i - I
- -I
?
n ; i ' ' -
B. P. SOHWEIER,
the oossnnrnoi the otioi-aid the estoeoemzit op tee laws.
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. XXXIV.
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1SS0.
NO. 46.
- I
'
Ovtr the chimney the night wind Bang,
And the chanted melody do one knew ;
And the woman stopped aa the babe ahe
t a?d,
And thought of the oue ahe hai long ainoe
loat.
Sbe aaid, as her tear-drop bask ahe forced,
I hate the wind in the chimney."
Over the chimney the night wind Bang,
And chante 3 a melody no one knew ,
And the children said, aa they closer drew
Tn eome witch that ia clearing the black
night through
Tie a fairv that just then flew.
And we fear the wind in the chimney."
Over the chimney the night wind Ban;,
And chanted a melody no one knew ;
And the mau, as he sat on his hearth below,
tajd to himself, it will surely enow.
As fuel ia dear and wages low.
And I'll atop the leak in the chimney."
Oyer the cbimney the night wind sang.
And chanted a melody no one knew ;
But the poet listened and emJed, for he
Was man, and woman, and child, all three.
And be aaid. '-It is God's own hcrmouy,
3 he wind tl at sings in the chimney."
Too Much to Ask.
When I was a young mau, I entered the
manufacturing house of Bell & Co, as
clerk.
The position which I held, that of chief
salesman, gave rue a knowledge of the
wants of customers, and necessarily brought
me in daily contact with the master me
chanic of the concern.
This gentleman was a man of considerable
ability and much goodness of heart. We
became intimate socially, and fast friends,
lie was married. His wife was, to all ap
pearances, an esteiuiable lady loving and
unselfish.
I was a frequent visitor at their house,
their society being particularly pleasurable
to me; and I had reason to believe my pres
ence equally agreeable to them. I often
thought, that if I had a wife to trace my
home like the one possessed by John Kivers,
I should be contented and happy.
After awhile a visitor arrived at the Ri
vers mansion a sister of the wife.
This sister was younger, fairer, and more
beautiful in every respect than the other. I,
as might be expected, took a great fancy to
the new comer. An attachment sprang up
between us which ripened into love; a very
ardent love, on my part at least. I then
thought that women were little less than
angels, and she the fairest and purest of
them all.
Jn time I declared my passion, and my
sweetheart gladdened my heart by the ac
knowledgment of feelings similarto my own.
We became engaged.
I need not tell you of the blissfulness of
those days. The charm of life seemed to
have just begun. .
In the meantime, John grew discontented
w ith his position at the factory. His income
was large for a salary man, but its coming
was so regular, and the amount so unvary
inc. that there was a monotony about it
which did not harmonize with his ambitious
ideas. He threw up Ids position, and
.t.rtd . fartnrv of his own. His notions
of business were those of a child; his train
ing had not been in the proper direction
for success.
He failed disastrously. His wife, in
stead of extending the sympathy which
a man, under such circumstances, craves,
charged him with imbecility. Her reproach
es were so constant that the poor man
lecanie distracted. The loss of his wife's
love and respect, added to the destruction
of his financial hopes, made him succumb
entirely. He died, having his wife nearly
penniless.
The bereaved ones took their loss quite
philosophically evinced but little grief, I
thought.
I offered them all the consolation in ray
power showed a Incoming interest in the
widow's plans for the future made various
suggestions in regard to positions which
were respectable, and duties light, and the
pay good-all of which advice was kindly
nceived, but not acted on.
Though Mrs. li'vers, after her husband's
mi fortunes, had exhibited traitsof character
which would render her, during seasons of
disaster, anvthimr but a congenial compan
ion, I should, if I had been pecuniary able,
lut ve urged a speedy marriage of myself and
beloved, and offered a home, free from care,
to the widow of my deceased friend; but the
claims of my widowed mother and young
sistercould not be ignored, and those claims,
though moderate enough, were sufficiently
great to keep my purse in a state of deple
tion auite incompatible with the permanent
maintenance of strangers. My resources
were too limited to entertain such a thought
for a moment. ,
Not so, however, with the ladies. That
as yet unproposed arrangement was the one
of all others uppermost in their minds;
though, I opine, they had no great faith in
its accomplishment, else the change in their
manner towards me would not have been
ttued my attentions, of course, to
my lady love; but noticed a great lack of
cJdiality on her part; the f ree y
nnllna mere 1
wiuiueiu, uu " - -1
f. . ha. "How soon shall the
rp;;da7berBhe'replied,"Thedayof
otr marriage maybe hastened, or perma
nentTymoved, according to your decision
regard to a request winch I have to
"..i name the request, though
reTlwasnotwithtasuniiiseasto
relate, to my . Her
a,liancwuur,":3 - m to her
alliance should conui . .
. What I wish to ask is.
coaiion as u.j - theeTcnt0f our
whether you are willing, In the eve
and to give her a home- pcro
under your own roofl
...he termed it, I tWt
1 B. 7 Th. want of delicacy
no position iog- " , hR, goiicitude for
slaved made me forget that souci
r'TtTw U an admirable wing,
T' T 17owed to outrun on.', discreuon.
fc.wayinwiohU.en-t.
0nd tha
ter was broached seemed to rob the subject
of our union of all th tH .
- uuwuw W1U1
which I, in my own mind, had surrounded
it.
I tried to explain to her that I was not .
rioh man, but expected to do for her rela
tive whatever my ability would permit: and
reminded her that if she loved and trusted
me, she might safely leave the matter to
my honor.
But that did not satisfy her. Countine
too much upon the extent of my affections
and not realizing the effect of pennstancy
on some natures she pressed me to bind
myself by a sacred promise, or relinquish
any claim which 1 might fancy I had to her
nana.
The conflict of emotions (love and pride)
made me hesitate for a moment ere I was
ready to reply. When about to speak,
she seemed to divine my answer, and
anticipating it, and raised ter hand and
said, coolly:
I know what you would say; please
consider our engagement at an end."
After a few words of entreaty nd re
proach on my part, and the farewell injunc
tion, "Go and never show your face again!"
from my amiable friend, I retired from her
presence.
