NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum. VOL. III. MDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, NOVEMBER G, 1873. NO. 3G. HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher Tho Smack In School. K district Bcliool not far sway, 'Mid Uorkshiro liilln, onn winter's daj, Was bumming with its wonted noise Of three-score mingled gills and boys i Some few npon their tasks Intent, Hut more ou furtive miHcliicf bent ; The whrle tho master's downward look Was f antoncd on a copy-bo 5k j When suddoiily, behind bis back, Hone fbaip and clear a rousing smack ! A.s 'twere a battery of bliss let off in one tremendous kiss ! " What's that i" the startled master crios s 41 Wath William Willith, if you pleathe I thaw him kith Thutliaunah l'catbe!" Willi frown to innke a statue thrill, Tiio master (humld-ed. " Hither. Will!" Like wretch o'ertaken la his track, With stolen chattols on his back. Will bung his head with fear and shame, And to tlie awful preneuco came A groat, green, bashful eimpleton, The butt of all good-natured fiyi With sniilo suppressed, and birch upraised, The thrcateuer fa'tored ' I'm amazed That yon, my highest pupil, should Be guilty of an act so rude ! Before tho uhole set eeliool to boot What evil genius put you tVt ?" ''Twns she. hernolf. sir," it'jhed the lad, " I didn't mean to be so bad ' Hut when Siihunnah shook her curls, And whispered I W03 'raid of f-irl. And dursn't kiws a babys doll, I couldn't stand it, sir, at all, But up and kir-isc-d her on th Knot I know-boo hoo-J oult to not, ' r.ut, somehow, fro bfir uolHboo hoo I thought, he v-aJ Q. wisheJ nw to , THE WILD HUNTER. It is ten years ngo (said Mr. Belden) nnd nt that time the country back from the Missouri was not much settled. The fame of tho Big Blue lands hid spread fur nnd wide, nnd evrv week scores of farmers from JoWa, Illinois, and Missouri came in and settled on the rick bottoms, almost invariably writing back to their friends in the btatcs that the hind was one flowing with milk end houey, and urging them to come nud take np farms. So the settlement prospered amnzinglv, and Beatrice, Seh., which had only "been n town "on paper," became n thriving village in reality. Among tho farmers who came to set lie in this new country ws a Mr. Thompson and his family. They had formerly lived in Iowa, ou tho Bie Sioux River, six miles from Sioux City; but, not prospering there, they sought to better their condition bv moving to .Nebraska, and selected the Big Blue as lie place of their future home. Mr. Thompson's family consisted of his wife, his dnttghter Mury, a sweet girl of sixteen, nnd an old man who had spent the best part of his life ia t e service of the family, and, now that lie was old, was retained for tVe good he had done, nnd that Le might have a home in his Seeliuing years. At ono time Mr. T. had been well off in the world.but unfor tunate speculations in Western lands had rniued him, and, at tho time of which I speak, he had little left beside a few horses;, a wagon or two, nnd a dozen head of cattle. Near to where Mr. Thompson had settled ou the Blue lived a wild young Juan, who had won for himself the name of " the Wild Trapper of tho Blue." He lived all alone on the head-waters of n little creek, and was rarely Been ex cept when he came, once in every two or three months, to the traders to ex change his furs and skins for flour, ta bneco, matches, coffee, and such other articles ns he needed. Ou these occa sions, after having made his purchases, he would lounge about tho traders for several days, drinking bad whisky, and quarreling wilh every one he could get to quarrel with him. When under the influence of whiskey, he would mount his horse, and, with two large navy re volvers in his belt, ride up and dowD the village, defying every ono to come out and tight him. For the slightest offence, either real or imagined, he would lire ot a man, and, if he had n grudgo against any one, that person's cattle or horses were sure soon after ward to be missing. It was more than hinted that he was the principal or accomplice in many ol the thefts, nnd, if he were so minded, could tell where most of tho valuable horses stolen from time to time on the Salt Lake stage road had gone. Yet such waB th reputation of this young desperado for courage and wickednes that no one cared to meddle with him, nnd wherever he went his society was tolerated rather than preferred. No ten men could have been induced to go to his ranche to search for stolen stock, and so the matter was allowed to rest every one blaming him with all sorts of crimes, but no one being able to swear the suspicions were correct. One eveninc, just as Mr. Thompson and his family were sitting down iu their humble cabin to n supper of corn bread and venison, a tall young man, mounted on a wiry pony, rode up. He was scarcely nineteen years of age, and ' wore the inevitable leggings and long frock of the Western hunters, fringed with buckskin. His face was brown as a nut, nnd, when he raised his broad brim of his slouch hat, his couutenance betrayed unmistakable signs of dissipa tion. Mr. Thompson politely invited the stranger to dismount and partake of their