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,