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VOL. XII. NO. 24. TIONESTA, PA., SEPTEMBER 3, 1870. ,$1.50 Per Annum.
Sunny Days.
Oh, slug of sunny dayg, doar heart,
With hope and courage golden,
When all the treasuros ol our lives
Wore in tho future holdon.
Sweet dayg long gone!
Ijifo'a shades draw on!
Hold lost my hand, we near the strand
Whore our true hearts must sever,
Hut looking buckwnrd o'er the land, .
That wo have trod togotl.or,
We'll sing a gong ol tho happy days
Nyhoso sunshine streamed across our ways.
Yes, sing, old lricnd, of tho gunny days;
Sing low, sweetheart, while cool the hnr.n
Creeps upward Irom the misty river j
Sing softly of the gladsome days,
Sing softly, love, lorever.
Oh, sing ot sunny days, doar heart,
Bright in tho land before us,
Where, without'cloud ol doubt between,
Qo'''s smile warms over o'er us.
Swoot tinio to bo,
We welcome thee
While hand in bund wo near tho stmnd .
Whoro our blent lives must sever.
Our eyes aro to the living laud,
Our puiting, not lorever,
Our hoarts sing gltid of glorious dayg
Where love shall beam on all our ways;
Hing, lriend, with mo, of tho sunny days;
Sing clear, sweotho.ii't, while soil the liuza
Walts o'er us lrom the narrow river
Which parts us from the restlul (lays
Ol God's undimined lorever.
Aurilla Furhtr, in Home Journal.
A SCRAP OF PAPER.
The following remarkable story has never
Wore been published inits complete form.
'Year ago tho main features of it were
printed in the New York Cvuranl, but, for
the sake of certain parties involved, the
full narrative was suppressed.
lieorgoijnyinan was a farmer, residing
nsar Selby, in Yorkshire, England. Though
not an educ ited mn by any means, he was
above the average fanner. He hail a good
home, wull-furnishcd and a fine farm x
cellently stocked, lie was twenty-eigh;
ytwrs old, and unmarried. With him re
sided an only sister of seventeen and a gir
. of remarkable beauty. In 1820, when this
narrative opens, brother and sister were
living in tho greatest a (lection and harmony.
In those d ivs it w:is customary for farmeis
to employ young men, generally the sons
of other fanners, and to hoard and lodgt
them in the house. George Liyman had
seven such. One of them was named
. 'rhom Is Miller, lie was aliout nineteen or
t.venty, well built, and exceptionally good
looking and attractive. lie w;is exceed
i igly well informed, and spoke without snr
ot the peculiarities of - dialect for which
Yorkshire men are noted. His connections
wjre unknown. He came to the f.rm house Uield, he observed deep footprints under-
tit. n.:..l. I.!. I... m.I . I r..H1i. .,TnJ.ttl . V..V lilnli ivnll (Ia nunant nf nlnnli
with a stick in bis bun I and a bundle on
his shoulder, and. obtained a night's loilij
ing. He got into conversation with the
farmer and the hands, and; though he ad-
. mitted that he knew nothing of farming,
but hid worked at the trade of a gunsmith,
1 hffexpressed a deire toreniain and make
himsejf useful about the place. Layman as
sented. Miller joined the other young men,
and wa apparently soon deeply interested
in his work.
An acquaintance soon sprang up between
Miller and Fanny Layman, the farmer's
sister. . Unfortunately it took a clandestine
form, and the lovers for such they soon
became met in secret. The consequences
which might be expected followed, and
Miller soon afterward disappeared. When
it was apparent to her brother and neigh
bors that site was to Income a mother, she
saleranly averred that she had been mar
ried to Miller, and produced a certificate
showing such to be the fact. Miller dis
appeared March 'JO, 1H215, when Fanny was
within three months of her confinement.
On April 17 following a strantt arrived
at the. inn in the adjacent village, and sent
for Farmer Layman. He represented that
he was anxious Jri hire a run for cattle, and
had heard that layman's land was pecu
liarly adapted. A long conversation fol
lowed, and Layman did not return home
until ratlier late. On the road thither, and
not more than halfa mjje from his home,
he came upon a -carriage standing in the
road.