frugal meal, and, springing from his horse, he made haste to enter ; but when he saw Mary he drew back, blush ed, and would have mounted again, had not Mr. Thompson insisted upon his stopping long enough to eat something. It was not long before Mr. Thompson discovered from the conversation that his guest was none other than the famous young desperado of the Blue, and tho discovery wts attended with considerable anxiety and alarm. The quick eye of the hunter detected in an instant the alarm his presence had created, and, rising from the table be fore he Ltd finished Lie supper, he aid, with a dignified m'r : " I am indeed the Wild Trapper of the Blue, aud, like every one else, you think me bad ; but I am not bo bad as they say. Oh !" he added, after a moment's pause, "if some one in the world would only believe me good, I mipht beconio liko other men." Then, fixing his piercing eyes tn Mary, he gazed at her a full minute, and, tnrning o his heel, he left tho cabin without saying another word. The f Htnily, through the open doorway, saw him swing his lithe body across his pony, nnd gallop swiftly away over the prairie towards his cabin. From this visit Mr. Thompson nugured bad luck ; but, es day after day nnd week after week passed and they saw no more of him, they began to think they had dono the young man an injustice. True, they 'had often heard of him in the village, where he continued his drinking nnd fighting; but, although tho nearest way would have led him by Mr. Thompson's house, both in going nnd coming, he always crossed the prairie some miles above, and never cam near the place. Mr. Thompson, who had once been a kind husband, nn indulgent father, and it man of good habits, disappointed Vty repeated failures in business nnd vexed by poverty, had, of lute years, taken to drink, p-.a ho wns little bet ter than a Common drunkard. His wife nnd daughter had persuaded him to move from Iowa, hoping when his old associations were broken up, he weuld do better in Nebraska and make ! f '.ieir new home t. happy one. For a 1 HlllA tllf-ll nmot Bnnmiii it-ol,,a attorn ed about to be realized. The farm they had takeu up was a good one, the crops were nbnndant, and all seemed to promise a happy futuie. Mr. Thomp son had left off drinking entirely, and was ngain the kind nnd affectionate hnsbnud nnd father of firmer vears. i The happiness of this little family was uuijouinteii, when, in an evil hour, a cloud darkened the bright sunshine ol their rude cottage, nnd finally burst in fi destroying storm. A man named Cook opened a traveler's ranch, or hotel, near Mr. Thompson's ; and be tween this mau nnd the farmer there won subsisted the warmest friendship. Night after night Mr. Thompson would go to Cook's, and sit in the society ol bad men until the small hours of the morning. The wife and daughter, alarmed for his safety, redoubled their efforts to make It's home attractive, md resorted to every womanly device to keep him with them ; but, despite their exertions, he spent more than half Ins tim nt Cook's. For a long time ho resisted every temptation to drink ; but nt length the evil of keeping bad company became tppnrent, and one night Mr. Thompson came home to his family reeling drunk. His downward course was now rapid ; lie was drunk every day ; and to the vice of drinking he soon added that ol gambling. The land on which he lived was a homestead, and the title conld not be perfected for five years, so he could not gamble it away ; but, one by one, the horses, cattle, and farming im plements were put up and lost, until at last all that was left were two horses, a wagon nnd harness. Among the persons who visited Cook's was a person called Long Ned, a flashi ly dressed individual, nn ex-stage driver, a drunkard, a gambler, and an unprincipled scoundrel. Ned had won most of Mr. Thompson's stock nnd money, and was now waiting to finish tip his devilish work by taking the last thing the poor man had. Ho had not long to wait, for one evening Thompson, with his team nnd wagon, came ever to the ranch, and after sundry drinks had lieen taken Ned proposed to play for the team and wagon. At first Thomp son refused, saying it was all he had left, nnd he meant to keep that ; but a drink or two more nnd the exhibition by Ned of n hundred dollars in money .hanged his mind, nnd he sat down at the fatal table ; he was so sure he could win this time, nnd then Ned said he only wished he would, for he want-.d to sea Mr. Thompson get back some of his property. In one hour the last horse was gone, and Mr. Thompson rose from his chair md staggered to the wall, where he stood with his head hanging upon his breast, pondering his misfortunes, and realizing at last tlmt he and his family were penniless, and he had not even the means of getting home. Ned came up, md, slapping the farmer familiarly on the shoulder, said: " Come, cheer up, old fellow, nnd let ns take a drink." Thompson moved mechanicidly to the bar, nnd, filling his glass to the brim, Irauk it off. Again und again he drank, tnd at each swallow of the vile stuff seemed to grow more desperate. H vas now maudlin drunk, nud Ned led his victim to one side, nnd said he had long wanted a