THE PAST.
BT MRS. NAI'nr.KIJN B. MORANGE.
IJke mißt upon tae mountains far.
Like mooulifc'iit on a sleeping stream,
Or, like some pale and distant Btnr,
Our jiast lives seem.
Their memories elude our grasp,
Their events perish like the flowers;
In vnin wo stretch our hands to clasp
Those Uvee of ours.
The Paßt 1 how vague and shadowy ail I
Did we those misty pathways tread?
And they who answer not our call,
Tho silent Dead,
Were they once with us as we deem?
Their images are fading fast,
Or is it but a;cherished dream,
This phantom Past?
Comes there from that shadow-land
Aught else but shapes as in a dream?
We greet no actual kindred band ,
We catch a gleam.
'Tis true, of what we call our Past;
A visionary glimpse we get,
As of a twilight waning fast,
And then—forget.
NEW YORK Crrx.
IN A WILD COUNTRY.
Where Feuds Do Most Prevail.
mountaineers
• I who live along
jßys B the Big Handy
river,which forms
ue
tucky, and their
ff Yi neighbors of
|I9 Northeast orn
M I Kentucky, who
Q lll have been so
aiiLif prominent for
many years in !
jfflwCThriftflj ft feuds, vendettas,
a bloody bat-
A —rfcvW "F ties, are a most i
peculiar people with a history running
away back into the '3o's, MO's and 'so's
and generations preceding, which, if
published, would throw into the shade
the best efforts of tbe Texas frontier
in tbe days of its greatest notoriety.
The Big-Sandians proper, tbe men
who compose tbe corps of the Hatfields
And McCoys, owe their peculiar char
acteristics, their vengeful disposition,
knd their undaunted bravery to an an
cestry dating back to the time when
the foothills of the Cumberland moun
tains, the streams and valleys tributary
to the Handy were first settted by a
race of intrepid Indian hunters and
trappers, followers of Boone, Kenton,
Arbuckle, and other leading spirits.
Many of these men married Indian
Squaws captured in raids, or purchased
from the different warlike tribes that
then inhabited this region, and tho
blood of these feminine branches of the
kingliest Indians (for tradition and
documents still in existence show that
the white hunter of that day was still
something of an aristocrat, and seldom
condescended to mate with the com
moner members of the tribes) is at this
late day plainly apparent iu the tall,
straight forms, the keen eyes, and
long, black hair of many of the older
families. To this fact is also attributed
many of tho peculiarities of tempera
ment and disposition so anomalous in
this age of intelligence. Around these
people, as a nucleus, hack in the '3o's
and '4o's of the present generation, all
the wild spirits of this part of the
country, who were either driven from
the large centers of population by vio
lation of some statute or by choice,
seem to have been attracted by some
occult magnetism, until the Big' Handy
country became known throughout the
country as tho home and hiding-place
of hundreds of the wildest c haracters.
The Big Sandy raftsmen became
known throughout tho country as the
wildest, most dangerous class of men
on the Ohio River. Their carouses,
their love of fighting or anything
which partook of desperation and dev
iltry is still a familiar tliemo from
Pittsburg to Cincinnati. Hundreds of
stories of their dare-devil scrapes are
Still told along the river, and it was
Hot an uncommon thing when several
hundred of them had sold their tim
ber, which they had floated down to
Cincinnati in immense rafts and fleets,
for them to got on hoard one of tho
largest boats which at that day plied
the river, on their up trip, and take
the captain, pilots, engineers, and otli
-6r officers prisoners, and then run the
boat to suit themselves. On such oc
casions a steamboat would become a
pandemonium, with several hundred
gigantic devils whooping, yelling,
spitting tobacco juice against the bulk
heads, mirrors, or furniture, while
other disported themselves with cards
and played "old sledge" or "stud
poker" until one or other participant
got up dead broko or tbe affair ended
in a general fight. Upon the hurri
cane deck some leading spirit would
stand in command of the vessel, while
another covered the pilot with a pistol
pr ritlo and compelled him to
Steer the craft subject to the
whim of the biggest devil, who
was in command. Below one
or two sat around the engine
room and "persuaded" the engineer
and stokers into submission. On these
occasions tho amount of steam was
most frequently controlled by the ca
pacity of the boilers, as the boat fairly
flew through the water. Every other
craft in tho legitimate trade gave tlio
"pirate" as wide a berth as possible,
running into the bank if necessary to
get out of the way. When a town or
landing was approached tho hell was
kept clanging as fast as stalwart arms
could pull tho rope, while the whistle
was blown loud and long enough to
awaken tho seven sleepers. The citi
zens of the town seemed to know by
intuition that the raftsmen had taken
possession of the boat long before slio
came in sight, and crowds of them
would congregate along the bank to
witness the strange scene. There was
no use to resist, as steamboatmen soon
learned, and the only way to save the
boat and property was to effect some
sort of a compromise, which generally
ended in the dare-devils running the
steamer half a day or such a matter,
when they turned her over to her proper
owners.