Several men were around, and one held a
lantern "while the others were putting on the
fore oil' wheel, which had come off in a rut.
Layman paused a moment, and as he did
' so heard a stilled groan from the vehicle.
" What's the matter?" he asked. "Any
one.hurt?"
V "Oh, no," was the reply; "the lady is
only alarmed that's all."
, . "llelp help 1" was heard in tones that
seenved to indicate a struggle to free the
' speaker's mouth from a mutlling hood.
" What means this?" Layman inquired,
excitedly, springing from his horse and go
ing toward the door of the carriage.
lie was confronted by a stalwart, gray
haired man in a capacious cloak, who
thrust him. aside with his left hand, and
said:.
" Do not interfere, my friend ; the lady is
my daughtet, and she is slightly alarmed
that iB all-" ' -
. At the same time another person slepped
up to Layman and whispereJ :
. "She has long been confined in a lunatic
asylum, and we are" just conveying her
home-- Make no alarm, or sho may have to
return."
Thus appealed to the farmer passed on,
and before two minutes had tlapsed the
coach passed outf sight and hearing in an
opposite direction.
When the farmer reached home he found
that his sister was missing. Soon after he
left for the inn a person brought tmessage
for her, and she wtlked down the road
with him. That was the last seen of her.
Search was made all over the neighbor
hood, but it was unavailing. The man
at the hotel who had sent for Layman van
idled the same night, and it was believed
that he was in conspiracy with the abduc
tors f the girl, and oniim devolved the
f.
part to get the farmer out of the way while
ids sister was removed.
What was the object of the abduction?
That was the interesting question. Several
days passed, and the neighborhood was still
in excitement over the missing girl, when a
servant, cleaning out the grate in the room
occupied by the stranger at the inn, found
a scrap of paper clinging to the chimney.
It had leen partly burned with others, but
had been carried up the chimney by a draft
and clung to a protuberance. 1 his scrap of
paper was thought nothing of by the ser
vant, and would have been thrown away if
the landlord had not seen it and observed on
it the name "Layman." This attracted his
attention, and he read all that was there.
It was as follows :
-get the-
-Layman out.
the way, you can easily entice fanny
Use what aids find need.
Seldon.
The paper had been folded along the
fourth 'line and then torn off at the corner.
It was conveyed to Layman and kept by
him as likely to he of value. There was
small doubt that Fanny was in the vehicle
which Layman overtook on his way home,
and that the screams which he heard were
her cries for help. Could it be that Miller
was at the bottom of the abduction? Lay
man remembered that Miller had freqtlentiy
written in an album belonging to Fanny,
and in comparing that writing with the
writing on the scrap of paper they were
found im be identical. Layman made his
way to York to consult a lawyer as to the
best means of discovering his sister. When
he reached that city almost the first thing
he saw in a newspaper was the discovery of
the body of a murdered woman in the river
Aire, just above Leeds, near a plaee known
as The Forge. The woman's linen was
marked " F. L." Feeling sure that this
must be his Bister for the description an
swered to her in every particular -Layman
started back home. On the outskirts of
Selby he was waylaid by three footpads and
robbed. Then he was left on the highway
half dead. He was found by a laboring
man, who recognized him and had him con
veyed home. When Layman recovered
consciousness he remembered distinctly
that one of the footpads said, when expos
tulated with by the others:
" You know as well as I do that the
understanding was that we were to kill
him."
Layman was a vigorous man, and three
days after his last mishap he was on his
way to Leeds. Arrived at Kirkstall, he
found that the body had been claimed by an
old woman as. that of her daughter, and
buried. . Layman went before Mr. James
lUirgraves, then a magistrate, and applied
o have tho body disinterred. Leave was
granted, and the next, morning was ap
pointed for the work. During the night,
however, the grave was opened and the
corpse removed. Who were the depreda
tors was involved in mystery. Layman
Haw in it a conspiracy to defeat justice, and
by a wonderful stroke of good fortune hit
upon the. very device which the despoilers
of the grave hud adopted. While examin
ing the churchyard and the neighboring
neath a very high wall, the ascent of which
was, however, easy to an unencumbered
person. These footsteps led both ways, and
Layman concluded that the person rilling
the grave had both approached it and quit
ted it by that way. Hut it was next to im
possible that they could have done this
with the colli n in their possession, and
therefore he came to the conclusion that
the corpse had been reburied somewhere
within the precincts of the graveyard. A
search was made, but no newly-turned soil
was found. Mr. Hsrgrave suggested ex
aming the ' old-fashioned Tqu a re-raised
tombs, of which there were many in the
grounds, and sure enough, undrr one of the
slabs was found the colli n and the remains.
Layman identified the body as his sister's,
and it bore marks to show tluit the girl bad
been strangled.
By this time tho authorities of Leeds,
York and Selby bud become alike inter
ested in the crime. That the man Miller
was at the bottom of it they had every
reason to believe. But who was he, that he
could bring his instruments to bear so read
ily wherever he desired to use them? And
what was his object in accomplishing lhe
death of the girl ? The word " Seldon " at
the end of the writing on the scrap of
pajsrr found in the chimney was evidently
the writer's name. Was Seldon the same
person as Miller, and was that person inter
ested in getting out of the way the girl
whom he had lawfully married ? Mr. liar
grave's shrewdness seemed to offer a ra
tional solution of the mystery, namely :
That Miller had married the girl unknown
to wealthy parents or friends, and on their
learning the fact they had taken measures
to remove her, in order that the disgrace
of marrying beneath his station might.be
removed, and that he might be at liberty to
fulfill some other marriage engagement
which they had arranged. One thing was
resolved on to look for Seldon. There
was a family of that name in the North
Biding, residing near Birmingham, and
another branch of the same family at Stan
hope, in Durham. All investigation, how
ever, failed to connect any member of either
family with Fanny Layman. There was
only one young man -of a suitable age in
either, and he had been traveling abroad
at the very time of Miller's stay with the
Layman's. In the meantime it ought to
be said, a coroner's jury bad sat in the case
of Fanny Layman or Miller, and returned
a verdict of willful murder against some
party or parties unknown. .
Two years passed away. Layman went
to London on pleasure or business, and as
countrymen were wont, visited the House
of Commons. He saw a gentleman coming
out of St. Stephens' who attracted his at
tention. The young man Miller stood lie
fore him there was no doubt of that. He
inquired who he was and learned that he
was James Aubrev Seldon, mcmbeV of Par
liament for the North Biding of Yorkshire,
and that this was his first session in the
House. Layman returned the next day and
watched for the arrival of the members.
In due time Seldon came, and Layman had
a good view of him. No doubt remained
in his mind as to his being Miller. Lay
man was in doubt what to do. He had
150 in his pocketbook, and hesaid to him
self that ought to secure the services of a
lawyer. lie asked for the courts, and
meeting a host of lawyers coming
out in wig and gown, he stopped
one. This happened to lie none other
than the renowned Brougham, who
listened to "the man patiently. Calling a
younger lawyer, he briefly informed him
of the facts, and lie asked Layman to wait
where he was for .a moment." The lawyer
returned with a cab, and he and Layman
drove, to Bow street. A warrant was pro
cured, and Seldon was arrested.
Now follows the most remarkable part of
this strange narrative.
Seldon denied all knowledge of Layman
or his family, or that he ever went by the
name of Miller. His handwriting, how
ever, was shown to correspond exactly
with that of Miller, and that of the man
who signed " Seldon " to the scrap of paper
found in the chimney of the inn.
Seldon's father was also positively identi
fied by Layman as the gray haired man
who thrust him away from the carriage on
the night of Fanny's disappearance. A
host of witnesses, however, swore that the
elder Seldon was at home at that time and
sick in bed. To crown all, while Seldon
was still under examination, ayoungman,
answering Miller's description somewhat,
surrendered himself to the authorities and
confessed that he was Miller, and had en
ticed Fanny away and' murdered her.
The admission of this cold-blooded crime
aroused the indignation of all who heard
it. He was tried, convicted and sentenced
to be hanged within iorty-eight hours.
At the last moment he was reprieved,
and his sentence was subsequently com
muted to banishment for life.
Layman persisted in his belief to the
very last that Seldon was the real man, and
his conviction was intensified by what oc
curred some years later. There was a hunt
at Bock Hall, the seat of Sir Joseph Rock
cliffe, Layman's landlord. Seldon was
there, and following the hounds he took a
path which no one knew hutthose acquainted
with Layman's farm. This strengthened
the farmer's belief that Seldon and Miller
were identical.
But the most confirmatory proof is as yet
to be given. Inquiry showed that the man
presenting hiniself as Miller was pardoned
the very day his sentence of death was com
muted to transportation, and that he was
actually keeping a hotel at Richmond, in
Yorkshire, within a few miles of the country
seat of the Seldons, and passing under his
own mime, Marfit. This fact was first as
certained in 1832. The very same year one
King was hanged at York for highway rob
bery. Before the execution he made a con
fession of his crimes, and, among other
things, he admitted that he was one of the
gang who assailed Lay-nan, near Selby,
soon- after the murder of his sister. He was
formerly a groom with the Seldon family,
and confessed that he was hired to aid two
gypsies in dispatching Layman and getting
rid of bis sister. He declined to say who
hired him, but enough escaped from him to
show that the employer was the elder
Seldon.
Finally, in 1841, the wife of James Au
brey',Selilon filed a bill of divorce against
her husband, asking for a separate mainte
nance. One of the facts set up was that the
respondent was at times subject to fits of
great mental excitement, during which he
recounted crimes which he said he had com
mitted, and among them the instigation of
the murder of one Fanny Layman, to whom
he was married clandestinely. An attempt
was thereupon made to revive the inquiry
into the murder, but Marfit disappeared
from Richmond, and Seldon was placed in
a lunatic aslyum near Durham. Thence
he escaped in 1847, and nothing was heard
of him for several weeks, until his remains
were found on a heap of straw in an old
barn on Layman's farm.
Taking all the circumstances together,
there is no doubt that James Aubrey Sel
don and Miller were the same. Seldon had
returned from the continent, and took a
fancy to stroll through the country toward
home. On his way he came to Layman's
and there saw Fanny. That was the at
traction that held him.
By some means his father, who was a
desperate and unprincipled man, learned
of his marriage, and a plan was devised to
remove her. In the first instance, it is sup
posed that the gypsies were to abduct her
and inveigle her into some situation which
would warrant a divorce.' Subsequently,
however, her death was resolved on,whether
with the sanction of the Seldons or not is
uncertain. The old woman who claimed
the girl's body was doubtlesi one of the
gang of gypsies. The alleged sickness of
the elder Seldon must have been a trumped
up story, to which it was not difficult to get
retainers to swear, especially when all the
authorities were anxious to cover up the
guilt nf the real culprits.
Encouraging- Matrimony.
There is in Cincinnati a "National
Association for the Promotion of Mar
riage." Its constitution says: "We
have viewed with alarm and the deepest
concern the rapidly-growing tendency of
the people of the country, particularly
those living in the larger cities, to remain
unmarried a condition unnatural and
prejudicial to the welfare, success and
happiness of the country ; therefore, to
correct this evil, we do establish and
organize a society." The aim of the so
ciety is declared to be " in all honorable
ways to promote the marriage of citi
zens; ana to secure such an end this
society will, so far as in its rower, assist
and give material aid to young couples
in beginning married life, such as help
ing them to secure homes and the hus
bands in getting employment, or in any
other manner within the province of the
association." The society has not been
long enough in existence to afford the
means of judging of its practical value.
It held a picnic recently, at which the
attraction was the marriage of three
couples; but it was not claimed that the
mating had been brought about in any
unusual way. Six thousand persons paid
twenty five cents each for admission, nnd
there was a great deal of dancing and
beer drinking. The marriage ceremony
was performed on a high platform, so
that all could see. The bridegrooms
were an engraver, a painter and a ped
dler, and the newspaper reporters gal
lantly described all the brides m beautiful.
BURNING FOR FORTY-FIYE TEARS.
A Vennsyl-ranln Coal Mine that Caught
Fire In and la Still llurtilnK-. A 1 1
Attempt to Put Out the Fire Alian.
rtoneri.
One of the most interesting and exten
sive fires ever known in this country has
been raging in a colliery in Schuykill
county for nearly torty-five years. Thou
sands of dollars have "been spent in vain
endeavors to extinguish the fire, but at
last the idea was abandoned, and since
the beginning of the war nothing has
been done to subdue the conflagration,
which rages withoutjinterruption. The
history of this mine is very interesting,
and, strange to say, though hundreds of
travelers visit the coal-fields of this and
adjoining counties every year.hardly any
of them near ot this great curiosity. The
vein that is burning is called the " Jugu
lar," and the surface crop was rirst
worked in 1833 by Lewis E. Dougherty,
at a place called Coal Castle, one and a
half miles west of what is known as
Mount Laffee. The coal taken out was
of excellent quality and the mine very
productive. When a drift is worked
above water level it is the custom to
keep a huge grate filled with burning
coal just outside the mouth to prevent
the water in the gutters from freezing.
Such a grate was in operation in the up-'
per drift of Mr. Dougherty's mine in the
winter of 1835. One Saturday night the
grate was filled with an unusually large
quantity of coal, and the miners went to
their homes. On the following Monday
morning when the mine was visited it
was found to be filled with flames. It
is supposed that the fire in the grate be
came communicated to the timbers, and
moving along the upper drift was, by
means of an air-hole, carried ido the
lower drift. At any rate, the coal in
both drifts was on fire when the men
came to work on Monday morning, and
two of the miners reeklessl went in to
save their tools and never returned.
Efforts were" made to extinguish the
fire, but, after working for several weeks,
M . Dougherty gave up all hopes, and,
abandoning the' place, opened another
colliery about half a mile west of it.
During the winter of 1856-7, Mr. John
McGinnis. of Pottsville, heard of the
large body of coal that lay near the
abandoned mine and concluded that
some of it could be got out without
reaching the fire. He put in a slope on
the east side of the v'Jin and below the
water level. The work, however, pro
gressed slowly, and owing to heavy
masses of rock encountered was very ex
pensive. He was finally rewarded by
striking the "Jugular" vein at a point
where there was a deposit of coal so
thick that two or three miners could
keep the breaker going, and although it
was worked for months, they never suc
ceeded in getting through it. The coal
proved to be first-class, and four hun
dred yards of gangway liad been driven
when the miners began to complain of
excessive heat, and then Mr. McGinnis
knew that they were approaching the
fire in the mine Dougherty had aban
doned. This was about a year after the
slope had been started, and Mr. McGin
nis saw that it would be necessary to
open an air-hole. This work began
at once, but after driving twenty
or thirty yards the heat became
so intense that the workmen were al
most suffocated, and many of them re
fused to continue. By paying double
wages a number of men were found will
ing to work in the air-hole : some idea
of the intense heat may be had when it
is stated that the men worked perfectly
naked, and were relieved every ten min
utes. After the air-hole had been opened
about fifty yards the heat became unbear
able, and the men fainted when exposed
to it a minute or two. Seeing that it
was impossible to complete the air-hole,
work in it was given up, and at a fortu
nate time, for it was afterward discov
ered that if the hole had been carried up
a lew yards further it would have struck
the water on the upper level and drowned
every one in the mine. About this time
the miners noticed that when a shot
was fired, and the coal came rolling
down in huge masses, it was so warm
that it could not be comfortably handled
Every day the miners expected to se.
lire break out, and at last, when comine
to work one morning, they found tg
gangway filled with smoke and llamhe
As this was expected to happen sooneres.
later, preparations had been made to or
tinguish tho lire, and the mine was sex
filled with water. This treatment oon
the desired effect, and when the whad
was pumped out work was resumed. ater
From this time forward it was almost
a continual fight with lire, and no less
than eight times was the colliery filled
with water and pumped dry again. The
ninth time the mine was filled with water
the machinery got out of order and the
pump refused to work. As Mr. McGin
nis had sunk all his capital and could
not raise enough money to purchase new
machinery, the mine was abandoned in
the winter of 185'J. The fire continued
to burn until the barriers between the
mine were consumed, and the timbers in
Mr. McGinnis' mine gradually rotted
away, and finally the slope caved in.
From that time until now the fire has
continued without interruption, and the
coal has been consumed for half a mile
in every direction. The ground has
taved in in many places, leaving great
chasms that vary from fifty to one hun
dred feet in depth. Travel over the
burned district is exceedingly dangerous
to anyone not familiar with the coun
try, for in many places great holes aro
only covered by a shell or burned earth
three or four feet thick. Mr. McGinnis
states that even as familiar as he is with
tl.o locality, he came very near losing
his life there a few years ago by falling
through the crust, lie was crossing a
portion of the burnt field when ho felt
the earth giving way under his feet, and
on starting to run for firmer ground he
sank up to his armpits in dry ashes and
burned earth. Fortunately he managed,
with the assistance of a friend, to extri
cate himself and reach solid ground
without injury. Inhabitants of the re
gion never attempt to cross over the
burning vein at night.
The only external evidence of the
great conflagration that is going on un
derneath the ground at that point is the
total absence of vegetable life. Stones
on the surface of the ground are so hot
that they cannot be held, and snow is
melted as fast as it falls. During rainy
weather the surrounding country is en
veloped in dense clouds of fog that rise
from the overheated earth. 'jTho fire has
now burned across the top reck and into
a dirt vein, or vein of sott coal, where it
may last for many years. During the
early part of Mr. McGinnis' connection
with the mine, it was noticed that the
water oozing into it from the levels
above had the effect of destroying the
miners' shoes as soon as they caie in
contact with it. The water was not un
pleasantly warm, and the men found
that if a wound was washed with it a
speedy cure followed. The curative
qualities of this water soon became
known, and hundreds of peoplo flocked
to Coal Castle during the summer of
1858 to test its merits. Remarkable
cures of rheumatism, scrofula and other
diseases are said to have been made, and
consequently the water attracted a good
deal of attention all over the country,
and hundreds of barrels of it were sent to
Philadelphia, New York, Boston and
Baltimore. A regular physician estab
lished himself near the burning mine,
bath-houses were erected, and for several
months the place was filled with stran
gers. After tho mine was abandoned,
however, and left half full of water, it
was difficult to obtain the mineral water
that performed the cures, and the place
began to lose its reputation, the doctor
left for parts unknown, the shipments of
water ceased and one by one the visitors
departed. The water is still held in high
regard by many people, and, being
strongly impregnated with alkaline
earths, its medicinal virtues are no
doubt very great. Tho property is now
owned by the Philadelphia and Reading
Coal and Iron Company, and is seldom
visited by any one except huckleberry
pickers and country peoiple, who come
to carry away jugs full of the wonderful
water.- Pottsville (Pa.) Miners' Journil.
Petroleum.
When we are told that at the present
time over 1,800,000 gallons of petroleum
or eailh oil are brought to the surface
every day in the oil regions of Pennsyl
vania alone, the mind is staggered by
the contemplation 'of the magnitude of
this comparatively new industry. So
lavish is mother earth of her hidden
stores of oil that it is sent to the surface
much faster than it can be taken care of
or stored, and at the present time 300,
000 gallons, at the lowest estimate, run
to waste every day. The great United
Pipe Line, and other methods of convey
ance, utterly fail to convey the oil to
markets, and the enormous tanks for
storage are full to overflowing. There
are tanks owned by companies which
hold 5,000,000 barrels of oil, and
all of them are full. The wooden tanks
owned by individuals and private con
cernSunount in their aggregate capacity
to as large a number of barrels, andthese
also are full.
Thus it will be understood that there
are great lakes of oil above ground, as
well as below; but there is good reason
to believe that the subterranean deposits
may with greater propriety be called
oceans rather than lakes. The oil-workers
are evidently pumping from inex
haustible supplies in the rock chambers
below, and what are called the " spout
ing wells" deliver their vast currents
with the same impetuosity as when the
drills first tapped the pent up stores. An
interesting inquiry arises as regards what
becomes of the oil that cannot be se
cured : into what does it flow and where
is its final resting-place? Any one who
has visited the oil regions will know of
the nature of the country, and readily un
derstand that much of the oil Hows into
brooks or small rivers, and in time finds
its way into the large rivers, and is lost
ultimately in the Gulf of Mexico or the
Atlantic Ocean. Still larger quantities
are absorbed by the earth in ravines and
marshy places, and thus i t is lost to y iew.
In the famous district one is led to ex
claim, "Oil, oil every where, and no un
untainted water to drink.". There is oil
in the soil; oil in the springs; oil in the
bushes and trees ; oil in the atmosphere,
apparently, oil on the clothing, and in
the mouth, eyes and hair of the work
men; Hie bread and coffee of the region
have the odor of oil, and the beds are
saturated with it.
How wonderful is all this! Well do
we remember when the first vial of "rock
oil" fell into our hands. It was'called
" Seneca oil," and it was claimed to be a
most efficacious remedy for a variety of
ilia to which the human body was sub
ject. The statement that it flowed spon
taneously from a spring in Pennsylvania
was received at first with much incredu
lity, as that was regarded as impossible,
but in a short space oi time the truth was
known, and the oil was no longer regard
ed as a miqture devised by human
hands.
American petroleum oil is now used
as a source of artificial illumination in
nearly all parts of tho world. It goes
along with rum, powder and muskets
to the savage tribes of Africa, and tho
mud houses on the banks of the rivers of
tho interior are illuminated by its com
bustion; it is found in the interior of the
Turkish Empire, in Persia, in Ecypt.in
Palestine, in China, in Japan and in
the remote islands of the sea. For the
paltry sum of fifteen ceDts we can pur
chase a gallon of the clear refined oil, and
the cost of the light affo'ded, in compari
son with gas as furnished at tho lowest
cost in cities, is one to twenty in its favor.
It is just now the most formidable an
tagonist of gas, and we can scarcely hope
in the utilization of electrical force in
the future, to secure light at a lower ex
pense. lloston Journal of Chemistry.
A curious case of death is that of Karl
iGoler, a butcher, who died in New York
irom malignant pustule, lie Had ticcn
handling some diseased meat, and his
lingers must have become impregnated
with the virus. He rubbed his mouth
with his hand, and shortly after the ma
lignant pustule appeared, and in r. few
days caused death.
Did you ever know a civil engineer to
be guilty of rudenesP Albany Journal,
The Glum Iron Spade.
Ol all the devices which genius has made
For science or art, or tor commerce or trade,
With pulley or shalt, wheel, saw, file or blade,
Not many compare with the glum iron spado.
Thou grand excavator and emblem of grade
(iroal levor of thrift march on, promenade!
The thousands who scorn thee in Iile, I'm
afraid,
Will meet thee too soon at tho grave, iron
spado.
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
Firm friends Partners.
A big revolver The world.
Does a standing joke ever require a
seat?
J. B. Gough has delivered 8,000 lec
tures, Philadelphia's police force last year
cost $1,235,131.
How strange it is that hot words will
produce coolness !
The dentist makes almost as much
money per acher as the farmer.
Nobody should complain of sea-sickness
when lie considers that even the
ocean is confined to its bed.
Norfolk ranks first in tho peanut
trade. Fully 600,000 bushels were han
dled there the present season.
Great Britain produces three times as
much iron and nearly three times as
much coal as the United States.