wife, nnd as Mary wns a ine girl he wou'd like to marry her. Re reallysympatliized with Mr. Thomp son in his losses ; aud as it was the cus tom in new settlements for men to buy their wives from the Indiaus, he would put up all he had won of Mr. Thompson against Mary. At first the farmer was shocked and surprised ; but the more he thought of it, the more reasonable Ned's proposition seemed to be, and after another glass he sat down and staked his own daughter on a hand of cards. Ned won, anil the farmer burst into tenrs. The gambler made light of the matter, and assured him, if he had lost a daughter, he had won r, son-in-law. Again nnd ngnin they drauk, and, Ned culling for a bottle of whisky, the two got into the wagon aud started for the farmer's house. On the road, Thompson drank heavily from the bot tle, so that, when they arrived at the farm, the farmer was so drunk that he had to be helped out of the wagon. It was very late, but tho wife aud daughter were still up waiting for his return, and Mary was clad in a neat white muslin dress, which made her look charming. They were both much surprised to see a stranger with Mr. Thompson, but re ceived him kindly, thinking, no doubt, he had merely come to see Mr. T. safe homo. Ned turned out the team his team and then entered the cabin. He was a repulsive-looking fellow at best ; but, now that the night wind had puffed and flushed his bloated face, he looked per fectly hideous. Fixing hit bleared eyes ou Mary, he stared the girl out of coun tenance, and caused her to blush and turn away. Wherever she went Ned followed her with his ferret eyes, until the girl became so nervous and uneasy she went into the room and waked up tho old man. When she returned to the outer room, she found her mother had fallen into a swoon, and her father, who had been asleep in the chair, wos now sitting np, apparently quite sober, and talking to Ned. Mary ran to her mother, nnd, raising her in her arms, plaocd her upon the bed, where she sprinkled water in her fneo until fhc recovered, nud began to sob bitterly. Her father now called her te his side, and said : "Mary, we have lost everything; this gevtleman hns won nil, and he wants yon for his wife. I have promised him your hand. Oo to him." The surprised nud confused girl ran to her mother ; but Ned called to her, in a rough voice ; " Come hero to me, girl j you're now my little woman, and I want you." Scarcely knowiug what she did, with one bound she reached the door, and in a moment n.ore wns out in the dark night and flying across the prairie to ward the burn. She heard her father call to her to come back, and then hal loo to Ned to run round the house while he went to the barn. Mary had intend ed to take her pony from the barn ond ride she knew not whither ; but, hear ing her father's voice close behind her, she slipped out of the stable by a back door and ran across the prairie. For an hour she ran on, and then sank down completely exhausted. Long and bitterly she wept, lying prone upon the cold, (lamp ground. Then, startled by the howl of a wolf, she sprang up and tried to think. Where should she go ? What Bhould she do ? It was not far to the river, Bnd she would cast herself in, and beneath its dark waters end her 'roubles. Arrived upon the bank, she stands liko a statne, gazing down at the gurgling flood, ner purpose is firm ; one plunge, and all will be over. But hark ! what noise is that ? It is the dip of paddles ; and, as Mary stands on the very brink of the river, iu tho light of the new riseu moon, a conoe, with fur Indians in it, round the bend of the stream within a few rods of her. Why does the warrior in the bow of the boat rise, nud, with a gesture, impose silence I on his comrades ? He believes this j white nnd Etata2-like figure is no hu j man being, and even the oars ceaso to I lip while the boat floats silently by and ! cho savages pass on their way to the settlement to steal stock. Mary had stood perfectly still, little ! caring what became of her ; but the sight of the Indians had changed her purpose, and no sooner had they passed than she hastened from the river. As she turned about, a great gray wolf rose t'rom the grass within a few feet of her, md slunk nway with nn angry growl, while a night-owl, perched on the limb of a tree over her head, flapped his ireat wings and uttered dismal cries as he flew affrighted np the river. Mary had been thinking for tho past few minutes of " the Wild Trapper of the Blue," and she had now determined to go to him. She knew she was not far from his cabin, and why should she not go and claim his protection ? Per haps he was not bad ; indeed, she had always believed he was not so wicked us they had represented him to be. The night nir was chilly, but she felt net the cold, for her blood was full of fever. The wind tossed her brown hair rtfouud so that she took her shawl and put it over her head, and then ran briskly along the trail. In an hour she neared the fierce hunter's cabin, nud her heart beat wildly ns she knocked upon tho door. Again and again she kuocked, but still no response, nnd then she went to tho little window and peered into the cabin. She listened but nil was dark