For three weeks following this distress
ing interview, I was the most wretched
man in the country. The alternate feel
ings of wrath and forgiveness, of love and
chagrin, to say nothing of the' rude awak
ening which I had experienced from my
blissful dreams, so wore upon me that I
could neither eat or sleep, and became re
duced to a mere shadow of my former
self.
Waal the end might have been to me
dread to think, had not a few lines from
her own pen reached me, expressing regret
for what had been said avowing a love
which could not endure endless separation,
and intimating that a sister's importunity
was the cause of the whole unpleasant
ness. That letter calmed the 'troubled waters"
of my soul considerably. My appetite im
proved; I began to assume again the ap
pearance of a human being,
but I was in no hurry to reply.
My love had received such a withenne
that it was in no condition to bloom again
right away: and my views as to the nature
and motives of women had undergone
somewhat of a' change. "Angelica" and
"Sinceritas" were names which had been
replaced in my mind by others less flatter
ing, but perhaps more appropriate.
Indecision, common to youug people suf-
fenne from heartache. led me to delay so
long any recognition of her communication,
that the ladv evidently thought I needed
another stirring up, and one, too, of a dif
ferent character. I received, through her
lawyer, notice of a suit brought against me
for breach of promise, and pecuniary dama
ges for injured feelings, S:c.
Stramre to what expedients women will
resort, to furthei ends !
I would willingly have paid the damages,
although I had but little faith in the exist
ence of iniuries: but public scandal was a
thing I dreaded to face; and a legal contest
with a woman a woman whom I once had
dearly levtd, and for whom, perhaps I
still felt a weakness was highly distaste
ful to me. But I had a character to sus
tain, so concluded to appear as defendant
in the case.
The trial, like the lady herself was a
mixture of bitter and sweet. The hand of
the widow, as prime mover in the proceed
ings, was plainly revealed, The sympa
thies of the jury were largely with the fair
plaintiff (beauty and tears have their influ
ence), but the evidence was eutire'.y against
her, and she lost the suit.
Subsequent to the trial, I offered through
my attorney, to pay such part of the dam
ages claimed as I was then able promising
to liquidate the whole in time. I did not
like the attitude in which 1 was unwilling
ly placed, that of an enemy to the cherish
ed ones of my departed friend, and made
this offer to change it, as well as to show
to the ladies that their welfare was a mat
ter in which I had not ceased to take an
interest. And I had, Iod, an undcfiniJlc
heart longing for the happy days of the
pggt avearningfor her who once had re
ceived my caresses, and a sincere wish to
retain her esteem.
M v offer was refused with disdain (the
freak of a woman, or perhaps, the disregard,
for once, of the prayers of a sister), and a
verbal message sent to me to the effect
that it was her earnest hope that I should
know nothing but misery for the remainder
i if mv life.
After the lapse of several years, i was
summoned to the death bed of my not for
mitten friend. I found her conscious, but
hardly able to articulate. She implored
forgiveness, and managed 10 miorun.c
that her love had always uecn mine uer
heart had been right, though her judge
ment wrong.
The sudden revealing of the better side
of her nature so overwhelmed me with
love and grief for her the only woman
who had ever entered my heart her help
less condition so excited my pity, that I
would have made any sacrifice to prolong
her life. , . ,
She died in my arms. nen i go
I shall look for her. I hope she may oe
found in that place from whence I. when
I first met her, felt assured she came.
Ilia lat Dime.
Tk.tr nit into a bobtail car.
They were
-Vwi m kilL As be entered ne
iineled a lot of tenpenny nails in his pock
J c . - .. .nnA.riirp if wealth.
eL to give mm uic i'F -
She arranged her skirts and sat down with
much ceremony, while taf1 ?
the nail, for ten cents. JtoJWyM
it up, but in placing n
in the top of the box it slid off and rolled
under the seat.
His eyes bulged out, his face innieLa
lelv resembled an over ripe plum pudding,
his hair stood on end, the perspiration
trickled down his nose, and he looked for
In the world a. if he had a snake down his
wt He didn't know what to do.
6uddenly an idea struck him real hard.
He'knocked his hat out of the indow
and a. he got off the back stoop be told the
rirl to go right on and he'd catch the car.
Although the driver drove alow for three
Mnrkt the vonngman didn t come back.
ul ukn him an "ul whil. to
find that hat.
v .. . . , . ...... . - . ' - 1 " ' 1
lnin" . '"B----M--2jrTrawC1p't y Vnjsnw'Sl.'l I mm-imllljm Y :w"aanwanaaaw T ani ll '' " - X-X3ui -ifYiii' iiTiTi TJS : .
"-,SbT mm " " " - - annwsjnnnn BbW mm .nwtfjBaaTsTsTsnws?SnwB
A Dork's Myateriea.
It is not an agreeable sieht. the bottom
of a ship's dock at low watc. but a
thought of what is hidden in and under the
soft and bubbling mud must give pause to
many a mind. Divers and dredgers only
are familiar by personal contact with the
probabilities of the hidden depth, and their
experiences are exceedincly varied. The
find may be a watch, a telescope or what
ever is liable to fall over from the rail of a
tied-up vessel, or horrible possibility, a
human body. But the curiosities of dredg
ing is the point here. A large steamship
dock in East Boston is being cleaned out,
for the first time in twenty years, and the
many rinds in the oozy substance, after it
has been deposited by the capacious maw
of the jaw-like dipier into the scow, art
very suggestive. Dishes of all kinds,
spoons, knives and forks are hooked out
by the hundred, whole and well preserved,
to say nothing of tiie myriad particles of
broken crockery, scraps ot iron and other
debris, which serve only to emphasize the
ordinary imprecation of the dredgman as
his "pull" proves disappointing. But
the 6trangest happening of all and the
luckiest fish-out of the season occurred re
cently, oue man recovering more than four
dozen pieces of tableware without a crack
or a nick to mar the beauty of their sur
face English crockery of the heaviest and
most ornamental description iu use cn a
first-class passenger steamship. Those
only who have traveled know the care that
is taken on a transatlantic hue in table
furniture. Dishes and tureens, with their
covers, fitting, and in one instance a half
dozen matched dinner-plates with the com
pany arms, were f aund.
iiow did these valuables find their way
over the vessel's sides? No other theory
seems plausible than that of a lazy scullion
committing to everlasting mud what he
was too indolent to wash. Think how ex
pensive the cheapest servant can become,
un watched, on one of these floating palaces,
where the means of ever hiding the object
of his dread ot work are so near at hand.