Although these men were known to
be dare-devils and fond of a fight or
anything which partook of excitement,
they were not all bad by any means.
Still, as tho Big Sandy country was
known to be tho hiding place of hun
dreds of desperadoes, it got a wide
spread notoriety.
Along in the '4o's and 'so's tlio conn
try for hundreds of miles above and
below was filled with counterfeits
principally silver dollars. The Gov
ernment of tlio United States sent out
a number of its best detectives, and
after a long time they located their
manufacture at Handy, but tho manu
facture was not suppressed until a long
time after everybody knew as well as
the officers themselves that the coun
terfeit was manufactured somewhere
up tho stream. The "Big Handy dol-
Jar," as the counterfeit wn denomiria
tett; was as common as iFs more legiti
mate brother from the mint at Wash
ington or New Orleans along the Ohio
valley, and it was claimed openly, and
I believe frequently admitted to this
day by the older people, that the "Big
Sandy dollar" contained as much sil
ver and was as handsome a piece of
money as the genuine. Even long after
the discovery of the coniackers' den in
the mountain the bogus dollar re
mained in circulation. To account for
this the writer has been often told that
the counterfeiters had discovered a
vein or mine of silver in tho mountain,
and that they were "using pure silver
and more of it" than was contained in
the genuine. Be that as it may, the tra
dition still exists that a silver mind
existed and was long worked at some
point on the Sandy.
I believe none of the counterfeiters
were ever arrested, and the reason
given is that there was a code of ethics
among the inhabitants which granted
every one the privilege of using his
raw material as he saw fit. Tho same
code prevails to this day in another
branch of illegal trade —that of moon
shining, or making illicit whisky—for
it is a well known fact that although
the article can be gotten at almost
every hamlet no one lias yet been fool
hardy enough to betray the maker and
then remain in the country.
The traveler, if ho is not a spy or
marshal, has no difficulty in getting as
much of tho clear, limpid, but terribly
strong stuff called "pinotop" or,"moon
shine" as he wants. It would be little
or no use, certainly very unsafe, to un
dertake to hunt down and capture the
moonshiner, for every tree, or gulch,
or mountain side would bo very apt to
bo the hiding place of a sharpshooter,
and these men can shoot, and that they
are overly and uncomfortably fond ol
it the recent terrible vendettas fully
prove.
With all these strange characteristics
and backed by a pedigree somewhat
unsavory these people are kind and
hospitable in the extreme to any one
who may come among them. The
writer at one time, and that during
one of their bloodiest wars, spent sev
eral weeks in tho mountains and val
leys, ato and drank, rode and walked,
and slept with them and he never met
with an unkind word, until after the
expiration of several weeks' time which
lie and his guides had Bpent alternately
| betweon the factions some one started
1
NOT ANY TOO SOON.
a report that we were spies. Fortu-'
nately we got wind of the fact that a
"crowd" was coming after us. Three
horses were never saddled more quickly
and three men never made better time
for over forty miles than did we, and
we made it none too soon, as a couple
of bullet-holes through the overcoat of
the man in the rear as we flew down
the mountain told us that Big Sandy
sharpshooters with Winchesters at 800
yards were dangerous creatures when
riled.
Across the State of Kentucky,
through the northwestern part, is a
long range of mountainous country
filled with forests and lined by a dense
growth of underbrush. Through this
dense forest there are passes which are
known like every trail and road to its
citizens. Many of these passes are
narrow defiles, where two or three men
with Winchesters can keep back a
regiment, and it is through these
passes that the many escapes from the
officers are made. It "is a well-known
fact that for many years a large band
of horse-thieves has preyed upon the
people of Kentucky, Indiana. Tennes
see, and even Illinois, and that they
have been trailed to the mountains of
Kentucky and into the neighborhood of
'some one or more of these passes—
say "Cracker's Neck," near the West
Virginia line—but very few of the
[thieves were ever captured, or tho
stock recovered. After the band suc
ceeds in getting through into the
[mountains, it considers itself safe from
} 'pursuit.