and silent within. Returning to tho door she wrapped louder than before, and a voice whis pered through the key-holo : " Who is it ?" For a moment she knew not what to say, then, summoning courage, she replied : "It is I Mary Thompson who wants you to protect me." Cautiously the door was opened, aud the hunter looked out and stared at Mary, to whom he said ; "I thought it was Indians or Regula tors ; but come in, girl, aud I beg pnr iion for having kept you out in the cold jo long." Then he lit a pine-knot, and, handing Mary a chair, drew out his sharp jack knife aud whittled some shavings to kindle a fire. There was soon a bright blaze roaring on the hearth, and, with all the politeness of a courtier, he mov ed up Mary's stool and bade her sit close to the burning embers. " I heard you," he said, " even be fore you knocked, for my ears have be come somewhat practiced to the sound of approaching footsteps ; but I could not make you out. When I saw your head at tho window with that shawl over it, I thongkt it was a squaw's head," he added, laughing, and after a moment's pause, inquired, " Any In dians down your way ?" Mary simply said " No," and he pressed her no further. The kettle was boiling, and he mnde a cup of tea aud gave it to her to drink. Then he said: " Now, young lady, I know not what brings you here at this time of sight, nor do I wish to know ; but something dreadful must have happened to cause any one to claim protection from the Wild Trapper of the Blue, and, above all others, a young girl. There 1 There!' he added, seeing Mary was about to speak, "don't say a word, but just lie down on that bed and take a good sound slee;, while I go outside and keep watch over the house. You can shut the door and bolt it after me, if you wish," taking his gun, "but you need not Le afraid, Mary, for I would not harm a hair of your head ; and, as for others harming you while you are under my protection, they must flrnt cross the dead hody of the Wild lixa ter. Now, don't fret, girl, but sleep as soundly as if you were at home and happy ; and, mind you, don't cry and trouble, or you'll be having a spell of sickness in the morning after this night tiip, and I can tell yoa I'm a mighty Eoor nurse," he said, closing the door ehind lam, and laughing heartily out side. Was this, indeed,' the Wild Hunter of the Blue, about whom such terrible tales were told, and in whom there was nothing but wickedness ? Mary thought she had never met a more polite or gen tlemanly person ; somehow her fears had all disappeared, and she felt singu larly safe ud happy. .She did not lock the door, for she felt not the slightest uneasiness ; but she peeped from a little window, nnd saw the tall hunter, with his gun across his shoulder, walk ing tip and down before the cabin like a sentinel, nnd then sho laid down on tho bod, and soon fell into a deep sleep. Neil morning when Bhe nwoke the sun wns shining brightly, nnd, springing up, for she had not removed any of her clothing, she ran to the little window nu'd looked out. There was the hunter Eacing up and down, just as be had een doing the night before. " How polite in him," thought Mary, "not to disturb me j and how considerate of my comfort and safety ho has been ever since I entered his humble abode." She made haste to open the door, and the hunter bade her good morning, and hoped she had rested well. Then he made up the fire, nnd, bringing Mary some water in a basin, with n comb nnd brush, said he would cook the break fast while she made her toilet. To this Mary objected, saying she would do the cooking herself j and, as soon an her simple toilet was made, set about the work. The hunter brought the things for her to cook, peeled the potatoes, and showed her where everything lie had was kept. Every few minutes he would burst out laughing, nnd say, " How funny to have n woman to cook forme!" Mary's heart wns heavy, aud she was 4 constantly thinking or tier motner at home, and wondering where they thonght she was ; but her position was so novel for a young girl, and her com panion so cheerful, that she could not help blushing, aud nt times, despite her troubles, her small, steel gray eyes would sparkle with mirth. When they sat dowu to breakfast, the hunter thought he had never seen so charming a crea ture as Mary, and somehow she never seemed to mind the great Wrown eyes constantly fixed upon her. Strange she should not be afraid, for she was alone with the most desperate man of the Went ; but, so far from fearing him, she thoroughly believed ho was her best friend and protector. After breakfast she told the hunter her tale, and again claimed his protec tion. He listened respectfully and at tentively, and, when she had done, said : "So you thought you could trust mo?" " I did." replied Mary, while the hot blood rushed to her temples. For a moment the muscles in the face of the hunter worked convulsively, and, nsirg, he went to a small cupboard nnd took from it two daguerrotypes the oue of a young girl, ond the other of a middle-aged woman. Opening them and placing them in Mary's lap, while tear dimmed his eye, he said : " These are tho pictures o: my clear mother nnd darling sister, and I