face, with the hollow cheeks and the
beautiful smile blooming on her (lips
the kindly gray eyes ; the majestio toss
of the head, and the gait as firm and
bold as a man's ; but says that person
ally she is a very charming woman.
Her manners are decidedly French ; sho
is a thorough-bred Parisian. She is per
fectly easy, natural, and very graceful.
When a gentleman is presented to her,
she don't nod her head, as an American
lady would, but gives her hand with a
frank, pleasant smile,as if she had known
him eve, ever so long. You are imme
diately at your ease. You will be
prompted to say whatever comes upper
most in your mind, and she will look at
you astonished with her fine, grey eyes,
as if to say : " You dazzle me with your
brilliant intellect." She Is full of theso
artifices, which makes you think her,
after haying been in her company half
an hour, the bimplest, the frankest, the
most charming woman in Christendom,