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HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
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VOL. V. lUDGrAYET,K COUNTY, PA,, TIIUIISDAyTIAY 20, 1875, NO. 13.
Co rrofundls.
All desolate am I to-night,
And great o'ershadowing portents fall
Across my stricken soul. The light
Fades from out my life, Aud all
The memories of my earlior years
Wake mournful echoes in my heart.
Unfeuled, the fountain of my tears
Wells np, and from mine eyelids start
The bitter drops of penitential woe.
So be it. I will bless them as tlioy flow.
Grim solitude broods o'er me here,
And gnardx my door with muffled tread.
The city s din falls faintly on mine ear,
Aud night and silence wide their mantles
spread
O'er sleeping nature. Thus I sit.
Darkness outward, within a deeper gloom,
" Thy life, oh, man ! How reckoncst thou
it?"
Speaks to my soul a voice, as from the
tomb.
To that dread query at the final day ,
AVhat answer shall be mine? What cau I
say?
And yet not utterly in vain, I foel,
My vanished yeara on eaith have passed j
To some good deeds I justly may appeal
To be my faithful witnesses at last.
Some pious thoughts, eome bumble prayers,
Some earnest struggles for the right
Havo marked my life some groans and
tears
Some seeking after truth and light.
Aud these, though few, alas ! they be,
I meekly trust will plead for me.
Tor God is merciful, though just,
Kind, though mysterious in His way,
If we Hih creatures of the dust
Have faith, though weak, He will not slay.
No tyrant "He that dwellcth upon high,"
In Him no cruel vengeance livos,
He is the Father, who with pitying eye,
Sees all our faults, and pitying, forgives.
So may I, Father, not through fear, but love,
With all Thy children, rest with Thie above.
SOT ALL BAD.
"I've been a good deal about the
world in my time," said Capt. W., strok
ing his gray beard with hi3 big brown
hnnd, "and I've seed a lot of rough cus
tomers ; but it's my opinion that the
very worst of 'em all's got some good iu
'cm, if you'll only take the trouble to
look for it, and that, let n fellow be ever
so black, he s not all bad. lou don't
agree with me ? Well, I'll just tell you
a story.
It's about eight or nine years ago now
aforo ever this Suez canal as we cum
through yesterday was made tl.nt I was
the first mate of a steamer plying from
Suez to Djoddah (tho port of Mecca, you
know) carrying government stores and
fighting tackle for tho Turks ; for of
course there was n row going on among
the Arabs of the Hod j as, as it seems to
mo there always is. I'd a precious rough
lot for a crew that voyage all odds and
ends, like au Irish stew Greeks, Mal
tese, Dalmatians, and what not.
Most of these men o' mine was too
thick-headed to be up to much mischief,
aud I managed to get 'em along pretty
well on the wholo. Preachiu' at 'em
warn't much good, but when I talked to
'em with a handspike or a bit o' two-inch
rope, they understood that well enough.
But tho worst of the whole lot was a
Dalmatian, named Spiro. To give him
his due, he was a fust-chop sailor, like
most of hii sort ; for Dematia's a kind o'
nursery of seamen for Austria, just like
Finland for Russia. But that was all
tho good there was to be said for him,
for a more vicious, bloodthirsty dog
. never breathed. In the parts where he
cum from, they take to blood as natural
ly as a sailor to grog ; and he was just
like all the rest of 'em never happy un
less he was in a row with somebody.
Now, I may say, without bragging,
that I've a pretty sharp eye for the cut
of a man's jib 'specially when he's a
going to sail with me; and this fellow
Spiro hadn't been aboard two days afore
I'd picked him out as an ugly customer.
Ho was pretty smart iu picking me out,
too, as a chap what wouldn't stand no
nonsense; and so it warn't long afore
we got to eyeing each other, him and
me, like two strange dogs making up
for a light. But a week after we'd sailed
on our lirst cruise, as wo was a lyin' in
Djeddah harbor, this chap, Spiro, was
rayther slow over somethiu' I'd told him
to do, and I'd began holleriu' at him,
whon what does he do but turn round
and cheek mo like another, right to my
very face. I don't take cheek very
kindly, that's a fact; and, besides, 1
was reg'lar mad at having all the work
shoved on to me his way; so I jist up
fist and let him 'have it between his
eyes, knocking him right to t'other side
of the deck. It was more'n a niinuto
afore ho knew where he was; but when
ho cum too, he just gave me a wicked
look out of the corner of his eye, and
hobbled down below. The minute he
was gone, up came my chum, Bill Bar
low, the engineer (who had seed the
whole thing), and says to me :
".Tom," says he, "now you've done
that, you'd better shoot that 'ero feller
right oft'; if you don't your life ain't
worth that."
"Well, Bill," eays I, "I'm pretty
much of that way o' thinkin' myself;
but still I don't like killin' a feller iu
cold blood, somehow. Let's wait till he
does summit, and thon we'll let him
know."