swear to you by them I will always be to you as a brother." Mary held out her hand, and as he grasped it, two hearts met in that clasp, never to be divided again on earth. The linn ter told Murv she must CO back nt once to her mother, and, now she had placed herself under his pro- tection, she need not fear Long Ned or j any one else, i' lacing ner on ins pony, ho walked by her side and led the little brute, who, not being use I to such a burden, was disnosed to be a little vi cious. Carelully and tenderly, as if she were an infant, he guarded her until they came to her father's house, where they had scarcely arrived when that most startling of all cries on tho border, " Indians I" was heard, and. a man dashed up to say that the settlement below had been attacked nnd nil of Long Ned's stock stolen. Waiting to hear no more, Long Ned, who was still at the farm, leaped upon apony and dash ed nway across the prairie. Placing Mary in thearmsof her moth er, the Wild Hunter left her to tell her own tale, and rapidly followed Ned. The Indians were driven off and alt the stock recovered, but Long Ned did not re turn. Some said he was killed by the savages; others, Jhut the Wild Hunter shot him; but, be that as it may, be was deed, and no one seemed to earo by whose hand he had fallen. Nearly all the recaptured stock had once belonged to Mr. Thompsou, and Ned being dead, the Wild Hunter took it upon himself to return it to the farmer, saying he was Ned's heir; a decision no one ob jected to. What was most Burprisiiiar, however, was the fact that the Wild Hunter did not drink any more or quar rel with any one. When pressed f.ir an explanation, he simply replied: " 1 have quit that sort of thing." Little more remains to bo teld of this true tale of boarder life, and it may be summed up in these words. Scon after the Indian raid there was a wedding at Mr. Thompson's, and the farmer, influ enced by his new son-in-law, stopped drinking nnd became a prosperous and useful citizen. If ever you visit the Big Blue, just above Mr. Thompson's place, you will find a neat farm-house, aud in it a brown-haired, happy-faced woman, with four little curly-headed children playing about her knee. The owner of this farm is a quiet, orderly, well-to-do man; and, if you will wait until he comes home from the fields, you will recognize in him none other than "The Wild Hunter of the Blue."--General James T. JlrUbin. Large Cities. Philadelphia is tVe twelfth city of the world in the number of its inhabitants, and the first in the number of conven iences, which it offers to all classes of working people. The population of London is estimated at 3,252,000 ; of Paris, 1,684,000 ; of Pekin, 1,613.000 ; of Jeddo, 1.551,000 ; of Canton, 1,230, 000; of Constantinople, 1,075,000 ; of Calcutta 1,000,000 ; of New York, 0i2, 292 ; of Berlin, 828,000 ; of Vienna, 825,000 ; of Bombay, 816,000 ; and of Philadelphia, 674,022. Of the thirty five cities of the world having over 300,000 inhabitants, six are in China, five in the United States, vie., New York. Philadelphia, Brooklyn, St. Louis and Chicago, five in Great Britain, four in India, three in France, three in Japan, and one each in Turkey, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Siam, Brazil, Spain and Egypt. Poor Jack's Tribulations. A NhnUil t'rew from Mew Vnrlt, Cniupnieil of TnMnra, llnrltrri, Nlin mntser. Carjiriitcrti, aim! Grocers, J)uIiik Duty llefore Ilia Mast, An issue of tho Han Francisco Attn contains tho following, whieh should, be immediately investigated bv tho proper authorities: The ship lUltic, from Now York, arrived in port with n crew of lnndlnbbers in the forecastlo and a grateful captain on tho quarter deck. The Baltic left New York for 3an Francisco, with a fair prospect of reaching any point but the place of destination. Her crew was composed f material foreign to the ocean. Some could manipulate the shears nnd goose, others the jack plane, others tho awl and lapstone, others conld package tea and sugar in papers to suit, nnd others still could exercise the diplomacy of distinguished statesmen to effect the sale of a yard of calico. A yard of counter would suit them better than a mile of bowline. The "captain of the Baltic had, among his tars, tinkers, tnilors, barbers, brewers, bakers, cob blers, carpenters, brouge maker?, clerks nud greengrocers. Therrt is nt present ft fierce struggle waged in New York between the Ship- fiing Commissioner nnd the sailor land ords. They are each striving to obtain the mastery. The landlords want Jack's money, nnd Uncle Sam wants to pro tect him iu his rights. The captains and consignees, or many of them, favor tho landlords benause they profit, by it, and it often happens that a captain is giad t get a crew from any sonrce. The captain of the Baltic was treated to a crew outside the Shipping Com missioner's oflic, every one of whom was shanghned. But the captain proyed to be an exception to the average of his class. He is a humane mau, who saw what he had to deal with nnd measured his conduct accordingly. He did not himself ill-treat or ubuso his men or permit any of his officers to do so. He taught them without the appli cation of belaying