How easily all the evidences of theft and
pocket-picking can be obliterated by the
light-fingered gentry. The depth of mud
in a dock is always problematical until
tested by a pole or diver, the lattei way
being attended with more or less danger.
Some months ago a large steamer was haul
ing out, and the mau in charge of the
wharf-line did not slip it at the proper mo
ment. The result was. the capstan head
was wrenched from the deck, ' and this
costly piece of ship-gear cast into the
dock. The vessel preceded on its voyage,
and a diver was engaged for $00 to recover
the capstan. lie descended in the usual
way, with loaded shoes and metallic head
dress, but he did not bargain to sink so
deep in mtU, though in water it would
have been comparatively a pastime. Down,
down he went, yet with painful slowness,
and hard bottom was not struck until he
was far deeper that his own height, and
he was not a "suorty," as the boys say.
it was out of the question to attempt to
grope around for a capstan under such con
ditions, and he signalled to rise. Nothing
daunted in his original purpose, however,
he dolled the loading from his shoes aud
made a second descent horizontally, as a
swimmer sinks at will, and groped around
for the missing article until he had ex
plored by his sense of touch the surface
mud of the tulire dock bottom. io cap
stan, no pay; and the discomfited diver
was obliged to relinquish his search, The
capstan has cot been found yjt, and pro
bably sank with its catle attached to a
greater depth than human perseverance
could fathom. It ts expected that the
present dredging will bring the lost capstan
to light.
The N'rbnuk Am.
The r.nt family in Nebraska, is an in
teresting species. They are here all sizes,
both black and red. The most numerous
is what we call army ants. They scatter
over these prairies by the quiutillions.
They are black, about an eighth of an inch
long, and are fierce, stern and sullen, with
the right characteristics for soldiers. Some
times they march iu columns of great
length, aud pay no attention to you what
ever. If you lay an obstruction in their
way, they "do just as a railroad company
would do under fiuiilar circumstances
they remove it if they can; if not, they
bridge it over. If this is not practicable
they lay their track around. Once I put
a layer of powdered alum across their way.
Alum they shut like poison. A number
earned earth and quickly bridged it over. 1
I then put a layer of alum on their bridge.
That sent them around it They are
hunting tribe, and will kill and eat what
ever comes in their way. I have frequently
watched the conflict between a number of
these and a huge red ant nearly an inch
long. The little fellows seize the giant
by the legs, and despite his struggles, hold
on. The giant picks up all the assailants
he can reach and clips them in two, but it
avails him little, for there are always others
to take hold, and though the struggle may
last for horns, he ia sure to be worried to
death, as escape is impossible. A small
number take their victim in hand at a time,
just enough to easily handle him, and the
others go about their business as uncon
cerned as though they had become accus
tomed to such battles from infancy. When
the victory is won they all join in and have
a feast. In this way they kill worms, flies,
grasshoppers and dragon flies. Their vic
tims are sometimes larger than a hundred
ants. Woe to any of these when once the
little bull dog ant has tastened his fangs on
their legs. It is something pathetic to
witness the fearful struirgle for life and the
terrible death throe of even a little insect
in the wilderness.
Tke lloc of Htarj,
A young lady writes all the way from
Alabama asking us to give her me pioi oi
a novel which she wishes to write some
thing of love, yet tragical. How will this
H.i for a synopsis ? "They parted, vow
ing that they loved each other, but that
each would marry some one else. As her
check pressed against his hps the latter
became white with the powder which ad
hered to them. She started lor an alter-
noon ride, and ha took the thirty-six min
utes past one train for New York and had
some nn. When he liad enough of the
malaria he boarded a train which, thank
heaven 1 passed her village without a stop.
The conductor asked him why he was
hanging his bead and shoulders out of the
window, and he replied that he was only
riding on half a ticket, and did not want
to occupy too much room in the car. The
conductor could not punch the ticket, so
he punched him. At that moment a pair
of horses, scared by a political banner, ran
awav. As they struck the train it was
eoine round a curve, and Augustus went
out of the window into Alicia's phaeton
like the Jack on a ten-spot of diamonds.
For two days she fed hun on mint tea and
chicken broth, to get hun over the effects
of the g malaria, and now they are mar
ried and living on her lamer, wno nopea,
n the SDrinz. to ret him a situation on
some dangerous part of an elevated rail.
road." If this plot will suit the young
lady of Alabama she is welcome to iu
Iron Making to India.
In th Kuman district tnere are four sev
eral localities whtre blast furnaces have
been erected. These, iu the order of their
distance trout Morsdala ), which is nearest
a railway station, are Kaladungi, Decbauri,
Khurpatal and Kamgarh. At Kaladungi
there are four furnaces of about fourteen
hundred cubic feet capacity each. The
situation is unhealthy, and the furnaces
and the blowing machlaeiy of a primitive
sort. ith water as the motive power for
the blast and water is the power intended
to be utilized in the four localities three
of these furnaces have worked, in all, only
two half yeais. The last went out in May,
18(13, when the aggregate yield bad been
five hundred and forty-five tons of pig Iron
of a very inferior quality. At Dechauri
there is one furnace, also of about fourteen
hundred cubic feet capacity, which was
erected aud first put in blast by the govern
ment officers in 1K60, and after six weeks'
work, during which time it produced
fifty-nine tons of iron, came to a stand by
the breaking of the water wheel. In
January, 1802. the Kuman Iron Company
restarted this furnace, but it only worked
till May of the same year. It was again
put in blast in January, 1860, and blown
out on the 5th of June. During these two
blows four hundred and twenty-four tons
in all of iron of a medium quality were
obtained. At Khurpatal there are two fur
naces of about seven hundred and eight
hundred feet capacity respectively. Both
are vury much after the style of the Kala
diLigi furnaces. They are of the rudest
construction imaginable, being mere cairns;
moreover, they are in the most unsuitable
position for obtaining either iron or fuel
that could well be imagined. Ho wonder,
therefore, that the larger only appears to
have been at any time in blast, and that its
total output is set down as "a few tons of
iron of some kind." At Kamgarh there
are the outbuildings of a blast furnace
which were erected in 1S09, but the fur
nace was never finished. In connection
with this there are also the remains of a
German forge, erected, apparently, for the
conversion of cast into wrought iron.
That such appliances should have been
erected in India, most of them at so modern
a date, will strike the British ironmaster
with astonishment. Yet tha facts as here
stated, appear in, a printed report, dated
Allahabad, February, this year, by Mr.
Ness to the secretary of government, North
west provinces and Oudb. Mr. Ness had
been cdlcd to the district to report in detail
upon the more recent attempts of the gov
ernment to work the Dechauri furnaces.
These, between the opening of 1377 and the
12th of September last year made after
seven breakdowns preceded by a twelve
months spurt in putting (he furnace into
what was believed to be working ordar
about six hundred tons. The breakdowns
related sometimes to the action of the fur
nace, and sometimes to the water power.
The comparatively better results of these
most recent trials are shown to have been
in much part due to the admixture of Ram
garh fre, containing 42.36 per cent, of
metallic iron, aud over 36 per cent, of silica
and alumnia, with the Dechauri ore, which
yields 3S.23 per cent, of metallic iron aud
6i parts of siiicious matter, but the better
ore has to be brought SO miles on the backs
of sheep and goats, over uneven ground
and heavy gradients. Mr. Ness seems to
have well explored the district for better
ones, as also to have conducted trials with
a temporary reducing furnace; but in the
end his advice to the government is to be
content with their present loss, aud not throw
good money after bad, certainly in the
attempt to carry on iron manufacture in
the Northwest provinces by the aid of the
blast furnace. It is manifest that the Brit
ish ironmaster has little cause to fear that
India will soon be in a position to supply
herself with the home made article.
The Probrr oi the GreyneunO.
Richard II., of England had a greyhound
called Math, beautiful beyond measure.
who would not notice or follow anyone out
the King. Whenever the King rode
abroad, the greyhound was loosed by the
person who had' him in charge, aud ran in
stantly to caress him, by placing his two
front feet on bis shoulders, it leu out
that as the King and the Duke of Lancaster
were conversing in the court of the castle,
their horses being ready for them to mount,
the greyhound was untied, but instead of
running as usual to the King, he left him
and leaped to the Duke of Lancaster's
shoulders, paying him every court, and
caressing him as he formerly used to caress
the Kiug. The DuKe, not acquainted
with this greyhound, asked the King the
meaning of this fondness, saying:
"What dies this meant "
Cousin," replied the King, "it means
a great dual for you, an t very httle for
me."
"How?"? said the Duke. "Pray explain
it."
"I understand by it," said the King,
"that this greyhound fondles and pays his
court to you this day, as King of Knglnud,
which you will surely be, and 1 shall De
deposed; for the natural instinct of the dog
shows it to him. Keep him, therefore, by
your side; for be will now leave me and
follow vou.'
The Duke of Lancaster treasured up
what the King said, and paid attention to
the ereyhound, who would nevermore loi-
low Kichard of Bordeaux, but kept by the
aide of the Duke of Lancaster, as was wit
nessed by thirty thousand men.
Adulterations of rood.
Prof. S. W. Johnson, in his paper re
cently read at Saratoga, states that the
practice of adulterating milk by adding wa
ter alone, enables peddlers to sell annually
in New York City, 40,000,000 quarts of
this harmless beverage at an average of
ten cents per quart, realizing $4,000,000 a
year, or $12,000 per day. He also finds
that the number of cows kept to supply the
city of London with milk are not sufficient
to afford a smgle tablespoonful to each in
habitant of the city daily. London is the
centre of gross adulterations of food and
drinks. Alum is used in bread to make
it light, elastic, firm and dry, but adultera
tion in this country is far less common
than in England. It ought to be, when
grain is sometimes used as fuel, because it
is cheaper than wood or coal. The Profes
sor believes that granulated sugars are
pure, though pulverized sugar and syrups
are liable to be adulterated. The greatest
danger to the public is rrom the use of
colored confectionery, and the only safe
tuleisto.let it entirely alone. Market
pickles and vinegar are also to be used
with caution. Bar-room liquors are badly
adulterated by the use of poisons, am T the
fact is so well known that he thinks any
body deserves his fate who drinks them.
A food testing laboratory to be estaU ished
in each State, co-operating wlt'itt b.3 lard
of health, he suggests, would save the
citizens many times its cost, just as agri
cultural experiment stations have saved
immense sums to the farmers in the pur
Cuase V fertilizers. On the whole, bow
eve: teralionof food in this country,
is ommon.
War are some men meauer than bad
coffee f Because bad coffee will finally
settle, bat some men won't.
True to Ft. Word.
The execution of Chester Dixon, con
victed of murder, at the last term of the
circuit court of the Choctaw nation, took
place recently. Chester Dixon, the mur
derer, was a young, full-blooded Choctaw
about 17 years of age. - He was subject to
fits, during which he often lost control of
himself. He was, aside from this malady,
considered rather a bright boy. Dixon
lived with his mother and stepfather about
five miles from Atoka. Their nearest
neighbors were an Indian known as Wash
ington, and Martha, bis wife. Une after
noon, abeut a year ago, Washington re
tarn ed from Atoka and found that a hor
rible murder bad been committed. The
body of his wife lay on the floor of his
cabin in ghastly fragments. The be id
was severed from the body, and several
terrible gashes had been inflicted with an
axe. The bloody instrument of butchery
lay beside the bleeding victim. The alarm
was given and it was discovered that Dixon
was seen issuing from the fated bouse cov
ered with blood. He was arrested, but
stoutly denied the killing. He was tried
according to the Choctaw law by a compe
tent jury. He was found guilty and sen
tenced to be shot Sept. 10, at noon He
was allowed to go home from the court
room unrestrained, except by parole of
honor to be at the court-house A Atoka at
the hour appointed for his executirm.
Choctaw laws provide for no appeal, else
his case would have been reconsidered, for
after his conviction he was attacked with a
fit, which proved conclusively that he was
subject to temporary aberrations, during
which, it is presumed, be was irresponsible
for his actions. His attorney during the
trial had not made any such plea and the
sentence of death having been pronounced
it was unalterable. Un Thursday Dixon
came to Atoka with his stepfather for the
purpose of ordering his coffin. He had his
measure taken and gave the orders for the
lisposition of his body without the least
appearance of concern. Un I riday morn
ing about one hundred persons, most oi
them whites, gathered about the court
house to witness the execution. Lp to
within half an hour of the appointed time
Dixon had not appeared. Our reporter
asked his companion whether there was
not some likelihood of the prisoner break
ing his parole.
"If be is alive he will be here within ten
minutes just as sure as the sun shines."
Hardly had these words been spoken
when a murmur of " Here he comes " was
heard on all sides, and there rode up a
young fellow,, alight in bdild, tall and
straight, but rather awkward in his move
ments. Alighting from his pony the boy
approached a little knot cf Indian women
wlio were gathered around a blazing log.
Without giving any attention to those
around him he sat down by a stump, and,
hanging down his head, he seemed lost in
meditation. Presently a venerable old
Indian approached the boy and spoke to
him in the Choctaw tongue, bidding him,
as the interpreter said, to meet his fate as
became a Choctaw brave; to remember
that nothing but his life would atone for
the life he had taken, and not to make the
expiation grudgingly, but to meet bis death
feeling that his people had done justice in
emdemning him.
lnle the old man was talking Dixon
held his head down, but at the conclusion
of the speech he looked up, held out his
hand, and in the hearty gra.p he gave the
old man's hand, seemed to imply that he
would not falter, and he never did thrugh
out it all. Several men and women then
came up and shook hands with him. He
looked up at each one with a glance of rec
ognition, but never spoke a word. At
11:43 o'clock the sheriff, Wm. Kelson,
brought the boy an entire change of cloth
ing, which be put on. While Dixon was
dressing for the grave, eager eyes watched
his eveiy motion to discover, if possible,
the least evidence of emotion, but i.e ad-
justed every button without a sig- of
tremor. He then sat down on a b Act
while his mother comlied his hair.
The sheriff then anuounced that the time
had come. Dixon arose aud walked to the
spot pointed out by the officer, and stood
facing his coffin. His stepfather held his
right hand, his cousin supporting him on
the left The same old man who had
spoken to Dixon before now made a mark
with charcoal upon the boy's breast, just
over the heart, and spoke a few words of
encouragement. The sheriff then bound a
handkerchief over Dixon's eyes, command
ed him to kneel, and immediately there
after beckoned a man who had until then
kept out of sight. This was Abner Woods,
a cousin of the condemned.
Dixon had
chosen him to do the shooting.
Abner
advanced, and taking his position about
nve paces irom tue ooy, ne levcieu
his Winchester rifle, took steady aim, au d
flred. "
The ball went to the mark. Almost
simultaneously with the report of the rifle
Dixon feU forward, uttering a groan, and
Hied mitiiAiit iimwk Thfl mother of
the dead took charire of the remains,
whieh wi-rn buried liv a few friends. The
enlire proceedinz passed without a sem-
blance of excitement. Everything was
conducted properly and decorously. As
contrasted with the civilized mode ot pun
ishment the Choctaw method is more
humane, more effective and is more likely
to deter others from capital offenses.
Zllto, the Sorcerer.
Very extraordinary things are related of
Ziito, a sorcerer in the Court of Wences
laus, King of Bohemia, and afterwards
Emperor of Germany, in the latter part of
the fourteenth century. This is, perhaps,
all things considered, the most wonderful
specimen of macical power anywhere to
be found. It is gravely recorded by Du
bravious, Bisbop of Ulmutz,' in his History
of Bohemia. It was publicly exhibited on
occasion of the marriage of Wenceslaus
with Sophia, daughter cf the Elector Pala
tine, of Bavaria , before a vast assembled
multitude.
The father-in-law of the King, well
aware of the bride groom's known predi
lection for theatrical exhibitions and magi
cal illusions, brought with him to Prague.
the capital of Wenceslaus, a whole wagon
load of morrice dancers and jugglers, who
made their appearance among the royal
retinue. Meanwhile, Ziito, the favorite
magician of the King, took 1 is place ob
scurely among the ordinary spectators. He,
however, immediately arrested the atten
tion of the strangers, being remarked for
his extraordinary deformity, and a mouth
that stretched completely from ear to ear.
Ziito was for some time engaged in quietly
observing the tricks and sleights, that were
exhibited.
At length, while the chief magician of
the Elector Palatine was still busily em
ployed in showing some of the most ad
mired specimens of his art, the Bohemian,
indignaat at what appeared to him the
bungling exhibitions of his brother artist,
came forward and reproached him with the
unskillfulness of his performances. The
two professors presently fell into warm
debate. Ziito, provoked at the insolence
of his rival, mado no more ado, but swal
lowed him whole before the multitude at
tired as he was, all but his shoes, which he
objected to, because they were dirty. He
I then retired for a short while to a closet,
and presently retained, leading the magi
cian along with him.
Having thus dispose d of his rival, Ziito
proceeded to exhibit the wonders of his
art. He showed himself first in his proper
shape, and then iu those of different per
sons successively, with countenances and a
stature totally dissimilar to his ow n; at one
time splendidly attired in robes of purple
and silk, and then in the twinkling of an
eye in coase linen and a clownish coat of
frieze. He would proceed along the field
with a smooth and undulating motion with
out changing the posture of a limb, for all
the world as if he were carried along in a
ship. He would keep pace with the King's
chariot, in a car drawn by barn-door fowls.
He also amused the King's guests, as they
sat at the table, by causing, when they
stretched out their hands to the different
dishes, sometimes their hands to turn into
the cloven feet of an ox, and at other times
into the hoofs of a horse. He would clap
on them the antlers of a deer, so that
when they put their heads out of the win
dow to see some sight that was going by,
they could, by no means, draw them back
again; while he, in the meantime feasted
on the savory cates that had been spread
before them, at his leisure.
At one lime, he pretended to bo in want
of money, and to task his wits to devise
the means to procure it. On such an oc
casion he took up a handful of grains of
corn, and presently gave them the form
and appearance of thirty hogs, well fatted
for the market. He drove tivse hogs to
the residence of one Michael, rich dealer,
but who was remarked for being penurious
and thrifty in his bargains. He offered
them to Michael for whatever price be
should judge reasonable. The bargain
was presently struck, Ziito at the same
time warning the purchaser, that he should,
on no account, drive them to the river to
drink. Michael, however, paid no atten
tion to the advice, and the hogs no sooner
arrived at the river, than they turned into
grains of corn as before. The dealer,
greatly enraged at this trick, sought high
and low for the seller, that he might be re
venged on him.
At length he found him in a vintner's
shop, seemingly in a gloomy and absent
frame of mind, reposing himself, wi'.h his
letrs stretched out on a form. The dealer
called out to him, but he seemed not to
hear. Finally he seized Auto by oue foot,
plucking ut it with all his might. The
foot ca.ne away with the leg and the thigh
and Ziito screamed out, apparently in
great agony. He seized Michael by the
nape of the neck and dragged him before
a judge. Here the two set up their sepa
rate complaints, Michael for the fraud that
had been committed on him, and Ziito for
the irreparable injury he had suffered in
his person. From this adventure came the
proverb, frequently used in the days of the
historian, speaking of a person who made
an improvident bargain: "He made just
such a purchase as Michael did with his
hogs."
A Bright Bird.
A large and handsome whooping stork
can be seen daily strutting around the yard
at the residence of Frof. Paige, in Council
Bluffs. The elongated bird was purchased
by the Professor during a visit to Mexico
some months since and has become quite
tame. Among other food that the stork
relbhes is a nice fat mouse. Mrs. Paige
has a small wire trap in the house and
whenever a mouse happens to wander there
in, he becomes a sweet morsel for his stork
ship. The other day Mrs. Paige noticed
the bird standing near the barn watching
intently at a small hole leading beneath the
building. The stork remained in au atti
tude of. watchfulness for nearly half an
hour, and Mrs. Paige becoming curious,
concluded to watch and see what followed.
Finally she saw a mouse creep into sight
from undei the barn, and the same instant
the intelligent stork pounced down ou the
mouse and "took him in," killing it first
and then eating it. After performing this
intelligent feat, the stork resumed his
vigilance at the mouse hole, and, after
watching sharply for over an hour, seemed
to crow wtary of his wi.rk or get out of
patience, and marching to the house entered
the kitchen, and picking up the mouae-irap,
from which he liad so often been fed, he
returned to the barn and set the trap down
near the hole, evidently appreciating the
use of the trap, and believing that it would
catch a mouse for him.
1 he rronunclatlon or "V
Ninety-nine out of every hundred North-
I erners will say institoot instead of insti-
i tute. doot y for duty a perfect rhyme to
I the word beauty. They will call new and
- -
the dozeus and hundreds of similar words,
Not a dictionary in the English language
authorizes this. In studeut and stupid the
"u" has the same sound as m stupid, and
should not be prouounced stoodent or
. stoopid, as so many teachers are in the
habit of sounding them. If it is a vulgar-
I m to Call a door a doall-
as we all admit
isn't it as much of a vulgarism to call a news
paper a noospaperf One vulgarism is
Northern and the other Southern; that is
the only difference. When the London
Punch wishes to burlesque the pronuncia
tion of servants, it makes them call the
duke the dooke, the tutor the tooter, and a
tube a toob. You never find the best
Northern speakers, such as Wendell Phil
lips, Ueorge William Curtis, Emerson,
Holmes, and men of that class, saying noo
for new, TooMlay for Tuesday, avenoo for
avenue, or calling a dupe a doop. It is a
fault that a Southerner never falls into. He
has slips enough of another kind, but he
doesn't slip on the long "u. '' As many of
our teachers have never had their attention
called to this, 1 hope they will excuse this
notice.
He Expect It.
The man who leaves a tiushopor a hard
ware store with a length of stovepipe un
der his arm knows exactly the gauntlet he
has to run. and has probably braced him
self for the emergency. The regular pro
gramme is as follows:
First man "ttei.a naa to come to it
nave you 7"
Second man "Don wear if she don't
fit!"
Third man "Hit'er with; he ax!"
Fourth man "I've 'been there, and I
have no advice to give you."
Fifth man "Hello! What's that? Ah!
I see ! Bet you ten to five you'll get
mad.
Sixth man "Ho! ho! ho! Well, I
never! I always stand on the step-ladder
and hammer with a stick of wood.
Seventh man This man makes a mo
tion for the man with the stove pipe to
halt, points to the stove pipe and asks:
Is that stove pipe I"
"Yes."
'Is it to put up a stove with ?"
"Yes."
"Going to put up the stove yourself t"
"Yea.3
Well. I shan't Under you. Stoves
have almost become a necessity of late
rears. I know quite a number of my
neighbors who are getting them to build
fires in. Let e know how you come
eat.
Am Incident ot Indian Bar.
Just above Cuteye Foster's bar, on the
north fork of the Yuba, there is a little
valley. In 1S46 it was covered with oaks.
We called it "Indian Valley," and the bar
above we then called "Oak Bar." The
valley was thus named because of an In
dian family that bad pitched their tents
there during the long winter months. They
were curious huts, made of pine boughs
and skins; and, even in those early times;
di.carded gunny bags, and pieces of canvas
had been utilized by the squaws to supple
ment the rude comforts of their bark and
bower houses. Our home was at Oak Bar.
Our houses was made of poles, covered
with boughs of tree. Our bed-room, a
tnnk; out roof and coverlid, an India-rubber
blanket; our pillow, our boot; our
kitchen, an overshadowing pine ; our laun
dry was the rushing 'Yuba. For cooking
utensils we bad a hake-kettle, a frying-pan,
a coffee-pot; for table furniture, tin cups,
tin plates, two tinned forks, aud sheath
knives. Our knives were wiped upon our
boots, and earned in our belts; our plates
and cups were hung upon a naiL This
saved washing; our kettle, pot. and pan
needed no washing for we never placed
anything dirty in them; and though beans
succeeded bread in the kettle, bacon sup
plemented beef in the frying-pau, and slap
iaexs succeeded lean or fat and stew or fry,
we were not fastidious. We had no time
to prepare luxuries for our palates. Our
appetites, lying below our plates, demand
ed prompted service; and the quick passage
of the pleasure-path of the throat was made
that the stomach might perform its more
practical duty of administering strength to
bone and muscles that all day strained
with pick and shovel, or rocked the auri
ferous gravel.
In the valley was the store, made of can
vai It was not large, but it was a store
that held a great assortment of that kind of
merchandise that was indispensable to
wear and to eat, and tliat was comfortable
to drink. It was a hotel, and a warehouse,
and a post-olhce; a club, and a general in
telligence office, and a gold exchange, and
a market; a reading-room, and a court
house, and a hospital, and a gambling hell.
It was never so crowded that there was
not room for another to stand on the out
siile.or sleep with his blankets under a tree
in the immediate vicinity. Its proprietor
was every inch a gentleman, and tne writer
bears cheerful testimony to the fact that he
gave bones; weight of flour and sugar, and
raw potatoes, and beans all at a dollar a
pound. Pickles; vinegar, and potatoes,
eaten raw, were articles of antiscorbutic
luxury; flour, bacon, coffee, and sugar
were the necessaries of life. Brandy was
eight dollars a bottle: certain other lux
uries cost an "ounce" a pound. Our mer
chant host dealt an honest card, and when
ever he presided at faro, monte, or engaged
in the social game of "draw'" was the
very embodiment of judicial fairness. He
always dressed the gentleman, and, while
the common miner was content with pant
al'jnns of buckskin and boots of horse
leather, with coat of canvas or shirt of
"hickory check," he indulged in the lux
ury of immaculate linen, a suit of fash
ionable black, and boots of burnished
brightness. Upon his domestic relations
he was silent, and seemingly sensitive.
Kate was.mbdt and womanly beauti
ful, we all thought; for she was the only
thing in dimity from Lang's Bar to Down
isvilie. She never attended the store, but
she some sometimes presided as look-out at
the faro game, when her "husband" dealt.
Her room was a canvas square. From its
opening fly we caught glimpses of carpet,
easy chair, luxurious bed, and books; and
from its recesses we sometimes heard the
plaintive touch of the guitar not the
music of a ski led hand, but the patient,
picking-out of melodious notes, as though
the hand sought to find a strain of music
to satisfy some want of the soul.
That he killed Alexander fairly Wil
liam Alexander was the name, as we as
certained after he was dead "Wiid Bill"
everbody called everboJy agreed; that is
he told liill 10 draw and defend himself,
and if Bill was not quick enough, that was
not his fault. Bill was drunk, and this
was urged by some of the more conserva
tive of the miners as reason why he should
have been spared; and all agreed that he
was a clever, haruuiscarum, good fellow
although I do not, at this distant day,recall
any particular good that he.ever did, or
that was mentioned at the time. It was
universally agreed that to insult a lady was
an unpardonable offence, and that Kate
was a "perfect lady" I have her own auth
ority for saying; for once 1 heard her make
the remark, iu answer to the unguarded
expression of a miner that "there wasn't
an honest woman within two hundred and
fifty miles of this infernal hole" referring
to Indian Valley.
However, Bill was dead killed in the
presence of the lady whom he had insulted
by hiuting that she was less than wife. She
S-ii upon her look-out stool, a calm and
uuiuoved spectator of the deed that sretch-
ed dead bef re her human form. W ith a
serene and unmoved expression, she gath
ered together the checks and the cash, and
withdrawing to her private apartment, did
not again appear idl after the funeral.
ith a generous liberality that silenced
all unkind criticism, the gentleman who
did the lulling claimed the privelege of
paying ail the expenses oi the buna, which
did as we all agreed handsomely,
Nothing was spared, of either expense or
trouble. The only articles that Bill left
his saddle, silver-mounted ; a- bridle, also
silver-mounted ; a lariat of braided hair,
his spurs, his bowie-knife,and his revolver.
with his name engraved upon a gold plate
were carefully preserved for his friends
or relatives, if they should ever "turn up.
There was no clergyman in that vicinity,
but there was scarce a miner's cabin that
had not a Bible or a piaycr-book. His
grave was dug, and we all gathered around
it. ith reverent voice and pray en ul
heart, the writer of th'u sketch read over
it the service of the church, la his pine
coffin, with the wire sieve of a sluice-box
for the class plate, we took the last look at
poor Bill, in his clean white shirt and
clerical necktie. We buned him, and
planted at his head a board duly inscribed
with the name and date otidecease, anu
piled nicks over him to keep the coyotes
troni digging him up.
St. Macau.
The obioct of the greatest interest in the
Orkney Islands is the cathedral of St. Mag
nus, at Kirkwall, whicn Gates irom uie
twelfth century and is still entire and in an
excellent state of preservation. In the six
teenth century it was extended both toward
the east and toward the west, the same ma-
terijl being used as in the original structure
namely.old red sandstone, which abounds
in the islands, ilaco, ting ot nor way,
who died in the adjoining bishop's palace
ia 1263, was buried here, as was also Mar
garet, the Maid of Norway, wh o died here
on her way to Scotland in 121)0. Une of
the finest features of the cathedral is the
western doorway, in which there . are the
remains of some very fine carving much
effaced by atmospheric action. A strik
ing effect is produced by alternating yel
low with red sandstone in the pilkas and
mouldings. This structure ia in trod wood
by Walter Scett, ia his admirable novel of
The Pirate,"
Over Ezartlan.
Long-continued exertion, without prop
er intervals of rest, is followed by a pecu
liar sensation of fatigue, and often by
tremor c cramp. Fatigue is due, in part,
to the failure of contractile material and
an accumulation of waste-products, in the
muscles, but in the main, to exhaustion of
the nerve-centres that supply stimulus to
contraction. Both tremor and cramp are
probably caused by excessive muscular ir
ritability, the former being due to short,
irregular explosions of muscular force, the
latter being a prolonged contraction of the
muscle. When over-exertion is confined
to a small group at muscles, these, instead
of becoming enlarged and strengthened as
is the case wheu exertion and rest are duly
interchanged, suffer chrome exhaustion,
which shows itself in a species of paraly
sis as in the palsy, or cramp, severally
peculiar to writers, telegraphers, type
setters, violinists, pianists, tailors, milkers
and men of various trades whose work ia
mainly with the hammer. It is com.
puted that the pen-blade forger, if indus
trious and disposed to do full work, de
livers nearly 2U.000 accurate strokes a day,
and in ten years, over 88,000,000, each
stroke involving expenditure of nerve
force, both in the nerves of the brain which
calculate the distance and amount of
force necessary, and the nerves of the
muscles engaged in the act. Another
result of over-exertion is irritability of the
heart, similarly due to exhaustion of nerve
force. The heart may become dilated, so that
valves one or more cease fully to close
the openings, or the valves become thick
ened and incapable of ready and complete
action. The elastic tissue of the great
arteries leading out of the heart, may be
weakened by over-distension, and the
walls may, during some strong effort, so
far give way as to form a pouch, or even
to stretch out into a fatal aneurism. This
lnitiliility of heart gives rise to palpita
tion, caruiac pain and rapid pulse. It is
estimated that thirty-eight per cent, of
cases of this affection among our soldiers,
during the late civil war were due to long
and rapid marches, or to other forms of
over-exertion. Professional pedestrians
are proverbially short-lived. Mountain-
climbers, and persons who carry gymnas
tic or athletic exercises to excess and
especially laborers whose work ia severe
and who also suffer from intemperance.
foul air and improper diet, are peculiarly
hable to heart disease.
How to Crow Old.
Kise early in the moraine, before fairly
rested from yesterday's work then do some
violent exercise before breakfast ; if noth
ing else is convenient, run up hill five
nules and somerset yourself home again.
Eat nor drink anything for the pleasure of
taste. Be content with a brown crust and
cold water. Don't drink tea nor coffee.
Avoid all palatable beverages, upon the
principle that pleasure is wrong, and pain
brings a hoary crown early. Avoid com
fort of any kind. Don t marry. If you
must marry, don t do it for beauty, con
venience or pleasure ; do it for affection's
sake ; choose an ugly and smileless woman
w:th a green complexion a woman that
will freeze you with her dyspepsia. Such
a woman, if she is proud of her charms
will not attract your neighbor; you will
have her all to yourself. And, if she is as
she should be, she will not squander her
time frivolously, singing, laughing, etc.,
but will rather be practical, preserving
rigid silence on all occasions, and devote
her time to remodeling her grandmother's
ol J clothes for expected generations. And
you should sleep on a straw mattreas, or
something hard. If you read, avoid inter
esting stories, unless they are found in the
dictionary or some other large book belong
ing to this giddy age. Tsever joke, jokes
are liable to produce laughter. Uon t
whistle or sing, people might think you
were enjoying yourself. Don't accumulate
property for the pleasure of gain but tor
the wear and tear of the thing. If you
have money, loan it at the biggest interest
possible, and then he awake nights thinking
about it, it will have a tendency to dry up
your body and soul, so that death couldn't get
much of a hold upon you if he should come
along. Always repose unlimited confi
dence in your own judgment. Never ad
mit an error of your own, not even to your
self. And scorn the person into nothing
ness who is auilacious enough to hint at
the possibility of your being mistaken
about anything ; this will keep you forever
ih hot water. Believe in the depravity of
other folks, and trust no strangers, it will
cause everybody to avoid you. After you
have elevated the world by shouldering
everybody's faults, try to keep men well
dressed by wearing all their worn garments,
and your success will demonstrate the cor
rectness of your philosophy.
A Wonderful Feat of Memory!
The history of the celebrated conjurer.
Robert Houdin, furnishes a remarkable ex
ample of the power of memory acquired by
practice. He and his brother, while yet
boys invented a game which they played in
this wise. They would pass a shop window
a id glance into it as they went without stop
ping, and then at the next corner compare
notes and see which could remember the
greatest number of things in the wmdow,
including their relative positions. Hay
ing tested the accuracy of their observa
tions, they would go and repeat the ex
periment elsewhere. By this means they
acquired incredible powers ot observation
and memory, so that, after running by a
shop window once, and glancing as they
passeo, they would enumerate every article
ia it. When Robert became a professional
conjuror, this habit enabled him to achieve
feats apparently miraculous. It is told of
him, that, visiting a friend's Lou where
he had never .been before, he caught a
glimpse of the book-case as he passed the
half-open horary door. Iu the course of
the evening, when some of the company
expressed their anxiety to witnees some
specimens of bis power, he said to his
host:
"Well, sir, I shall tell you, without stir
ring from this place, what books you have
in your library."
"Come, come,' said he, incredulously;
"that is good."
"We shall see," replied Houdin. "Let
some of the company go into the library
and look, and I shall call out the names
from this room."
They did so. and Houdin began : "Top
shelf, left hand, two volumms in red moroc
co, Gibson's "Decline and Fall;" next to
ehese, four volumes in half calf, Boswell's
"Johnson;" "Kasselas," in cloth; Hume's
"History of England," in calf, two vol
umes, but the second tone wanting,' and
so on. shelf after shelf, to the wonder of
the whole company. More than once a
gentleman stole into the drawing room,
certain he would catch Houdin reading a
eatalogue, but there sat the conjuror, with
his hands in his pockets, looking into the
fire.
Nxw mown hay is not, as some al
leged, an irritant of the digestive or
gans ; where it proJueea irritation lc la
simply the consequence of allowing
animals too eat to much of the odorlf
erous. appetising forage.and not drink
iag sufficiently, brings on indigestion,
1-5!'