But Bill's words stuck in my head,
and they stuck in it a trifle more two
nights after, when, just as we was a get
tin out o' the harbor, down comes a
block from the fore-rigging within an
inch of my head, and nearly knocked
my brains out. . There was more'n a
dozen of 'em up aloft at the time mak
ing soil, so o' course it micrht have been
a haccident; but when 1 seed Master
Spiro a coniin'down along with the rest,
Ihad my own thoughts 'bout who sent
me that 'ere sugar-plum.
. Well, the second day after that, just
as we was 'bout half way to Suez, Spiro
was on the taffrail coilin' down a rope,
when the ship gave a lurch, and his foot
elipped, aud overboard he went If it
, had been only that, it wouldn't have
" mattered a pin to him, for not u man on
beard could hold a candle to him at
swimming; but, d'ye see, he fell some
how flat-ways, and cum sich a lick upon
the water, that it reg'lar stunned him,
and he lay out on the water as limp as a
wet rag.
Well, I happened to be the nearest, io
I sang out: "Stop her t" and jumped
after him, and collared him just as ha
was Binking the second time. But what
witl his weight aud tho rough sea, I had
to do all I knew to keep afloat; and by
the time they picked us up I'd 6w.il
lowed more salt water than all the grog
on board could ha' put away tho taste of.
Well, Spiro was put into his hammock
and kep' warm, but it was next morning
afore lie cum straight again. The first
thiug he nxed was, who saved him? And
when thoy told him it was me, he just
stared for a minute without savin' nuth
in', and then flew up the ladder like a
oat, came rushing up to where I was
standing, and threw himself down on his
knees, and took mv hand and kissod it,
and cried like a child.
I cum procious nearpipiu' my eye too,
I can tell ye, to soo so much uatural
gratitude in a great hulkiu' cut-throat
like him. But the next minute he got
up nnd stood afore me, as tall and grand
ns a king, aud looks mo right in the face
and says:
"Capitano" (he always called mo
that); "capitnno, you know all. You
'member dot block fall at your head de
odor night? I trowed it; and when it
no kill you, I tiuk kill you wid dis knife.
See, you take de knife, drive it into my
heart so " (he gave me the knife, and
stripped open his shin); "you hab re
vengo, and all done !"
Talk of a play 1 the way the feller said
that aud the way ho stood waitin' for
the blow, never movin' a muscle, beat
all tho plaj's that ever was. I said
within for a minute I couldn't ha'
spoke to save my life and then I flung
the knife down on tho deck, and says to
mm:
"I won't touch a hnir o' your head,
my bravo fellow only you be a good
boy, ami don t let s nave any more non
sense 1"
He gave my hand a grip that made it
ache for a whole day after, and away he
went ; ana there (as I thought) was au
end of that. But it warn't an end of it,
neither.
'Bout a week after, we was lyiu' at
Suez, takin' in a cargo, aud had pretty
nign got it all aboard, when one arter
noon I took a thought (the weather bein'
thunderin' hot) that I might as well have
a bathe; and so I did as jolly a one as I
ever had yet. I was just thinkin', after
paddlm about for a quarter of an hour
or so, that it was about time to be com-
iu' out when all to ouco atwixst me aud
the ship, up rose a great, black, pointed
thing, that I knew directly for the back
fin of a shark.
I waru't 'zactly frightened there ain't
time for that in such scrapes; all the
fright comes after it's over I just felt
my breath go for a minute, as if some
body had hit me in the wind ; and then I
found myself wonderin' how the shark
'ud ketch hold o' me lengthways or
sideways, or with my head right into his
mouth. I saw him lurch round, in the
water, ready for a rush, with all his big
teeth grinnin' and then suddenly there
was a splash and a bubblin' and up rose
tho shark a' most upright iu the water,
wrigglin like a speared eel, and tho
clear water around him turned dark with
blood; and then something gripped me
by the shoulder, and I heard Spiro's
voice saying quite coolly: " All right,
capitano he no hurt you now 1"
Tho feller had actually dived under
the shark and cut a gash iu him as big
as the mouth of a letter-box, with the
very same knife as he'd been a-goin' to
kill me with.
The shark wasn't quite dead, but he
was too hard hit to go far, and after
they picked us up, they settled him and
hauled him aboard; and I've got a bit of
his backbone now, made into a walking-
stick.
Well, after that, Spiro and me was tho
greatest chums goin', and when tho poor
feller died of fever, about a year after, I
was as sorry as if it had been my own
brother. Just beforo ho died ho gave
me the knife, aud this it is hangin' round
my neclc now. bo you see, let a fuller
be as black as the mouth of tho funnel,
there may be good in him yet. And now
let's go up and see what kind o' a night
it is 'fore we turn in.
Ou a Fool's Trip.
Dr. J. Fav Brown was a crentleman
in New England, who, like many other
young doctors, was greatly iu want of a
wife and a little occupation. A young
lady was ready to supply the former,
and for the latter he turned his attention
to Egypt. Ho had heard that others of
his countrymen had gone into the ser
vice of tho Khedive, and he was ambi
tious to follow in their steps. He did
not attempt to conceal his hopes, and
one day he had tho good fortune, as he
deemed it, to meet with a Mr. Booth,
who had much interest with the Egyp
tian agent, and could procure an appoint
ment for the doctor without difficulty.
Brown snapped at tho chance in au in
stant, and almost as rapidly paid Booth
a hundred dollars for his proffered ser
vices, married tho lady of his choice,
went on to New York, where he remained
for three days, aud thou took passage
and sailed for Egypt. At last he reached
Cairo, where his commission was to be
forwarded to him. But that was all;
the commission did not come, aud pres
ently Dr. Fay Brown found tliat he had
been assisting iu a very clever swindle.
Of course, Mr. Booth and the hundred
dollars had long before gone out of sight;
and, although the doctor has gained a
wife and a pleasant sea voyage to Africa
by the transaction, he was not at all sat
isfied. But he blames the wrong man.
Booth is a swindler, doubtless; but if he
were not able to meet with men like Dr.
Brown, he would soon be obliged to
change his occupation.
Fully Satisfied.
A cranky bachelor in New Baltimore
has passed through the cold nights of
the winter with a jug of hot water at
his feet and a warming-pan strapped to
his buck. During the last cold snap his
servant filled the jug one night with
boiling water, corked it up tight, and
stowed it carefully at his master's feet;
but tho still scalding water generated
steam sufficient to expel the cork, and
the water gurgling out, parboiled the
sleeper's leg, furrowed his back with
blistering ridges, and woke him to
shrieks of piun. The careful servant
wrapped the injured man in cotton and
oil, but it is understood that cold feet
have been made a specialty in that house-bold.
THE BLACK FLAG.
Letter train tSrn. M. T. BcniirrHnrd Iti ln
llyfi to the Treatment of I'rUoiittr lur
lug the Wnr.
Gen. O. T. Beauregard, formerly of
the Confederate army, has written a let
ter to the Governor of Tennessee, rela
tive to tho question of hoisting tho black
flag during tho war. He says: After the
battle of the first MnnnRsn, when it was
reported that the Federal government
refused to recognize Confederate prison
ers as " prisoners of war," that Christian
hero and able soldier, General Thomas
J. (Stonewall) Jackson, and myself advo
cated that the Confederate government
should then proclaim a " war to tho
knife," neither asking nor granting
quarter. Wo, moreover, thought that
tho war would thereby come sooner to
au end, with less destruction, finally, of
life and property. We thought also tliot
such a mode of warfare would inspire
greater terror in the armed invaders of
our soil, and reduce greatly the number
of army followers, bummers, etc., who
were ever the curso of nil armed in
vasions. Subsequently, when tho Federals had
penetrated certain portions, of the South,
aud developed a system of warfare in
their operations iu Louisiana, Missis
sippi and Virginia, nnd the inexcusable
burning of Atlanta nnd Columbia, nnd
the destructive march of General Sher
man through Georgia and South Caro
lina, whose track was marked by smoking
ruins and blackened chimneys; to tho
suggestion of General Halleck to destroy
Charleston and sprinkle salt on its site
that not even grass should grow thereon,
to which Genoral Sherman replied that
no salt would bo needed, as one of his
most reliable corps formed the right
wing of his army, and that it always did
its work thoroughly; to the devastating
march of General Sheridan through the
Shenandoah valley, relative to which he
reported to the general-in-chief of tho
United States armies that "a crow flying
over the country would have to carry its
own rations;" but he did not say what
became of the old men, women and chil
dren who thon lived iu that fertile val
ley I With regard to tho mortality of
prisoners on both sides, the Washington
Union (radical) of October, 1808, con
tained the following article: "In reply
to a resolution of the House of Repre
sentatives calling upon the Secretary of
War for the number of prisoners of
either side held, and that died during
the war, he makes the following re
port: Number of Union prisoners South,
200,910; died, 22,590. Number of Con
federate prisoners North, 200,000; died,
2G, 435. That is, two of the former out
of every twenty-two aud two of tho latter
out of every fifteen."
Comment is here unnecessary, in view
of the condition and resources of those
two sections of country, so diametrically
opposed to tho one practiced by the Con
federates when they iuvaded Maryland
and Pennsylvania under their great com
mander, General R. E. Lee. When I
saw the emaciated forms and wretched
condition of our returned Southern pris
oners I again advocated the hoisting of
the black flag, willing at any time to for
feit my life in the deadly struggle. Not
withstanding these views, I always treat
ed my prisoners with humanity and
proper consideration. I had the fortune
of taking many thousands of theia at
Manassas, Shiloh, Charleston, Drury's
Bluff, Bermuda Hundreds and Peters
burg, most of whom are, I suppose, still
alive, aud can and certainly would testify
to the fact.
After tho fall of Fort Sumter, in April,
lfiOl, I granted to the garrison the same
considerate terms which I had offered
before the attack. Through my inter
cession tho Federal surgeons and minis
ters of the gospel taken at Manassas were
released, without exchange, by the Con
federate government. The day after
that battloeone of the Federal officers,
whoso friends I knew in New York, ap
plied to mo for a small loan for lumself
and friends, which I furnished at once
from my private funds. It was faithfully
returned.
Shortly after the battle of Shiloh I
sent, under a cartel, a certain number of
able-bodied Federal prisoners to Gen
eral Halleck, who, several weeks after,
returned an equal number of convales
cents from St. Louis to Fort Pillow.
The officer in command refused to re
ceive them, because several of them wero
just from a smallpox hospital. Gen
eral Halleck failed afterward to make
good the exchange.
At Charleston I authorized Admiral
Dahlgreu to send supplies of clothing,
etc., to the prisoners we had taken from
him. These supplies were scrupulously
issued to them.
At Bermuda Hundreds, in May, 1864,
when passing iu front of a large body
of Federal prisoners, who had gallantly
defended a position which I considered
indispensable to us, I took off my hat
to them, and they answered the saluta
tion with cheers.
Terribly as I desired the effects of the
war to fall n all armed invaders of our
country, I wanted exempted from them
the non-combatants that is, tho old
ineu, women and children, and wished
also that private property, not contra
band of war aud not needed by the con
tending armies in the field, should be
entirely protected from seizure or de
struction. Such would have been my
course had I penetrated with an army
into Federal territory, unless it were in
strict retaliation for material departures
by the Foderal forces from this civilized
mode of carrying on the war.
An old college professor used to say
that he would always assign a reason for
any official act of his. One day Jones,
who was a stupid fellow, went to him
and complained that in the distribution
of commencement honors, no oration
had been assigned for him to deliver,
and asked the professor what reason
there was why uo was not to speak.
"Scriptural reasons, sir," was the reply;
" there is no piece for the weak head "
(peace for the wicked).
The other day a beggar toiled up
stairs and asked for alms. ' " Oh, go
away ! A dozen people just like you
come up here every day asking for
money. " That may be, ' said the beg
gar as he sot down, " but none of them
had their whole family blown up ou a
steamboat, and I'll bet ten dollars on
it ! " His reasoning brousht him a shin-
plister,
A DETHOIT SEWIXG SOCIETY.
Iu Oraanlntlou nnd Its Unit nt tho Very
, ata.ru
It is a sad thing,' says the Free Press,
to ee ten or twolve women get together
and attempt to organize a "society to
aid the deserving poor." They tried in
Ninth avenue the other afternoon, nfter
having talked up' the mattor for three or
four weeks. Thirteen or fourteen of
them met by appointment, and after
some skirmishing one of the number
called the meeting to order and said that
the first duty would be to elect a presi
dent. A sharp-faced woman got up and said
that sho didn't want tho position, but if
it was tho wish of the meeting that sho
should take it, why, sho would. There
was a painful pause, and a fat woman
arose and said that she had had consid
erable experience with such societies,
and that she thought sho could render
greater personal aid if mado president.
There was another painful pause, aud a
little woman rose up aud squeaked :
" I move to lay the subject on the
table 1"
The other women looked at her in a
freezing way, and it was suggested that
a ballot be taken. All readily agreed
to this, and ballots were prepared and
a bonnet passed around. When the
votes were counted it was found that
each woman had put in at least one for
herself aud three of them had put in two
or three. Tho president pro (cm. look
ed very grave as she stood up and re
marked :
" Ladies, I trust that this error may
not occur again."
It did, however, or nt least each one
cast a vote for herself, but on tho third
ballot a choice was mado nnd the lucky
woman took her seat, smoothed out the
folds of her dress and remarked :
" Tho next tiling in order is tho the
next thing!"
A woman with a wart on her nose then
made a speech, saying that she had been
treasurer of several similar associations,
and that if it was the wish of the conven
tion she would accept the office. It
didn't seem to be the wish, however.
" I move to adjourn!" solemnly ex
claimed a woman with a large back
comb. "The motion is not in order," re
plied a woman across the room.
" Am I in the chair or are you," de
manded the president.
"I move to reconsider the motion !"
squeaked the little woman.
"I support tho question 1" put iu the
fat woman.
Tho president wiped her spectacles,
rapped on the stovepipe, and replied :
"Ladies and gentlemen, there is no
motion before the house, and the ques
tion to adjourn is out of order."
"Not much l'. exclaimed a woman
nearly six feet high, drawing herself up.
" I've seen more meetings of this kind
than the president ever hoard of, nnd I
know that an order to adjourn is always in
motion !"
" So is your tongue !" said some ono
on the lounge, and the president knocked
on the stovepipe and said :
The chair believes she knows her busi
ness as well us any woman wearing plated
jewelry, or as well as if sho had a wart
on her nose ! We will now proceed to
elect a secretary and treasurer. How
shall they bo elected ?"
" Viver voicer !" cried one.
" I motion by ballot !" added a
second.
" By esclamation !" shouted a third.
"You mean acclamation," explained
the president, looking at the last speaker.
"I don't wear an Alaska diamond,"
was the reply, " but I know as much as
some folks that do !"
"Less jouru !" shouted a fenialo who
was born in 1810.
" I move tho previous motion," put in
the fat woman.
" Will some one nominate a candi
date !" asked tho president.
A painful silence ensued.
The fall of a hairpin would have
sounded like a crowbar falling over on a
stove-boiler. Each hoped to have some
one else nominate her, and all, therefore,
breathed hard and kept silence.
" I nominate Mrs. ," finally said
the president, seeing there was a dead
lock. " You cau't nominate and put the mo
tion, too !" squeaked an old lady with
beau-catchers.
" I order the previous motion," said a
woman with a red shawl.
" And I'm going hum !" added the fat
woman.
"SoamI !"
"Soaml!"
" Soam I !"
And they stalked out, leaving the
president tying up her left shoe and her
eyes flashing wildcats.
Law aud Romance.
A justice of the peace at Des Moines,
Iowa, has recently wrestled with a
charming case. A physician of that city
brought suit against an unmarried wo
man to recover for medical services, but
his bill contained some items not neces
sarily connected with tho art of Galen.
Among the articles enumerated were
" oister soop," potatoes, medicine and
visits, eggs, wood, chair, groceries,
crackers and wash-tub. Such a com
mingling of substautials and luxuries, of
physio and potatoes, was never seen.
The footing was $01, for all of which,
less $2 cash, and $i for makiug shirts,
the vender of pills brought suit. Neither
party employed an attorney. The dam
sel defendant filed the following cross
bill:
Pes Moines, Iowa, Jan. 7. the year 1873. 1
Des Muineb, Iowa, Jan. 9, 1875. f
Jan. 7. Sparking two years $50.00
Washing and mending clothes.. 61.00
MuhUu aud buttons and thread. 1.44
Apples aud grapes n
Time occupied iu talking love. . 5.00
Sundries 80
Making four shirts 4.00
Total fclOl.35
. Credit by cash 2.00
Balance due me $ 99.35
The accounts were all sworn to, but
the plantiff denied under oath the cross
claim of the defendant, aud consequent
ly the justice rendered judgment in his
favor.
In Clinton, Iud., the women still keep
up the crusade, and pray out of town
every adventurer hardy enough to at
tempt to open a saloon,
THE XOKTII POLE EXPEDITION.
An Interesting Oenrrlpllon of the KIcdifes
to be Used In the Northern Ice Fields.
But inasmuch as a portion of the jour
ney to the polo may have to bo effected
over vast holds of solid ice, the ships
which are fitting out in England for the
trip are provided with a splendid array
of sledges, constructed under the super
vision of Sir Leopold McCliutock, who
is supposed to know more about sledges
than any other man. There are of those
sledges, says a city paper, four largo
size or twelve-man sledges, eleven second
size or eight-man slodgos, and eleven
small size or five-man sledges; two large
and two small sizo boat or luggage
sledges, four small "satellites" or dog
sledges, and a couple of newly designed
"brfdge-nnd-luddcr" sledges, which are
sixteen feet long, two feet wide and ten
and three-quarter inches deep, with a
carrying capacity of three tons, while un
loaded they form a scientifically con
structed girder for crossing a chasm or a
ladder for scaling an inaccessible hum
mock. Except that iu the bridge-aud-ladder
sledge a tio-rod of steel runs
from cud to end, one-third of it beneath
the sole, and capable of being tightened
by a nut and screw, all these various
sledges nro constructed nfter the same
models, differing only in size. They aro
mado of American olm, a timber wluch
combines tho necessary toughness with
lightness , the essential principle of con
struction being n pair of steol-shod run
ners, curving upwards nt the ends, and
kept pnrallel by a cross-bar, and on this
a bearing-frame is erected, supported at
the ends by the upward curves or horns
of tho runners, and in tho middle by
"poppets" or little supporting columns.
Except to secure the strips of steel on to
the runners no screws or nails are used
iu the construction, tho cross-bars being
lashed to the bearers with strips of raw
hide soaked in hot water aud put on wet.
As the hide dries the lashing becomes
rigid and firm, and tho junction vastly
stronger than would be possible by the
most skilfully devised joint. In tho in
tense cold of tho Arc-tic regions iron
screws would snap like glass, and no
rigidly fastened wood-work could stand
the concussions to which the sledge is
subject, so that the system of construc
tion to which the Esquimaux aro driven
by necessity is proved by long experience
to be tho best suited to tho conditions of
the desolate region in which they exist.
On the upper surface of the sledge a
square-bottomed eauvas bag is fixed, into
which the load is packed with careful
attention to the proper distribution of
weight, which is greatest iu the center.
The drag-rope is fastened to a span of
rope which passes beneath the bottom of
the sledge and over the rear 1 nds. The
bight of the span comes three feet in
front of the sledge, being stoppered be
low the foremost horns, so as to insure
the best angle of traction, which is found
about fifteen degrees, and the drag-rope
is fastened at the middle to the span by
menus of a wooden toggle. Turks' heads
are worked along the two ends of tho
drag-rope at points where the men are to
attach themselves. The drawing collars
for the men are made of horse girth
about four inches wide. They pass over
tho right or left shoulder and under the
opposite arm, according as tho men aro
attached to the right or left drag-ropo.
At each end of tho piece of girth an eyelet-hole
is worked, aud into these a piece
of inch rope is spliced. On the rope
there is a movable thimble, round which
is spliced a lanyard of wire-thtead, ter
minating in a disk of copper c.dled a
bung-toggle. To harness himself for
traction a man has simply to slip his
girth over his head and ono arm and
then to take a single turn with tho end
of the lanyard over the drag-rope, just
behind one of the Turks' heads. With
the slightest strain the standing part of
the lanyard is jammed against tho drag
rope, the Turks' head prevents its slip
ping forward, and the bung toggle keeps
the end from pulling through. The man
is thus firmly attached by an operation
which cau be instantly performed with
his hands muffled in the thickest mittens,
and he cau as readily detach himself by
tho mere act of ceasing to pull. With
the same regard to ease aud simplicity
of every act necessary for sledge work,
pulling out the Hpan-togglo detaches the
drag-ropo, which is then available for
pitching the tent. It is with tho eight
man sledge that the principal work of
exploration will be conducted, and this
will carry a load of 1,040 pounds, princi
pally of provisions. This gives a start
ing weight, for a seven weeks' journey,
of 235 pounds for each of tho seven men
to drag. Iu the opinion of Sir Leopold
this is quite the maximum, and even
under favorable conditions and with men
previously trained for the duty. The
" satellites" are intended for such pur-
Eoses as hunting in the immediate neigh
orhood of the ships. With one of
these little sledges nnd three or four
dogs an officer could mnke a journey of
many miles after deer or musk oxen, and
bring back his game with no undue
exertion.
Col. Jerome Bonaparte.
In the Franco-Prussian war, Colonel
Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, grandson
of Jerome Bonaparte and Madame Pat
terson Bonaparte, Scribner' magazine
tells us, distinguished himself by his
personal bravery and splendid soldierly
qualities. After the capture of the em
peror at Sedan, Colonel Bonaparte es
corted the empress tlirough France, and
returned to Pans 111 time to take a con
spicuous part in the memorable siege of
that city. During the Commune he es
caped from Paris just in time to save his
life.
At the close of the war, Colonel Bona
parte came back to the United States
and visited Baltimore. In the summer
of 1871, nt Newport, R. I., he married
Carolmo Lo Roy Appleton (Mrs. New-
bold Edgar), grandduughter of Daniel
Webster.
Colonel Bonaparte has all the qualities
of a successful leader; he is brave, dash
ing, and fearless. When we recall the
many extraordinary events that have
happoned in France ' during the last
ninety years when we remember that a
lieutenant of artillery at Toulon became
the conqueror of Austerlitz and Emper
or of France that the grandson of the
guillotined Beanharunis became Napo
loon III. doeH it seem impossible that
we have a future emperor of France
among us in Colonel Jerome Napoleon
Bonaparte of Baltimore ?
Gorrd to Death.
At the Devil's Elbow, about six
miles below Black Hawk, on the lino of
the Colorado Central railroad, where the
bod of the road is hown out of the solid
rock, owing to the extreme narrowness
of the valley of Clear creek at the point,
an accident occurred which takes rank
as one of the most horrible and terrible
on record.
A Chinaman, Lin Wau, working in! ho
gulch mines along the creek, was pur
sued by a wild and furious bull, which
had wandered away from his herd up the
creek. For safety the Celestial took to
the track, but was closely followed by
tho infuriated animal, to the Devil's El
bow, where tho bed of the creek is about
twenty feet below the track, and the top
of the telegraph poles on a line with tho
rails. One hurried moment had the
Chinaman to realize that his enemy was
upon him, when with all the force of
brute power one horn went piercing
through the back, passed through the
abdomen and came out in front. It was
the work of an instant to raise, like a
feather, the moss of bleeding, screaming
human flesh, aud, with a tosj, to hurl it
ncross the track and into tho gulch. The
unfortunate Chinaman, thus gored unto
death and tossed into the air, in his de
scent struck upon the end of a telegraph
pole, which entered the very same gap
ing wound made by the horn of tho
brute in his back, and the paiu-tortured,
blood-besmeared victim was impaled
mid-air. Without speech, nnd pnlo with
horror at tho sight, his companions stood
powerless, until the henrt-rendiug cries
of the unfortunate awoke them to duty.
He was then taken from his appalling
position as speedily ns possible, but died
in n few minutes. The bull, after ac
complishing this deed, passed up the
canyon, and had not been captured at
last accounts.
A Forgotten Incident.
The East Boston (Mass.) Advocate
publishes the following under the head
ing " A Heretofore Unpublished Inci
dent of Half a Century Ago " : More
than fifty years ago a boy some fifteen or
sixteen years of age was nt work one
afternoon on tho old " Hingham Station
Packet," which will bo remembered by
some of our citizens as for years occupy
ing a berth at the head of tho dock
where State street block now stands.
It was an afternoon when there was no
school, and a girl, somewhat younger
than the boy alluded to, was passing the
half holiday iu play near the store of
her father. Venturing too near the edge
of the dock, she missed her footing and
fell overboard, and it being high water at
the time, she disappeared. No one saw
her fall, but by accident tho boy noticed
some bubbles in the water, and having
just before seen the little miss on the
wharf, instantly took in the situation.
Springing into the water he succeeded in
bringing her to the surface , aud culling
for aid she was taken on shore and re
stored to her parent.
This act of heroism saved tho lite of
ono who has become tho most dis
tinguished American actress of the nge
a lady as highly respected for her moral
worth and irreproachable private char
acter as she is renowned all over the
world for her histrionic achievements.
Her rescuer is to-day one of our most
estimable citizens, nnd less than a year
ago acquainted the lady with the circum
stances of her deliverance from a watery
gravo through ' his instrumentality a
fact she well remembered, although till
then ignorant of tho name of her pre
server. Cornelius Lovell had saved the
life of Charlotte Cnshmau.
A Sad But Singular Incident.
One of the most populur writers of
sonsational books fifteen years ago was
Professor J. H. Ingraham, whose so
called religious novel, " The Prince of
tho House of David," reached the enor
mous sale of one hundred thousand
copies. One day Carleton, the publisher,
was looking over a proof when Professor
Ingraham called upon him with a singu
lar proposition. He offered Carleton a
new book at a pretty high price, some
thing like ten thousand dollars, one
third of which must bo paid then in ad
vance and the remainder at intervals
after the book was published. Upon in
quiry as to the nature of the book, it ap
peared that not one word of it had been
written, but that tho author proposed to
set about it at once, or as soon as he
should arrive home in Louisiana, where
he was the pastor of an Episcopal church.
The 83,333, then, was demanded for a
mere promise to write. " But suppose
you don't live to complete or even to be
gin the work," said Carleton, "what
about my 83,333?" "Oh!" answered
Ingraham, " that is hardly worth antici
pating." Under the circumstances, the
proposition was rejected, and it is not
known whether any other publisher ac
cepted it. Now for the sequel. Pro
fessor Ingraham returned home, and
within three days after his arrival, one
afternoon while he was changing his
coat, a pistol dropped from his pocket
and exploded, shooting him dead upon
the spot. Not one word of the "new
book " had been put upon paper.
The Mystery of Life.
The number of suicides in the United
States has been singularly increased of
late. An exchango, referring to the
matter, can readily understand why a
used-up conviviaust, an exposed hypo
crite, a fellow anticipating justice, an
invalid disgusted with a wretched ex
istence, or a poverty-stricken wretch
with starvation staring him in the face,
might coquet with arsenio or take a sud
don fancy to a hempen cravat; but why a
man of wealth, well stricken in years,
surrounded by estimable friends and
relatives, enjoying good health and an
excellent reputation, should abandon all
these luxuries at the pistol's mouth in a
moment of caprice, passes our compre
hension. Perhaps since all extremes
are said to be alike too much comfort
is really as injurious as too little in this
world, and the man who has no anxieties
at all to distress him is placed in exactly
tho same mental condition as the man
whose mind is so excessively harassed
that life seems unendurable. It cau ac
count in no other manner for the self
murder of the large number of men, in
really good circumstances, that Lava
lately been reported.
Items of Interest.
Never ran in debt. Walking is more
dignified.
A tailor says ho can nover think of ono
of his customers without singing " A
charge to keep I have. "
Sweden has no nntional debt, nnd its
surplus revenue last year amounted to
nineteen millions of dollars.
A patent churn, invented by a Sioux
squaw, is on exhibition in Washington.
It bIiows considerable Iujunuity.
A crusty bachelor's objection to ladies
with beautiful teeth is that nine out of
ton of them would laugh nt a funeral.
Among the pleasure yachts on the Nile
last wintt r, thcro aro paid to have been
more American than British colors dis
played. Winneshiek county, Iowa, has nevef
known Mich a smell as that caused by
tho recent burning of it3 only Limburger
cheese factory.
Who's going to win the five hundred
franc prize offered by tho Paris Hippo
phagic Society to tho first person who
opens a horse butcher shop in tho United
States ?
"Why do you nso paint?" asked a
violinist of liis daughter. "For the
same reason that yon use rosin, papa."
" How is that ?" " Why, to help me to
draw my beau."
Ronst dog, raw fish, and raw pork wero
among the delicacies served up nt a re
cent native feast given by King Kalakaua
to a party of foreigners who had to sit
on tho ground and eat with their fingers.
A new article of diet is promised from
India. It is a weed called "mulmuuda,"
tho seed of which makes an excellent
kind of wheat. It has been officially
reported upon, and said to contain as
much nutriment as peas or beans. Good
for tho horses, perhaps.
While a Nelson (Ky.) man was driving
his stock to his farm, a largo gray fox
broke cover and ran across the road iu
front of tho drove, when one of the mules
started after the animal, aud, of its own
accord, pursued him for nenrly half a
mile, finally running him down and
stamping him to death.
Mr. John W. Sedgwick, a Washington
gentleman, lias bequeathed $10,000 to
Miss Bella Sherman, of St. George's
county, Md., in recognition of assistance
rendered by her several years ngo, on
the occasion of a severe fall of the testa
tor from a horse, from tho effects of
which he lay for some time unconscious.
Paris is determined to keep up its re
nown as the city par excellence of living
phenomena. The last arrival is of a novel
kind. It is said to be an Italian baker,
who possesses tho sense of hearing so
acutely that ho can heard what any
body says in tho lowest whisper at
twenty yards' distance. His name is
Amotti.
The following notice is conspicuously
pasted over tho counter of a bank:
"Never stamp a check before present
ing it at the bank, but give tho teller
two cents and ask him to lick the stamp
and cancel it. The teller expects to lick
all stamps, as it saves buying lunch, aud
is therefore disappointed when not al
lowed to do so."
Some of tho Belgian journals Rny that
secret societies, rivaling the organization
of the Carbonari, exist in the Prussian
provinces which havo a largo Roman
Catholio noimlutiou. They aro com
posed of groups of ten persons each, of
whom nine are not informed as to tho
other members of the society, but know
only the tenth, their chief. The ten
chiefs of ten such groups know only the
chief of the hundred.
The following curious passage occurs
in the answers of Justice Lush to tho
British Secretary of State on the use of
the lash for crimes of violence : ' ' When
I first went to Manchester iu 1800, thero
was a general feeling of alarm nt the
prevalence of what is called gnrroting.
I flogged every ono as many, I think,
as twenty or twenty-one. I went again
in the summer of the same year, and had
to administer tho same punishment to
about half the number."
" Why," said Mr. Dorkens to the part
ner of iiis " jaws;" " why, my love, is
an old blind horse iu a new harness,
with H. I. B. ou the blinders, tied to a
1ost iu front of tho new post-office, and
litched to a junk wagon with a string of
cow bells and a poodle dog tied to it,
and a one-legged man aud a fat boy on
the seat, like two orphans ?" " Good
gracious sakes alive, I cau't tell," said
Mrs. Dorkins. " Why are they like two
orphans?" "Because," said Dorkins,
triumphantly, " because they've got no
farther, not even a stepfather !"
A Base Ball Dog.
A colored gentleman at Xenia, says
the Cincinnati Enquirer, is the owner of
a small dog which plays ball. The pup
has the fever bad, and plays with all the
gusto of a professional. He cau't bat,
but he can run. So one of tho beys
bats for liira and he makes a home run
nearly every time. He takes his stand
near the home-base and waits till his
striker hits the ball, when he leaves a
line of blue light in his wake, going
around the bases in tho whoop-la time,
never once taking his eyes off the ball.
You can't fool him either. He under
stands the game well enough not to run
on a foul ball. His owner is said to bo
negotiating with the Boston Red Stock
ings for an engagement for his dog as
first substitute for $25,000 a year and a
royalty.
The Oshkosh Fire.
Oshkosh, the Wisconsin city lately
destroyed by fire, lies on a flat piece of
ground, and there is almost a continuous
southwest wind, which on this occasion
was blowing with great violence. It has
been the custom in Oshkosh latterly,
when a heavy westerly wind was blowing,
for the mills, which are situated in tlw
western part of the city, to stop work to
prevent fires. A number of mills shut
down on the day of the fire, but Spauld
ing & Feck refused to stop work, and
when Mr. Morgan asked Mr. Peck to do
so he was answered curtly that he (Peck)
intended to run his own business. Short
ly after this Morgan Brothers' mill was
observed to lie on fire, having caught
from sparks blown from Spaulding &
Peck's mill, and in a few minutes the,
I whole building was in flames.