pins. When the drowsy creatures awoke from the stupor into which they had been thrown by the drugs administered to them by the landlords their surprise can be imagi ned. They were nt sea ; they were on a new territory, of which the captain was king, and from which there was no side door or means of escape. It was not necessary to tell the captain their story ; he knew and appreciated it. When the. Baltio entered port the facts about the shipping of the crew' became known, nnd, like sensible fel lows, the shanghaed are now lopking arouud them for damages. They have made complaint to the United States Attorney, and Mr. Morrow has their case now iu hand. That shanghaing is a crime there can be no doubt, but this is not the question which enters most deeply into tho case. Its de velopments will attract general interest, as it is one of vast importance to com merce. If the captain of a ship who takes on board n shanghaed crew iu New York cau.be punished nnd held for civil damages upon his arrival here we will have less shanghaed crews and fewer acts of cruelty to record. East River Bridge. Both towers of the East River Bridge are now finished to the roadway that is, up 119 feet above renn high water mark but in the contra of the main there will bo a rise of 16 feet, making the height 135 feet above high water mark. On the Brooklyn side tho three columus standing on the tower are complete up to the point of turning the arches, nnd several courses of masonry have been laid above this point. These columns ruu 48 feet upward. The two corner ones are 21 feet wide ; the centre ono is 15 feet 6 inches wide. The two open spuces on a Hue with the roadway are each 33 feet 9 inches wide, while the entire width of the bridge is 85 feet, lhe arches now iu progress will measure 3o feet from npex to top of column, and above this will be an ad ditional structure, through which the cables nre to pass, including an eleva tion of 12 feet to form cornices and balustrades, making the total height above lngt water 280 feet. The excava tions for the Brooklyn approach have been going oil for some time. Six courses of masonry nre already laid, bringing the work" up to the hurfacc ground. The heavy anchor plates nnd oue set of bars for attaching the cables are already m position on James street, at. a point Vtl leet Irani the tower. The New York approach, like tke Brooklyn one, will be 1C0 feet wide. It will begin near the City Hull and be continued to Franklin square, where one end of the cable is to be anchored. brotn the City Hall to the towtr is 1,502 feet, or three tenths of a mile. The astjent and desoent will be gradual aud easy to pedestrians on both Bides. It is understood, that when a portion starts for a trip from New York to Brooklyn, the matter of mounting 119 feet over buildings and above tho mast of ships will hardly be felt, while the descent will be equally gentle hardly perceptible. Pay as You Oo. Southern papers are decanting on the ruin sure to follow getting iu debt to carry on farming operations. One far mer who stopped giving and asking credit, a few years ago, records it as his experience that he can now buy more than he ever bought before, and sell more. The ease is mentioned of the French, who never go in debt, and who, having been saving money since the days of the first Napoleon, have become the richest nation in the world,- which seems proved by the fact that the Ger man indemnity of a thousand millions of dollars which they were obliged to pay has been all discharged in two years, while we here have been strug gling for eight years with twice as much. Perhaps the wealth, of the French farmers arises as: ranch from the small-farm system and tho high cultivation they give the soil. There is a vast difference between farming in a Joose way and having all work done in the best manner. The papulation of London is given in tho eensus report at S,2ol,zbU. A Strwrifle with a Derll Fish. Mr. Cbnrled B. Brainerd, of Boston, in writing to tin tir.lnntijln Amrrif.un about speoimcnil of the devil llah, re late this intercut! rig incident: Tho strength which these creatures possess is nl most beyond off! prehen sion, nn Is evifieed by what took plar? when my pet (') was captured. Ho had pcizod hold of a siili-timrinn diver, at work iu tho wrerk of nsur.k-n p.iitti' T off tho cowt of Florida. The man was a powerful Jritdirnari. who claimed to weigh ;j')0 pounds. His size nnd build fully verified his statement, and, to use his own language, "tho baste Ian-led on top of my shoulders and pinned my arms tight. I felt my armor Bnd my self being cracked into a jelly." It seems that he was just about being brought to the surface, else the monster would have killed h:m, for he was suf fering so from the terrible embrace that he tould move no part of himself. When dragged on to the raft from which he had descended, and finally released, he had fainted. The men on the raft seized the fish by ono of its wriggling arms and tiied to pull it off, but could not break the power of a single one of the suckers. The fish was only re moved by being dealt ft heavy blow across the sack containing the stomach. This sack stood stiffly up above the ... .. . . .l-i. ti eyes, while the eyes stood oui like mu sters eyes and gleamed like nre. ine monster is, all m all, one ot tno most frightful apparitious it cou'd be the fate of man to meet. It fulfills in every par ticular the horrible features attributed to it in Victor Hugo's " Toilers of the 3ea." Notwithstanding the severity with which the able Frenchman has been criticised for "creating a nonde script with his weird imagination," the truth must be granted that his "nonde script" litis nn actual existence, as is evidenced by the specimens in Brighton and Hamburg, as well as my own. Caring for ft Passenger. A well-known Philadelphia!! went Pittsburgh, a few days ago, and when he entered the sleeping car the thought struck him that he mightget to walking about during the night while asleep, as he was something of a somnambulist, and walk off the platform iuto a better world. So he went to tho brakeman nnd gave him a dollar, with strict, instruc tions thatif he saw him walking nround the car in his sleep, to seize him nnd force him back nt nil hazards. Thmi Hie Philadelphian turned in, nnd soon his reverberating snore echoed the screech of the locomotive. About two o'clock Loomis awoke, and as tho nir of the car seemed stifling, he determined to go on the platform tor a fresh breath or two. Just as he got to the door the brnke- mau saw him, grasped him, nnd held him down. When tho J.'hilude!piiian recovered his breath, he indignantly exclaimed. "What do you mean '? Let me up, I tell you; I am as wide awake as you are. liuc tho brakeman put an other knee on his breast, aud insisted that the man was nsleep, and tueu he called another brakeman, aud alter terrific struggle, during which the un fortunate received bumps and blows nuumerablo, the railroad man lammed him into a berth, put a trunk and eight caroet-baas ou him. aud then sat on him to hold him down until morning. The rst thing the Philadelphian asked f.r when he arrived in 1'ittsburgh was a respectable hospital where they cured tho temporarily insane. He thinks his reason was partially dethroned by his efforts to comprehend how that brake- man could have the face to ask for an other dollar because of the trouble he gave him during the night. Reporting Extraordinary. Queer things happen in newspaper ofliijes. Recently u brother journalist in a suburban town, with a flourishing weekly oa his hands, was obliged to send a young aud inexperienced report er to a gathering where there was some wine, many pretty women and a songor two. The reporter had an hour or twi in which to write up his account, nnd he asked our editorial friend what he should say about the music. " Oh, was the reply, " say Miss B. sang with tenderness, Miss C. played with bril liancy, Mr. X. sang with tire nnd some thing of that sort, und make a few com parisons, you know. That reporte was discharged the very next moruing, A portion of his notice read as follows " Miss B. Bang very tenderly, as tender as young spring Jamb with miutsauce, ..vc. "iUiNsi;. played as brilliant as bunch of fire-crackers on a dark night, or as brilliant as a meteoric shower. &c. " Mr. X. sang with so much fire that he burned up three sheetsof niusie aud set the parlor curtains all ablaze." Albany Journal. Ostrich Hatching. We learn from a Grahauistown (Cape Colony) paper that ostrich hatchiug by artificial means is successfully carried on at Hilton, in the colony. The edi tor says: " We saw the incubator, aud in it forty-five eggs, in the process of hatching. This operation is now per formed to almost perfection, quite equal to anything the parent birds can do themselves, even supposing they are unmolested aud escape all kinds of ac cidents to which they are exposed. Out of the forty -five eggs we saw, we may safely couclude forty-two would pro duce live ind healthy chicks. The re sults now, of several batches, are four teen out ot fifteen to be hatched; and Mr. Douglass seems pretty sanguine that he shall presently batch all the eggs placed in the iuenbator." There are one hundred and fifty-five ostriches at Hilton, of which seventy-five are this year a chickens. A Scalp Saved. A. B. Meaeham has been lecturing in San Francisco on the Modocs, and in narrating the circumstances attending the assassination of Ueneral Canby.and his own escape, said, " Boston began to take my scalp with a blunt knife ; but Toby interposed with devices to delay the operation, and when at length he had raised five or six inches of skin on the left side of my head, Toby, woman like, accomplished by strategy whut eould not be done otherwise. She shouted, ' Soldiers ! soldiers 1 and Boston left his work unfinished I" Facts and Fanclp?. An Iowa farmer committed suicide because his sheep failed to gat the first premium at a fair. In Ceylon, the marriage ceremony Is performed by tying thocoup'e together by tho thnmbs. In this country they are nsnally put together by the cars. A dejeeted Danbnry man nnnounced to a coup!" of friends that "the panii wan playing tho mischief with nil branches of business; he never got n flsh yesterday." The defence in the Stokes ense, now being tried for the third time.clmm thnt Stokes shot Fisk in self-defence, clid