Crackei's Neck is a fair sample ol
.
many of these mountain passes. It is
a narrow defile between the overhang
ing rocks of a mountain, which by
some convulsion of nature must have
split iu twain, (ircat, rough stones,
covered and wreathed with laurel from
the bottom of the pass to the apex,
\ afford impenetrable liidiugplaces from
which the riders can bo plainly seen,
while the bushwhacker is as much out
of sight as though he had never ex
isted. I,and speculators at one time
some years ago were as badly liatcd as
were the officers of the law, and they
fared roughly when caught, although
that fact has changed considerably of
late. Home years ago a land specula
tor, whom I will call Brown, as the story
is still a reminiscence to that gentle
man, and a Baptist preacher started
through the mountains toward Cum
berland Clap. They were riding splen
: did horses, and, of course, carried the
old-time saddle-bags with them. They
| had not gotten into Cracker's Neck fifty
yards before they were halted by sev
eral armed men, whom they did not see
at all until the guns were stuck almost in
their faces. They were dismounted in
jid'y, and while one of the men went
through their clothing and saddle
begs the others stood guard over them.
I he speculator's papers soon betrayed
h:s business, but tho documents car
ried by the preacher were a puzzle.
| I hey were sermons. The speculator
[ was tied to a tree and whipped with
J wythes most unmercifully, after which
[ his hands were tied and ho was seated
on a log while the gang tried to disen
tangle the preacher's documents. They
I were written in a miserable hand at
! best, as the preacher afterward admit
i ted. Tho only thing either of the gang
| could make out was the title to one of
the sermons, "Saved from the Wreck."
I After poring over it for some time
'he leader said to the preacher:
".Nay, mister, was it a steamboat or
,!,? s' ou was blowed up on ?"
"he preacher then told the men that
he was u man of God and that he was
B°ing through the mountains to
North Carolina, where he was going to
take charge of a church. After talking
tne matter over for some time they gave
the preacher his horse and other prop
erty and told him he might go on, but
advised him to go back, as he would
be more apt to find the devil than God
in these mountains. The speculator
was cleaned out and started back afoot
and advised never to attempt to come
into that country again, and I don't be
lieve he ever did.
This is the character of the country
—wild, mountainous and almost im
penetrable, and thinly populated by a
people who are a hundred years be
hind the times and who to-day are liv
ing over again in a somewhat modified
form the lives of their ancestors of a
century ago. Is it any wonder, then,
that the Hatfields and MeCovs, the
Tollivers, Underwoods, and others of
like ilk can and do defy the laws and
laugh at the efforts of courts, backed
as they often are by companies of sol
diers and even batteries of artillery?
Nothing but a greater civilization can
or will remedy these troubles, but that
seems now in a fair M*av of accomplish
ment, as several railroads are projected
and more than one commenced through
the hills and valleys of this rich but at
present almost valueless country.
STREET MASHING [N (JO Till AM.
Tho Perils that llcsot Young: Women.
fWELL women of
New York nre just
now discussing the
question whether
it is not more dan
gerous for a pretty
woman to go on the
streets aloue dur
ing the day timo
From personal ob
servations, one
matron declared
that the time will
come ere long
when New York
parents will adopt
the rule of the
French, and nevei
permit a young
woman to go on
the street alone
without an attend
ant. I do not know
whether the ad
vent of so many
foreigners here
. y has brought about
* the present repre
hensible system of street mashing, but
certain it is that ladies while walking are
now exposed to more rudeness than evei
before. Several mashers have been com- :
plained of to the police lately, and a few
arrests have been made. It is a fact that
those arrested have all been foreigners.
A very shrewd girl Mas disposed to rate
her own sex for the increase of the petty
depravity.
"I believe," said she, "that this city has
its full share of good and dignified men
and women, but I also know that there
are thousands of women who influence
badly tho habits of tho street. As our
careless men go out they find at every
turn some woman who encourages them
to be insulting. The light-weights
among them gradually grow to consider
the entire female sex from one point of
view, and end by being impudent to any
woman that at all attracts their fancies.