People who struggle to the tops of the
Swiss mountains are those who may be
said to most enjoy a foreign climb.
A recelit authority on swimming says
that a good swimmer can go two miles
an hour without the aid of the current.
"A fellow feeling makes us wondrous
kind," buta fellow feeling for our pocket
book makes us wondrous mad. Mcridcti
Recorder.
The young man, says the Boston
Transcript, 'who prides himself upon
looking spruce, should bear in mind that
spruce is ever green.
Advice to the young Eat oysters only
in the months that have an " r" in their
names and drink whisky only in the
months that have a " k" in their names.
Albany Journal. .
What a glorious country this i, when
you come to think it all over! Seventy
five cents pays for a card in a newspa
per nominating your brother-in-law for
tho Presidency ! What nation can match
us? Detroit Free Fress.
Ether was thrown into the cell of a
refractory prisoner at Vervny, Switzer
land, until he became harmless. He had
defied the gendarmes to take him before
the judges, and the court could not wait
until he was starved into submission.
A Mail's Fight with a Snake.
Mr. William Bowersmith, a farm hand,
while working in a field near where Owl
creek empties into tho Mdhican. met with
an encounter a few das ago that seldom
falls to the lot of man. Mr. Bowersmitli
had taken an ax in his hand to repair
some fences bordering on the streams re
ferred to. Passing over-a iittle bayou
formed by the back water in the recent
freshet, and over which a large sycamore
had fallen, he came to a little unused
piece of ground, deeply shaded by buck
eyes and the common larch, and grown
over by tall grass and iron-weeds. Mr. B.
repaired some breaks in the fence and
was turning to go away, when his atten
tion was attracted by most peculiar
sounds, described as something like the
hissing of geese, mingled with dull thuds,
like striking on an old boot. Mr. Bower
smith turned his eyes in the direction of
the sounds and saw the grass nnd weeds
were in violent mot ion and leveled to the
earth, as though smitten with a club, lie
approached the spot cautiously, and by
climbing upon a stump close by his eyes
met a sight never to bo forgotten. Al
most beneath his feet, locked in deadly
conflict, lay two immense serpents, hiss
ing, writhing and twisting, while their
crimson mouths exuded blood and froth.
Their ryes gleamed like rockets and pro
truded from their heads like beads. They
would twine around one another and lash
the ground with their tails, and, fastening
their fangs into each other's neck, would
shake with the ferocity of bulldogs. It
soon became apparent that one of the ser
pents was about exhausted, and, while
making a desperate charge upon its op
ponent, the other seized it near the under
part of the throat and settled down upon
the ground, where they lay writhing for
several minutes. At bust everything be
came quiet, and Mr. Bowersmith crept
from his position, and, raising his axe,
advanced to dispatch the victor. He had
scarcely reached: the spot when, with the
rapidity ot lightning, the remaining ser
pent sprang upon him. and in an instant
had so entwined itself about his person
that resistance was impossible, and at
each respiration the snake drew his dead
ly coil closer and closer. Mr. B. sank
upon the ground, his face pierced in sev
eral places by the sharp fangs of the rep
tile. How long he remained in this po
sition he knows not, and in all probabil
ity would not have been alive to-day had
not a neighbor who. wiih a common
grain sickle in his bund, and who desired
to see Mr. Bowersmith upon some im
portant matter followed him to the spot
and found him as above narrated. It was
but the work of a moment for the neigh
bor to cut the body of the serpent in
twain and release the unfortunate man,
who was restored to consciousness by the
abundant application of water and the
imbibing of a little spirits which the
neighbor had in his possession. The ser
pents proved to be two large reptiles of
the species known as the black snake.
After straightening them out the smaller
one measured six feet four inches from
tip to tip, and the other eight feet two
inches, and was thoimht to be some three
inches in diameter. Mr. Bowersmith has
now nearly recovered, although his face
is still swollen from the poisonous effects
of the serpent's fangs, and the shock to
his nervous system would have proved
fatal to a less robust mn.-Vt. Vernon
(Ohio) Banner,