not intend to kill him, and probably did not kill him. An uncle left in his will eleven silver spoons to his nephew, adding, " If I have not left Him llie dozen, no it ' the reason." The fact was the nephew had some timo before stolen it. A enrion formation, consisting of what appears to bo a petrified tif.n noons eighteen inches long and fonr inebes wide in the centre, was found in npieco of sandstono a few days ngo at Jackson, Mich. TT,i(T.lMn nnil eow hido bngs hold ten times as much corn ns canvas bngs do, nnd cost onlv about one-tenth ns much to get to market, Tho corn should bo put into the bairs before the bkini nro taken off the animals. A suit has been commenced against Mobile savings bank, to test tho alidity of a charter provision thnt tho trustees may require from tlie oepoM tor a notice of sixty dnys previous to the withdrawal of his funds. Tn tho unval battle off Cartagena be tween the Spanish r.d insurgent forces, thirteen men were killed nnd forty-sven wounded on the rebel fleet.. o or Maver. a member of the Junta, was killed on board the Numancia. Tl.o Tiewsnnners throughout the r ew England States reportnn unusual num ber of instances where fruit trees have put forth flowers for the second time this season, nnd in many cases Recond crops of fruit have been gathered. The Swedish colony in Mune is pros- 11 LI pering. Tins year Miey guvut-r . u in vest of 1.000 neres of crops. There nro nbont 600 Swedes i New Sweden, nnd 1.400 in the State. There have been 75 births nud 25 deaths among them the past year. A New Bedford man bung Ins vest on the pig-fence, and iu less than fmr minutes the hoggish ocenpnnts of tho enclosure were angrily grunting over the division of the 8103 in green backs that they found in one of tho pockets. All but $10, however, was re covered. Letters from Pekin stnte thnt nn edict had appeared, stating tnat thirty- seven villages had been swept away in the Province of Shnnsee by the waters of the Yung Tino River and its branch es having bnrst their banks, nnd thnt a great amount ot numan ine iiuu uecu lost by the floods. A mistake lecturers and other per formers placing the price of tickets at what they think their enTenainmema nre worth, instead of at sums the peo ple are willing to pay. The difference between n dollar and n naii-nnum- oneu decides whether a hall shall be a quar ter or three-quarters occupied. The Society of the Army of tho Tennessee nt a business meeting re elected General Sherman President for tho ensuing vear : General John A Lio. (ran. First Vice-President ; Colonel L. M. Dayton. Recording Secretary ; Gen eral A. nickenlooper, Correponiling Secretary ; and General L. II. F:rce, Treasurer. San Diego, Cal, is sadly iu need of n Bergh. A favorite pastime there at present is to place a mouse and a tar antula in a large bottle and let them fight it out. A combat of this descrip tion, in which the spider, after a severe contest, succumbed to the mouse, is narrated in true prize-ring fctyle by a San Diego paper. " O," gasped fat Mrs. Weighty, ns she ascended the stairs of her new resi dence, "I really cannot run np nny mord stairs." "Of course not," nuswer ed her husband; "but if the stair were made of dressmakers' bills, yon could run them up very casilv." " I detest puiis," exclaimed Mrs. Weighty, tho next day, recouutiug tho couver; a tiou to a friend. Those city farmers who were organ ized into n'Grange of tho Patrons of Hnsbaudry in Boston seem likely to cive the order a Rood deal of annoyncce. Thev prove to bo made up cbietly ol grain speenlators, and the " grangers " are suspicious that, their interests will not oe identical wuu unwo ui mo in ducers, but they have all the sigus und pass-words and refuse to uisiiaim. For a long time in tl e SouHi, and now particularly, railroad t'.ekets have been and are used as currency. Two hundred thousand dollars worth of these are in circulation in Georgia. Each one entitles the holder to so many miles of travel, oris taken in pay meiit for a corresponding qu mtity of freight. These bi Is are received by the roads in liquidation ot ail tueir claims. French suicides continue to present strange features. A young stib-lieu-tenant of cavalry in Paris recently in vited a youug girl whom he casual' y met on the streets to ride with him in the Bois de Boulogue. Returning to the city he ordered a lavish supper, with wines, of which he and' his com panion partook. Then ' he completed his day's spree by blowing out his brains. Neither the girl nor anyone else knew his name, nor wns there n sou in his pocket to pay his restaurant bill. In a recent work on Epidemic or Malignant Cholera it is stated that the poison which causes the disease -consists of certain microsoopio fungi winch, being received into the system, propa gate their kind. It is believed by some that this fungus takes its origin on the banks of the Ganges, and that, it is pro duced upon the rice plant. There are many facts in favor of this suouoiition. although it has not gained universal ac ceptance with medical men. Bat it is certain that epidemio cholera never arose spontaneously ia any country but Hindostan,
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers