j. . .. A.. V--;V-" t " ' ' '
HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL DESPERANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. VIII. RIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA., THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1878. NO. 31.
Sunbeam and I.
We own no houses, no lots, no lands,
No dainty viands for ns are spread
By sweat of our brows and toil of oar hands
We earn the pittance that trays ns bread,
And yet we live In a nobler state
Sunbeam and I than the millionaries
Who dine off silvern and golden plate,
With liveried laoneya behind their chairs.
We have no riches in bonds or otocka,
No bank books show our balanoe to draw
Vet we earry a safe key that nnlocks
More treasures than Orcesns ever saw ;
We wear no velvets or satins fine,
We dress in a very homely way
But O, what luminous lustres shine
About Sunbeam's gowns and my hodden
grey.
No harp, no dulcimer, no guitar
Breaks Into singing at Sunbeam's touch t
But do not think that our evenings are
Without their mnBio ; there is none such
In concert halls where the lyrlo air
In palpifant billows swims and swoons ;
Our lives are as psalms, and our foreheads
wear
The oalms of the hearts of perfect Junes.
When we walk together (we do not ride,
We are far too poor), it is very rare
We are bowed unto from the other side
Of the street bat not for this do we care,
We are not lonely ; we pass along.
Sunbeam and I and you cannot eoe
(We can) what tall and beautiful thron g
Of angels we have for company.
When cloudy weather obscures our ekies,
And some days darken with drops of rain,
We have but to look at each other's eyes,
And all is balmy and bright again.
Ah ! ours is the alchemy that transmutes
The drt gs to elixer, the dross to gold,
And so we live on Hesperean fruits,
Sunbram and I and never grow old.
fiiclmrd IieaU
CHASED BY THE FIRE.
In the coal regions of Pennsylvania
there are railroads called " gravity
roads," over which long trains run with
out the nid of locomotives.
The tracks are laid on a gentle in
cline, till they come to Bteep ascending
plauen, where stationary engines are
placed, either at the head or foot of tho
slope. Here strong iron ropes are at
tachod to the cars, drawing them to the
top of lhe bills, when they again can
run down on the other side, controlled
only by brukemeu, till other elevations
are reached.
These roads Lave two tracks, not par
allel, but sometimes a mile or more
apart. The one ou which the loaded
cars pass is culled the " heavy," and
the other, whore the empty cars return,
- the "light track." They are bnilt a loog
the sides of the mountains, and at times
climb to the mountain summits, giving
the eye a grand sweep over broad and
beautiful landscapes. Then, gently
descending, they follow the mountain
curves, sometimes hanging over deep
ravines, and sometimes dashing throngh
dense forests, where the trees form an
unbroken shade over the track.
In the spring of 1875, John Ward,
tne hero or this story, was head brake
man on one of the coal trains. During
mat spring, tins part of the country
was visited by an unusual drouth. Dav
after day the sun rose clear, and ran its
course over a cloudless eky. But at
length a veil gathered over the land'
scape, through which the sun shone only
like a dull red disk. The people said
that forest fires were raging in the lum-
Der districts north.
Near the close of a day in the month
01 May, Ward and two other brakemen,
in charsre of an emntv train, nnt.inod i
cloud of smoke at the head of the plane
next above them. As they ran down to
the engine-house, which was here at the
foot of the slope, they inquired if the
woods along the track were on fire.
The engineer replied that they were.
but he thought they could shoot by
?A1 A 3 -
wrcnoui danger.
The men resolved to try. But when
they reaohed the top of the plane, they
saw that they had no time to lose. The
fire was rushing towards them, and thev
could feel its hot breath. Loosening
tne praxes, tuey sped down the track
with covered faces and suspended
Dream.
But a few moments sufficed to carry
them out of danger, as they supposed.
The road then wound round a curve of
two miles through a dense pine forest.
Josh and Dan McChing, Ward's two
companions, congratulated themselves
on their escape; but Ward felt anxious
lest this was but the beginning of their
troubles, ma nome was in the midst of
the woods some miles further down; and
for the first time he realized what a terri
ble foe fire might become.
Scarcely had these thoughts passed
through his mind, when the train round
ed the curve, and there before them was
the are crossing their path.
They had gone so far down the plane
that it was impossible to run the cars
back. They felt that they had better
abandon them and return, while there
was yet a chance, to the engine-house at
the foot of the slope.
But on rounding the curve again, they
saw, to their dismay, that the fire had
reached the track behind them, and was
furiously burning on both sides. All
chance of retreat was cut off. But the
forest where they stood was cool and
green, the undergrowth so luxuriant and
damp that it did not seem possible that
it could burn.
The next moment, however, a burning
twig lodged in one of the tall trees near
them, and igniting the pine needles,
darted out a tongue of flame.
The men now saw that they must
push their way through the fire in front
or perish. With hearts trembling with
fear, they took off the brakes, and were
about to rush down the burning track,
when a woman darted out from the
trees, dragging a little boy by the hand,
and screamed to them in tones of agony
"Stop and take us in I"
- Josh McChing shouted back: "We
can't possibly," and pointed to a tall
tree left standing in the clearing ahead
against which cord-wood had been piled'
and which was already in flames. Bui
with a firm hand. Ward pressed down
the brake, and ordered the others, to do
the game, saying t
"Would you leave a woman and her
child to be burned like rata in a barn ?"
"Don't yon see we must get by that
tree before it falls across the traok ?"
cried McChing in a rage.
"I know," replied Ward, sternly;
"but they shall go with ns, or we'll all
perish together. Quick, quick, my wo
man ! we've no time to lose I"
He dared not leave the front of the
train to help her, for he knew the other
men, in their fright, would raise the
brakes and desert them.
She struggled forward, bnt when
almost up to the cars, she stumbled and
fell. With a bound, Ward sprang to
her side, lifted her, and handed her to
Josh McChing, who stood in the rear
car. He then caught up the child, and
turned to spring in, bnt the train was
already moving, Josh, made utterly self
ish by his fear, had raised the brakes.
Ward ran with the energy of despera
tion, threw the child into Dan's out
stretched arms, and then caugnt the last
car, where he clung, unable at the speed
they were moving, with his utmost
strength, to do more than keep his hold.
In a tew moments they left the green
woods, and passing through the blaz
ing brush on either side, were almost
blinded and suffocated with the smoke
and heat, while burning twigs and bush
es fell like a red-hot shower upon them.
Ward felt his hands blistering, yet
he held fast, and looked up to see if the
pine-tree was still standing. As they
passed under it, the flames had caught
in the long branches, and it stood a
pyramid of fire. On the cars sped.
Another curve was passed, and they
were again in the midst of a dense green
wood.
Dan McChing shouted to his brother
to put down the brakes, and succeeded
in making him stop the train. The two
men then got out, and ran back to pick
up Ward, who had dropped exhausted
before the motion entirely ceased.
They placed him in the cars, and then
allowed the train to run some distance
further, till they felt sure that the dan
ger was paBt. Coming to a little stream
of water near the track, they again stop
ped the train, and gathered round the
spring, to wash their burns and rest a
little.
Here Ward recognized the poor wo
man he had saved as Mrs. Stacey, the
wife of a wood-chopper, who was em-
Eloyed to supply fuel for the engine
ouse they had just passed. Her little
shanty was right in the path of the
fire. She saw the Are coming, and had
time only to catch her boy and escape
to the woods, where these men had
picked ker up. She had lost everything,
and feared that her husband had per
ished in the flames. He had gone off
with his axe in the moruing, which way
she could not tell.
Ward was filled with anxiety about
the woman and her child. He knew,
that bis two companions would do notli-
tng Iur-her, -iai he must offer box
shelter in his own home. But he had
six children and an aged mother to sup
port, and his wife was not one who bore
her burdens lightly.
But the kind-hearted man invited
Mrs. Stacey to accompany him home,
and luting the boy in his arms when
they left the cars, he strode on ahead to
show her the narrow path.
They passed several bouses, and np
proached a pretty white cottage. With
a thrill of joy, Ward listened to the
merry voices of his children.
In a moment more ho opened the door
on a bright family picture. The table
was spread and bis children were gath
ered round it, except the little twins,
who were already in their cribs, while in
the midst of them sat the old grand
mother, smiling placidly at their lively
cumber.
Ward gave Mrs. Stacey a seat, and
placed the boy on her lap; then, after
introducing her to his mother, he asked
anxiously for bis wife.
She was in the kitchen, looking tired
and worried. He saw this, as he began
in a low tone to explain to her who their
visitor was, and her claims upon their
hospitality.
But in a loud angry voice she inter
rupted him, saying, "Now, John, that's
just like you taking the food and cloth
ing from your own family to give to beg
gars. Here I am slavin and worryin
from mornin' to night to take ore of
these children and your old mother, yet
you bring two more you've picked up,
and expect me to feed and provide for
them."
"But, wife, I couldn't leave the poor
woman to perish in the flames, or re
main homeless and supperless this chilly
night." '
Mrs. Ward was not a heartless wo
man. She was thrifty, and anxious to
get ahead, and bod much to try her. It
distressed her to find that manage as
economically as she could, she could
hardly keep John out of debt. Just
then she laid it all to her husband's
charity to others. Therefore, seeing
only her side of the argument, she said:
"Why must you always be saddled
with suoh people ? They see you are
easily imposed upon, and so we nave to
bear the oonsequenoes,"
Mrs. Stacey could not help hearing
this conversation. Putting down her
child, she walked to the kitchen door,
and opening it, said, in a faltering tone:
"Mrs. Ward, I'm no beggar. This
morning I was in my own home. Thi
afternoon the fire came, and I had to
flee before it. My bouse and everything
iu u wore uurueu w asnes. jsir. ward
saved my life and my boy's at a risk I
don't dare think of. May the Lord re
ward him for bis kindness! Ha aW!
me to nis house to rass the mchr,- hnt.
I'll not stay where I'm not wanted, nor
be the cause of strife. May the devnnr.
ing flames never leave you as homeless
and friendless as they have left me."
xnese woras touched Mrs. Ward. As
Mrs. Staoey turned away, she snranff
towards h6r, and said, earnestly:
" Oh, forgive me! I did not think
what you bad endured. You shall stay,
and I'll give you the best the house
affords. Gome, let's all sit down to taa.
Then, John, yon must tell ns every
thing about the fire and your escape."
She turned pale and trembled aa she
listened to bis account of the fearful
risks they had run.
"John," asked his old mother, "will
the fire reach as ?"
"I think not. It is not SDreadinar in
this direction, au4 I tmst we ere per.
lectly safe,"
Yet, with fear in their hearts, that
nightf before retiring, John Ward and
his wife went out and climbed a high
rock, near the house, where they could
see if danger threatened. But aronnd
them was only the green, dewy woods,
ft Till flkVintrA 4-ViA aIab aatofn1 efn vl i rrVi
Feeling relieved, they sought the rest
both so much needed.
The next morning, a messenger came
to the little village to say that the fire
was spreading with fearful rapidity, and
that help was needed to fight it back.
The men of the village responded to
the call, and all day and nearly all night,
in company with a larger force, they
t L11L. J i a !
luugus uie ieunui uuimugruuun.
But. fanned by a strong west wind.
although baffled and driven back at one
point, like an unrelenting foe, the fire
pushed forward its columns in another,
and often, before the men were aware,
they saw the flanks of the battle turned.
and themselves almost surrounded by
the flames.
Ward at last became alarmed for the
safety of his family, and returned home.
He found the greatest excitement pre
vailing in the village. The fire had
attached the other side of the mountain,
and they feared it would sweep over and
come down upon them.
Ward saw that the wind was still
carrying the flames in an opposite direc
tion; yet he told bis wife to dress the
ohiidren in their thickest woollen gar
ments, so that they might be prepared
for any emergency. Then, completely
CAuauHieu, lie my uuwu ro rest.
He had slept but a few hours when
Mrs. Stacey came running in, with a
report from the lower houses that the
fire was approaching from another point.
They were in danger of being hemmed
in, and must make their escape at once.
Old Mrs. Ward begged her son to
leave her, urging that her life was nearly
ended, at best, and that she would only
retard tneir nignt.
But he positively refused, and catch
ing up the two children, whilo bis wife
took the twins, they all started to follow
the rest of the inhabitants. Mrs. Stacey
had taken the baby, and with her own
little boy, was already m the advance.
For over a mile the old mothor walked.
aided as much as possible by her son;
Dtit or necessity, their progress was
slow. The exertion proved too much
for her. Bhe sank to the ground ex
hausted. Her son assisted her to rise.
and urged her to make an effort to keep
up a little longer; but she begged him
to leave ber and save the rest of the
family.
The flames were drawing nearer and
nearer. They could hear the crackling
and the crash of the great trees as they
felL He tried to persuade the children
to run on by his side; but terrified by
rue awiui scene, tuey clung screaming to
him, and refused to move. For a time,
in his desperation, be tried to carry
mem au.
Hut bUo firo was advancing so rapidly,
be suw that he must abandon his mother.
or the whole family perish. She now
earnestly pleaded with him, for the sake
of the little ones, to put her down and
flee for his life. She was not afraid to
meet death. It would be bnt a moment's
pang, then heavenly joy forever.
With a groan of agony, he acquiesced.
yet drew ber as far as possible out of
the direct line of the fire. Then, clasp
ing uer in nis arms, ne criea, "u motner,
how can I leave you?"
"Go, go, my son! As you have
been faithful to me, may God deal faith
fully with you and yours. Don't grieve
mat you ion me.
I am describing an actual occurrence,
It seems almost impossible that a gen
erous, dutiful son could leave his aged
mother to die by the cruel torture of the
flames, but the safety of his own chil
dren and of bis wife appealed to bis
heart, and at the moment it seemed to
him better that one should be left, rather
tnan that the whole family should per
ish.
Ward started forward, but before
passing out of sight turned for one
more look.
His mother was kneeling, with bands
clasped and eyes raised in silent prayer.
The approaching flames illumined her
pale face, but it was calm and peaceful.
He stood like one in a trance till bia
wife, who had pushed ahead, besought
him to hasten on. She didn't know
which way to go, for the fire seemed to
be everywhere. Ilia mother also saw
his hesitation, and motioned him away.
Ward could hardly endure that last
last sight. He turned desperately away,
came rapidly to his wife's side, and
placing the children at ber feet, flung
mmsen into a tree to ootain a more ex
tended view.
After a glance round, he sprang down.
and told her there was but one chance
of escape. That was to climb to the top
of the mountain, where there were some
Darren ledges on whioh there was noth
ing to burn.
It was a desperate struggle on the
steep rocKs, over fallen trees and
through the brush. But the children
had become more accustomed to the
scene; and as they got further from the
fire, their courage returned, and their
own practice in mountain climbing aid
ed their parents. At last they reached
the summit in safety.
But it was a sad, exhausted group
that gathered there. The little ones
cried with hunger and thirst; and on
that barren rock the parents bad no
means to satisfy either. All day long
they looked down from their high peroh
into what appeared like a gulf of fire.
Now it ran along the ground, now leaped
from tree to tree, then, as if driven by a
tornado, it came on in one broad sheet
of flame, the roar increasing till in terror
the children covered their eyes and
stopped their ears.
The parents also felt as if the awful
grandeur of sight and sound was more
than they could bear; for they hardly
dared to nope that they were safe above
it
From this position tney were arouse
by the oldest boy shouting:
Oh father, the sky is on fire, too I"
Ward looked up and saw a broad
flash of lightning dart ont of a dark
cloud that was rising rapidly in the
west.
"Thank God!" he cried; "the rain is
coming at last"
Soon the heavens were overcast. The
lightning darted back and forth, heavy
thunder rolled overhead, and the in
creasing vin4 fanned the flaoaea below I
till they raged with redoubled fury, as
if seeming to realize that their power
would soon be gone. Then came the
blossod rain; not in gentle showers, but
in heavy torrents, that poured incessant
ly on the hissing, steaming forests, till
they lay drenched beneath it.
John Ward drew his family close under
the rooks to keep them dry, but caught
in bis hat the cool drops to quench their
thirst. As the night wore on and the
violenoe of the storm passed by, they all
found some rest save the father, who
mourned for his mother as he kept
watch over his poor little homeless flock.
The next day dawned clear and beauti
ful, the air washed pure from the blind
ing smoke, and as soon as they bad risen
and thanked God for their escape, they
started to make their way back to the
settlements.
It was a tedious, difficult journey.
When almost back to the site of their
old home they heard voices approaching.
Ward shouted and was answered by a
loud cheer. In a few moments, a dozen
of his old companions gathered round,
congratulating him on their escape, and
anxious to hear their Btory. Theylhad
just started in search of them; but as
they saw the wide sweep the fire had
taken, their fears for their safety were
greater than their hopes.
John Ward and his wife now found
that the kind acts done for these neigh
bors in the past were returning, "after
many days,'' "like bread cast upon the
waters." The men lifted the children
in their arms, and all proceeded to the
homes that had escaped the fire. Here
each vied with the other in making them
welcome. Money and clothing had
been sent from larger towns to those
whom the fire had made destitute. Mrs.
Ward found her baby and Mrs. Stacey
safe and well; the latter full of joy, as
she had just received the glad tidings of
her husband's safety.
The burned bouses were soon rebuilt,
and but for the dear old mother, whom
be had been so cruelly forced to leave to
the flames, John Ward could, after all,
hardly have been called a sufferer from
the loss that had befallen him.
This is not a fancy sketch. The act
ual facts of the terrible disaster I have
faintly pictured are more harrowing
than I could bear to describe. Lan
guage cannot adequately depict the awful
scenes that were witnessed in that terri
ble fire of 1875 in Northern Pennsylva
nia, that destroyed whole villages, and
brought great losses and suffering to
scores of families. C. M. Cornwall in
Youth's Companion.
Yellow Fever.
Yellow fever is a most mysterious, and
in many respects an incomprehensible
disease, says a New York paper. The
few general facts that seem to have been
learned about it, after close and varied
observation, are not infrequently con
tradicted hy new experience. One of its
widely-supposed peculiarities is that it
cannot live at certain elevations, 2,500
feet above sea-level being sufficient, it
is tuougnt, to exoiude it completely.
Yet. long before Cortez invaded Mexico.
the natives of the country suffered ter
ribly from an epidemic which was, be
yond all rational doubt, identical with
what is now known as yellow fever.
This epidemic it was called mataiza
hautl prevailed repeatedly, with great
virulence and mortality, during the six
teenth and eighteenth centuries, on the
table lands of Mexioo, from 7,200 to
7,800 feet above the sea. If it has raged
at that height, it may rage at an equal
height again, and thus the favorite and
now universally accepted theory be over
thrown. It is surprising how very little
is known of the yellow fever as to its
symptoms, consequences, general course,
and treatment; for, while it has been
recognized only about 200 years as a
distinctive disease, it has been a fearful
scourge at least since the beginning of
the fifteenth century. It used to be
called the plague, and it is little less
hideous and destructive than that fright-
iui pestilence, now happily confined to
the hot and filthy East.
Yellow Fever Visitations.
Speaking of the yellow fever visita
tion, a New York paper says : In 1853
the soourge was much worse. In New
Orleans, for example, the maximum of
deaths per day so far attained has been
103. August 22d of that year there
were 251 deaths from the pestilence, and
on no day of that month were there less
than 110 deaths, while most of the time
they averaged at least 180 daily. The
resident population was not then, it is
estimated, over 80,000, and of these 12,-
uuu died that season ; compared with
whioh the present mortality. distrenHincr
though it be, is small In 1822, when
the yellow fever prevailed here, there
was a great panio ; the city was fenced
in below the City Hall park ihe in
fected district was in the three lower
wards -the merchants, bankers, profes
sional men and the munioipal govern
ment moved to the village oi Greenwich.
now one of the upper wards : and vet.
despite the alarm, barely 200 persons
died. Just before the close of the last
century the fever here destroyed 2,500
lives, and then New York had not more
than 50,000 people a mortality of one
ui every twenty innanitants. we hear
now much more of the fever in 1822
than of the fever in 1793. How fortu
nate that we so readily forget both our
sorrows and our calamities.
The Burning of the fflartyrs.
Th A f nil n win n a frnm HbrriA'a AMnnnt
current of the expenses incurred at the
burning of Cranmer. Latimer and TUA.
ley: In the Oxford edition we have the
items for Ridley and Latimer:
For three loads of wood faggots to
bnrn RwIIav mnA T ntimai It. tA
J ---."'..... jm VII
Item Oue load of fir faggots a 4
i or we carriage of these four loads.. a 0
Item A post 1 1
Ttpm Twrt nh&fna a
Item Staples 0 5
item our laborers a 8
FOB BURNING C&1NHKB.
Vnr t(U wnnA tantmla a A
For 100 and a half of fir faggots..... 3 4
For the carriage of them 0 8
To two laborers 1 8
Total xi 15s Od
This small sum was the expense of
burning at Smithfleld three of the most
prominent churchmen of the age.
j.uen you ii re-memuer me, aa tne
fellow with one leg remarked to the man
uiaoturer o( artilioial limbs,
i mi ... i i.
TIMELY TOPICS.
The ammonia of the commercial fer
tilizers manufactured in the suburbs of
Augusta, Ga., has completely driven
out the chills and fever and other mal
aria that used to infect the locality.
An artesian well 8,250 feet deep has
been bored in Posth, Hungary. It is
the deepest in the world, being nearly
twice the depth of that in Paris. It
sends by a jet of nearly boiling water
forty-two feet high.
Minnesota is engaging in frog-culture,
which consists chiefly in protecting the
eggs and young from their enemies by
wire screens. The product so far has
been about 3,000 dozen legs quoted in
St. Louis at twenty cents a dozen.
A blazing meteor which fell during a
recent storm near Beaufort, S. G., was
picked up and.found to be an irregularly
shaped rock, weighing about twenty
five pounds, and baying a thin coating
as if of lava. More remarkable was the
finding of a fallen aorolite on the Cali
fornia desert, near San Bornardino,
which weighed 250 pounds and contain
ed gold, silver and copper.
Stanley, the African explorer, is
claimed by his mother. A Mrs. Easta
way, of Liverpool, England, writes to
Every Saturday, a Baltimore literary
journal, that she is Stanley's mother,
and that she can identify him by pecu
liar India-ink marks upon his arms and
a mole on his neck. He was born, she
says, in New York, on October 26, 1843.
His father was a sea captain, and died
fifteen years later.
In 1820 the best trotting time was a
mile in three minutes. In 1830 the time
was reduced to 2.40; in 1840, to 2.28; in
1850, to 2.26; in 1860, to 2.19; in 1870,
2.17i; in 1876, the beBt record was made
by Goldsmith Maid, who made a mile
in 2.14. Practically, the limit of trot
ting speed may be said to have been
reached, though it is by no means im
probable that phenomenal animals may
decrease the time of Goldsmith Maid.
Victor Hugo has a habit of working
upon four or five subjects at once, rarely
knowing which he shall finish first. In
the morning he begins with which ever
subject first takes his fancy, and after
devoting himself for a few hours to
verse, turns to bis novel after luncheon,
and finishes the day by writing on some
theme utterly unlike that which he took
up in the morning, Ho has now in
preparation six prose works and four
poems.
At Bombay a lady and gentleman
who were taking a stroll sauntered into
a church, and finding the marriage reg
ister on a table the gentleman for fun
wrote in it the names of four people
(two couples) well known in their cirole
of friends. The names may not now be
erased, because any one tampering with
the signatures in the registry is liable
to seven years' penal servitude. The
offender has absconded, the gentlemen
are in pursuit and the ladies in dismay.
The governor has been appealed to, but
no decision has been arrived at as to
v hat can be done.
There are 4,000,000 dead letters re
ceived annually at the Dead Letter
Office. 300,000 without stamps; 50,000
partially addressed; 6,000 no address;
81,500,000 of money orders and drafts
of money value; 45,000 packages con
taining property; 840,000 in money
nine-tenths of which is returned, the
balance remaining in the treasury sub
ject to application for lour years; 25,000
photographs; 250,000 European letters
are returned unopened; one-tenth of all
letters received contain property; 10,000
applications for letters reported lost; the
great proportion found and delivered.
There is an association in Germany
founded for the pursuit of scientific
investigation about Africa, which has
been led by the recent discoveries of
rich natural resources in the interior of
the "dark continent" to go outside of its
own proper field, and call the attention
of the German commercial and manu
facturing classes to the importance of
establishing trade connections with that
undeveloped territory. So important
does the imperial government consider
this suggestion that it has made a pre
liminary appropriation of 825,000 in aid
of enterprises of the kind advised, with
intimations that all necessary further
aid will be forthcoming. A geographic
commercial association for establishing
trade with inner Africa has also been
formed in Switzerland.
The Grand Canal of China is likely to
share the fate of the Great Wall. This
waterway was constructed by Kubail
Ehan and his successors of the Yuen
race, and is 600 miles in length. There
are 10,000 flat-bottomed boats on this
canal, and these are used in the trans
portation of grain. The Echo states
that this great waterway is an enormous
"white elephant," as it costs an enor
mous amount every year for repairs,
the appropriations there, or elsewhere,
not being entirely devoted to the pur
pose for which they are meant. Junks
are delayed every month while channels
are being dug for their passage. This
year, Jor the first time since the con
struction of the cinal, the grain from
Nankin, with the consent of the govern
ment, has been forwarded by sea. and
this fact has impelled the Pekin authori
ties to consider the expediency of
abandoning the canal aa a commercial
highway.
The other day a visitor surprised
Biohard Grant White saying to his baby:
"Oh-ny, no-ny, e mussy tick hick be
ittie footsy tootsies out fum undy zis
banky wanky oz e catch ooly woly an'
have zo snuffles." Just then be caught
sight of the visitor, and eaid to the in
fant : " No, no, yon must not expose
your pedal extremities by extending
them beyond the protecting cover of the
blanket, or you will lay your system
open to attacks of catarrhal affections. "
And the astonished child shrieked as
though some one bad winged it with a
defeotiye safety pin. Burlingtonllawk'
eye.
A REMARKABLE HOTTENTOT.
The Career nnd I,at FUM of Smith Pom
mer, the Famous Urlqna Chief.
The London World says: We copied
recently from a South African paper a
little paragraph relating to the killing
of Smith Pommer, Some of our readers
may wonder who Smith Pommer is or
rather was. He was a remarkable man.
Although a naturalized Griqua, be was
a pure Hottentot in blood and inherited
the craft of his race. His father, who
was one of the Eat River people, was an
industrious man, who did his best to im
prove his condition and educate his son.
But the boy, when only fourteen, joined
the Eat River rebellion, and after its
defeat escaped into Basutoland, and
afterward found himself in Nomansland,
where he and many of his rebel compan
ions established themselves, surrounded
by hostile neighbors. Smith Pommer
grew into a fighter and then into a leader.
His diminutive figure, his droll behavior,
bis native wit and bis inventive faculties
made him a distinctive character, and a
great superior to the ignorant people
around him. He became recognized as
a speech maker and diplomat. His dash,
above all, dazzled the Griquas and Oaf
fres both, and those who distrusted him
for his tricks admired him for his bold
ness. White people who recame ac
quainted with him called it impudence
and bluster; but he was genuinely feared
by the Caffres, and regarded by others
with something like superstition.
The Caffres in time believed that he
bore a charmed life, for while a notori
ously miserable shot, and seldom using a
weapon himself in a fight, be could show
legs and arms soarred with wounds.
With a lofty idea of effect, he always
let those wounds show themselves, and
cultivated the impression that with all
these scars no bullet bad ever entered
bis skin, which was not true. After some
years of a wandering, vagabond, warring
life, Smith Pommer married the pretty
Griqua girl, Wilhelmina Buruman, and
made a compromise of " settling down "
by turning a transport rider. While on
one of these trading journeys, the Ama
baoas swooped down upon his place at
Bies river, surrounded those who could
offer resistance, and in the fight Smith
Pommer's young wife was shot dead.
Smith's career then took a predatory
turn again, and for some time he was an
intriguing freebooter.
In Adam Eok's time he again married,
this time into one of the most respect
able and well to do of the settled Griqua
families the Ulbrechts. It is spoken
of as a remarkable wedding. Having
gone through the ceremony at Eokstad,
be took his bride to his home at Bies
river, from which he bad sent out invi
tations to every one in the region, of all
colors and occupations. The bride, a
good-looking young woman, with bnt
little dark blood in ber veins was
mounted on a rude throne in tho open
air, and before her every guest, white
and black, passed separately, bowed his
homage, and laid a gift at her feet.
This, to them, unique ceremony was
gone through with by hundreds of peo
ple from far nnd wide, nnd the wedding
was kept up for two days. The shrewd
and original bridegroom acquired, it is
said, a considerable amount of properly
in the shape of wedding gifts. Smith
now returned more steadily to his trans
port riding, but still manifested bis
prestige among the people and became a
sort of commandont in Capt Eok's army,
His ingenuity in laying a snare in order
to obtain influence or gain a point was
well known, and many of the Griquas at
last had learned to hold aloof from him.
The part he tooK in the outbreak which
brought his reckless life to a close has
been told in the colonial papers since
the Eokstad disturbance. His excuse
for being among the rebels which may
or may not have had a foundation was
that bis name hnd been falsely mixed up
with the discontent, and he was on his
way to bring in Adam Muis to prove him
self innocent. It is soid,;however, that
he entrapped numbers into rebellion by
telling them to come to a certain meet
ing armed, and when they got there
made them believe their act had already
committed them to rebellion. It is also
said that he led on other men of influence
who he knew, would draw many after
them, by writing fictitious letters to
Capt. Blyth and reading out imaginary
replies. The fight in which he and
Adam Eok's son were routed from the
old laager near Eokstad ended in the
death of the latter, and Smith himself,
with a few attached followers, fled at
dusk to the mountains toward Pondo
land. It was a weird place that Smith Pom
mer and his baud bad chosen to die in.
High up in the thunder beaten peaks of
the Ingeli, where the last bluff in that
rugged range stands ont like a terrible
battlement, where the beacon waves on
the crag that looks down over three coun
tries through the deep valleys of Natal
on one side the bushy bills of Pondoland
in front, and still over the upland slopes
of Griqualand on the other side here in
a steep ravine Smith and bis followers
hid through the day. Toward night the
sound of guns was heard in the krantzes
and some of his men fell at the hands of
his Caffre pursuers. A Caffre shot at
Pommer, but missing was shot in re
turn, and fell down a rock ont of sight
as if wounded. Watching his chance
this Caffre again shot where he saw a
bush stirred, and the next morning the
body of Smith Pommer was brought out
with a bullet through the hip. Smith
Pommer met his death by the hand of
one of a race against whom his enmity
had been nurtured from infancy.
The Banks of the United States.
The followin&r statement Axhihita tVin
oondition of the banks of the United
btates on the 29th of June, 1878:
Capital $470,893,33(1
Circulation.... 91,218,160
Not., bill of
Deposits 662,688,663
Profita ou band 146,606,960
excuauge,6to,
Atn R?t1 au ua
D.H. stock. ud '
otber securi
ties 4.V2 7T MX
Specie 39,351,461)
Bealeatate.. .. 46,169,409
Total $1,370,987,1681 Total. $1,860,907,168
Since the 15th of March last, the capi
tal has decreased 82. 959.175. the nirnnla..
tion 850,058,460: the profits on hand
83,782,711, the loans 817,874,512, and
the specie 825,297,233. The deposits
have increased SllO fififl fUf nnl th
United states stocks and other securities
$20,835,033.
The number of banks thrnncrhnnt tVin
Union is 2,050.
Items of Interest.
The flower for young fathers tho
poppy.
An old saw new set a miss is as good
as a smile.
Shakspeare was a wondor, bnt Queen
Elizabeth a Tndor.
The grape crop of California is
unusually small this year.
" Love is an internal transport I" ex
claimed an enthusiastic poet. " So is a
canalbeat," said a practical old forward
ing merchant.
The difference between ladies and
ducks if there is any difference is
that ladies are often dressed to kill,
while ducks are killed to dress.
It was thought to be a big thing in
ancient times when Ajax threw off bis
ulster and defied the lightning, but now
almost any man raises thunder if his
dinner is cold, and the poets never say
a word abont it.
Mrs. Mack ay, wife of the bonanza
king, has over $250,000 worth of jew
elry, but when she gets the toothache
she suffers just as much as the woman
whose bracelets and diamonds came from
the ninety-nine-cent store.
Colonel Baker, of Texas, Commis
sioner to the Paris Exposition, say
there are only four new things on exhi
bition the phonograph, telephone
microphone, from the United States
and a swimming doll-baby, a French
prvention.
This country is becoming so crowded
with marksmen, athletes, swimmers and
oarsmen wearing medals on their breasts,
that the ordinary man will soon have to
return to blue ooats with brass buttons,
in order to keep from sinking into utter
insignificance.
A Wisconsin dentist recently received
the following from a patient writing for
advice : " Mv mouth is three inches
across, five-eighths through the jaw.
Sum bumoky on the edge. Shaped like
a boss-shoe, toe f orrard. If ybu want
me to be more particular, I shall have
to come thar."
While, Mr. T. H. Eellogg, of Center
ville, Iowa, was eating twenty cents'
worth of rib roast the other day, bur
glars lifted $500 worth of watches and
chains out of his jewelry store. It was
a luxurious dinner, that even kings
might boast of, but Mr. Eellogg now
feels that he could have better spared a
better dinner. What shall it profit a
man if he eat a pound of liver and on
ions and watermelon, and lose about
half of his jewelry store ?
Extraordinary phenomena have been
observed in connection with tho "Cor
pupa" volcano in the Province of
Castilla, Peru, which have caused great
alarm among the population. The
immense banks of snow which have
crowned its summit from time im
memorial have suddenly melted away
with such rapidity as to cause torrents
to rush down the sides of the mountain,
washing out immense quantities of
stones and earth. Tho river below,
being unable to contain the great body
of water so suddenly added to it,
overflowed its banks, causing great
damage and distress. A great chasm or
lateral crater next opened on one side,
throwing out volumes of smoke and
steam, as well as tongues of flame,
whioh were distinctly visible at night,
acoompanied with loud subterranean
rumblings. It had never been supposed
that the Corpuna was or could be a
volcano, and there is no tradition that it
was ever in a state of eruption. Nor
within the memory of man has its crown
of snow ever been absent.
London Houses.
The houses of London, says a corre
spondent, are mostly bnilt of yellow
brick; but those of a more pretentious
character are of a yellowish sandstone,
which soon becomes blackened with the
smoke that enshrouds the city. Iron
buildings are not known here at least,
we have not met with any in our wan
derings over the city, they being an en
tirely American institution. A stranger
in London is astonished at tho appear
ance of most of its publio buildings and
churches. They are built mostly of
white marble; but the smoke has black
ened them to such an extent that were
it not that their bases and sometimes a
portion of their cornices are white, they
might be supposed to be of black mar
ble The columns in front of St. Paul's
Cathedral are densely black; and so is
most of the vast structure. If a pot of
black paint was poured over the mag
nificent statues of Queen Elizabeth and
her four maids of honor, whioh stand in
front of tue cathedral, it would scarcely
be noticed, so black have they become.
The National Gallery, on Trafalgar
square, is deoidedly black, and the
grand old church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields,
on Trafalgar square, is, if pos
sible, blacker. The walls under the
portico and most of the columns in front
would never be supposed to be of pure
white marble. As there is scaffolding
being erected around it, the purpose is
possibly to clean it of the accumulated
smoke of ages. They probably think
with the gamin, who, when asked why
he did not wash bis face, replied,
"What's the use! It will only get
dirty again."
Farming on a Grand Scale.
The Napa (Cal.) Hegister says: John
Finnell, one of Napa's princely farmers,
has recently purchased 19,000 acres of
land in Tehama county, at a cost of
$350,000. The property is known as the
Thomas estate, and has on it a $25,000
resilience and about $100,000 worth of
fenaing. With the land and improve
ments, Finnell gets 2,200 head of cattle,
1,240 hogs, and a lot of horses, mules,
etc. This entitles Mr. Finnell to a place
in the front rank of the great farmers of
California. His borne place in this val
ley, comprising 1,000 acres, and besides
keeping 500 of it in a high state of culti
vation, be has for the past four years
been paying $35,000 per year rent for a
large tract of farming land in Colusa
oounty, from which he has derived a
handsome income. We understand it to
be the intention of Mr. Finnell to re
move with bis family to his new place in
Tehama county next spring. The new
property has never been put under the
plough and it is thought will prove Tery
produoti'-a.