And that is why you see men sidle up
alongside of a pretty girl when she stops
to look in at a shop window, or crowd
unnecessarily close to her in a street car.
She may despise their advances, but she
is compelled to suffer an infliction reared
by her own sex. Those insulting men
have on more than one oocasion been
met with encouragement, aud, not being
philosophers, have taken the contemptible
smiles of unworthy women as signs of
the best feminine preference. I certainly
do blame my own sex for the increase of
masculine brutality. There will surely
be wholly admirable men in a city like
New York, but beastliness must havo
something to feed upon, and can do no
more than exist in a passive state if it
finds no means of sustenance."
I found considerable truth in these
words when next day my attention was
attracted to a truly royal example of the
female sex walking nlone on Fifth ave
nue. She was a young, tall, golden
haired girl, a porfoct beauty, and her
features were as delicate and high-bred
as those of an ideal princess. As she
moved grandly along, a man with black,
ugly eyes, a short, pointed beard, and an
air of inexpressible conceit, came up
swiftly from behind and passed her. As
he did so ho deliberately turned and
stared at her face, for an instant merely,
bnt protractedly and insolently, in the
unmistakable manner of the professional
masher. The lovely girl was an honor to
her sex at that moment. She held her
head at the samo angle as before, gazed
proudly straight ahead, and never gave
the slightest sign that the staring brute
was in the world. Within a half minute
the masher dropped bohind and gave up
tho game. It was easy to see then that if
all young women were as safe in their own
pride as that fair girl, street mashing
would bo a starvation employment in very
short order.
A beau took a letter from his pocket
in order to read something from it to a
fair cousin who sat by his side.
"Ah! she mailed you a kiss," the girl
remarked.
"Not that I know of," was the fellow's
re p'y. , ,
Look there," and she d oiuted to a
crinkled place, down at the corner of the
sheet, such as a damp spot might havo
left. "Haven't you lournod the latest
Boutimental thing? A girl pressos tho
paper to her lips, leaving a mark like
that, and so incloses a kiss without writ
ing a word of confession. That's what
Jennie did, and you, goose that you are,
never noticed it.
The next thing the stationers turn ont
may be ready-kissed paper, with a faint
tint of red lips and a delicious scent of
fragrant breath pertaining thereto. Art
is ever quick to beat nature.
JENNIE DEAN.
The Biggest Ship Afloat.
recently
gg: Me., at a cost of
$125,000, is the larg
yis est wooden vessel
j3£jPj ever launched. Her
dimensions are 287
feet long, 481 feet
' beam, and her total
tonnage 3,053 net. In the construction
of this big ship 700 tons of Virginia
oak and 1,200,000 feet of Virginia pine
timber were used. The frame is of oak
and well seasoned when put up, and
the first quality of Georgia pine was
used in the ceiling, deck frames and
planking. The Rappahannock is the
heaviest sparred ship that ever floated
tho stars and stripes. Her mainmast
is 89 feot long and 38i inches in diam
eter; the foremast is 38 feet long and
38 inches in diameter; the main lop
mast, 58 feet; main-top-gallant-mast,
71 feet; main yard, 95 feet; fore yard,
95 feet; lower main-top-sail-yard, 87
feet; upper main-top-sail-yard,B7 feot;
lower main-top gallant-yard, 70 feet;
upper main-top-gallant-yard, 64 feot;
main royal-yard, 53 feot; main sky
, sail-yard, 43 feet. Tho lower masts
| are of Georgia [line and the other spars
I of Oregon pine. Her spread of canvas
|is 15,000 yards. When loaded she
j draws twenty-eight feet of water. Tho
Kappaliannock took on her first cargo
at Philadelphia, consisting of 1,200,000
gallons of oil in eases for Japan, tho
, largest cargo of the kind ever ex
ported.
DOGS OF HIGH DEGREE.
£XHIBITB AT THE RECENT NEW YORK
BENCH SHOW.
Soma Canine Beauties—A Lady Acted as
Judge of the St. Bernards—lmported and
Native-Bred Champions A lamou*
# 10.000 Do K-
York, a few days ago, such a yelping,
howling, growling and barking surely
never was heard before. It was the
largest bench show ever given in
America, and, with the exception of
the English Kennel Club's jubilee
show, the largest in the world. It
presented, in addition to a remarkably
fine canine display, at least one novelty
never before heard of in connection
with dog shows in this country. For
the first time a lady was selected as
AUGUST BEI.MONT, JB.'s FOX TERRIER
CHAMPION "RACHEL."
one of the judges. She did not pass
upon the merits of the pretty canine
pets like the black-and-tans, the pugs,
or the spaniels. Miss Whitney was
surrounded by the great big, smooth
coated St. Bernards, and decided as tc
the respective merits of such famous
canine heavy-w eights as Nevfs, Nigel,
Beauchamp and Hector.
But while lovers of the dog were no
doubt interested in this little impro
vised tableau of "Beauty and the
Beast," there were many other features
of the show that were specially attrac
tive. All the leading kennels of the
country were represented, a majority
of them by larger exhibits than in for
mer years. Prominent among the en
tries were the Sears kennel of Melrose,
Mass.; the Belmont kennels of Hemp
stead, L. I.; the Ermiuie kennels of
Mt. Vernon, N. Y.; and those at Con
tocook, N. J.; South Framingham,
Mass.; Arlington, N. J.; Whitestone,
L. I.; Englewood, N. J.; Lancaster,
Mass.; Lexington, Ky.; Philadelphia;
the Elm kennels at Forest Lake,
Minn.; Kildare kennels at Pittsburgh,
Pa.; Item kennels at Bethlehem, Pa.;
the Retuor kennels, New York; the
Rochello kennels, New York, and the
Eberhart pug kennels of Cincinnati,
Ohio.
Foremost among the features of in
terest at the bench show was the dis
play of setters and pointers. Among
the notable prize-winners was Monk,
of Furness; a famous English setter,
by Sir Allister, out of Belle of Fur
ness.
In pointers the Westminster—the
principal kennol club in the United
States—led.
Among the St. Bernards the most
notable entries were Plinlimmon, Jr.,
and Lady Wellington, both from the
MISS WHITNEY AND THE ST. BERNARDS.
Sears kennel, at Melrose, Mass., and
champion Hesper, Prince Regent and
Hector—the four latter being all im
ported stock, with flue markings.
Beaufort, the champion mastiff of En
gland, who has won all tlio honors on
the bench in that country that he very
well could, was a great attraction. He
is a noble animal, valued at $5,000.
His owners, Messrs. Taunton aud
Winohell, took the first prize of the
open class with him. Hesper is a
magnificent specimen of the canine
race, and is valued at SIO,OOO. He is
I MR. CHAS. HEATH'S POINTER "REVEL III."
a rougli-coated St. Bernard, and
weighs over two hundred pounds. His
coat is a deep orange, rich and tawny,
and he is beautifully marked. He was
born in 1885. He was shown four
times in England last year—at the
Olympic Kennel Club shows and at
Manchester, Colchester and Alexandra
I'alaco Kennel Club shows—and won
first prize at all.
A dog that attracted a great deal ol
attention was the wolf-hound Bival,
bred by the late Emperor William, and
his favorite dog, the one seen often in
the pictures of the Kaiser. He is a
little bigger than a greyhound, and
covered with the most beautiful silkv
white hair. He is a haughty animal,
and does not allow any liberties taken
with him. Probably tho smallest dog
among the fourteen hundred on exhi
bition was a toy terrier nnmed Mousey,
and not much bigger than the creature
from which it is nnmed.
A hairless Chinese dog received a
■wi7 for being the very ugliest pun at
tnc sliow. One cannot fancy a" more
hideous-looking animal thau the poor,
shivering creature, whose eyes are un
like and whose spots are most nasty to
look upon.
Ivan Komanoff, a superb Siberian
wolf-hound, was one of the features of
the show. He was bred by the Czar
of Russia. He is the first of the breed
exhibited in this country.
E. H. Moore's champion Ben Lo-
CHAMPION JOHNNY.
mon, a son of Plinlimmon, the famous
$5,000 St. Bernard, Saffron and Lady
Miles (also from Mr. Moore's kennel)
were among the entries. In the mas
tiff classes there were several famous
entries.
In Newfoundlands the native show
ing was notably weak. Indeed, it was
probably the weakest point in the en
tire exhibition.
The finest collie kennel in the world
is that of Mr. Hanson, of Philadelphia,
and the showing in this class was large
and attractive.
In fox-terriers the Belmont kennels
at Hempstead, L. 1., made the largest
showing, including such unequaled
dogs as Rachel, Lucifer and Bacchanal.
In a bench show a good deal of in
terest always attaches to the bull-dogs.
This year there was a capital showing
of these thick-set, ferocious-looking
canines. Foremost among them in all
the qualities that experts admire were
Portswood Tiger aud Britomartis in
the challenge class, and Monarch VI.
in the open class. All three are beau
ties, as bull-dogs go, and have a front
that would inspire terror in the breast
of the boldest burglar.
The showing of field and cocker span
iels was somewhat slender. There were
FIELD SPANIEL "GLENCAIRN."
many good ones entered in the spaniel
classes.
There was a perfect swarm of black
and-tan terriers aud funny-looking lit
tle pugs to challenge the endearments
of the ladies, who never fail to hover
around them at a bench show. Many
women sat before their pets' cages and
at intervals brought them forth and
combed and brushed their Bilky locks.
Wonderful Inventions.
Even the simplest of our necessary
implements, which are such a matter
of course to us that it seems as if they
would be self-evident to any one, re
quired years of experience and thought
to bring about their present efficacy,
says the Portland Transcript. This
fact is exemplified in the development
of the screw and the nail. Forty years
ago, as we are informed by an elderly
carpenter, all screws were blunt at the
end, like a bolt, and for their entrance
into the wood it was as necessary to
provide a hole of the proper size and
depth as as it is to dig one in tho
ground for tho entrance of a post.
Gimlets of as varied sizes as the screws
aided the screw-driver, and were just
as necessary. The "gimlet-pointed"
screw, which has been in use for the
past forty years, was not even thought
of then, and so the carponters bored a
hole for every screw, till some one hap
pened to think of combining the screw
and the gimlet, to the lasting benefit
of builders. We read of the wrouglit
iron nails of our ancestors, which split
the wood like a wedge, and which re
quired a previously prepared hole as
much as the blunt screw. The square
point of the present nail must be
placed in proper relations with the
grain to prevent splitting the wood;
and it is only recently, after all
these years of building, that a nail has
been perfected that won't split any
thing. It is the smooth, round, sharp
pointed nail, so extensively used now
in the making of boxes, fruit crates,
etc., the narrow edges of which it pen
etrates with impunity.
Slip Dliln't Hun the TOWII
NO matter what may be a man's per
sonal convictions on the temperance
question, he is bound to respect those
of his wife. The venerable Senator
Tliurman was never considered rabid
on that issue, but his wife, for reasons
of her own, was fully imbrued with the
"touch not, taste not, handle not" prin
ciple. It is related that upon one oc
casion Senator Thurman's friends vis
ited his house to apprise him that a
new political honor had been conferred
upon him. He was pleased, but after
they had been seated a few moments
the conversation lagged, and the old
Boman seemed to be ill at ease. His
wife tried her best to entertain the
campaigners, and tlio Senator excused
himself. He presently appeared with
his boots and top-coat on.
"Gentlemen," said he, "we will now
go out and get something to smoke.
My wife is the boss here, and we never
have anything to drink in the house."
Mrs. Thurman looked pleased as she
closed the door after them.
"As I was saying," added the Sena
tor, "she runs the house; but, thank
God! she doesn't run the town."— New
York Herald.
The AppTe niiOllie First Pair.
Pater—l don't like the way you are
going around with Miss Poor. She
won't make you a good wife, for she's
not the right sort of gill for you.
Son (rapturously)—O, father, I love
her! She is the apple of my eye!
Pater—Pes, of course. But you
must remember that man's downfall
was caused by an apple.— Lawrence
American.
Grace Before Meat.
Yeast—Do you say grace at the table
at your boarding house?
Crimsonbeak—Oh, yes.
"Before or after eating?"
"Oh, before, of course."
"Why of course?"
"Well, if wo waited until the close
of the meal no one would be willing to
give thanks."— Yonkers Statesman.
AN ADVENTURE WITH WOLVES.
A True Sketch of Border I-lfe.
when I was a child
°* twelve, m y P ar "
y en * R moved to a
\ P °* le
ItfflyW i ®°cky Mountains
Jb' ora(^°-
for table house
i!i Tg7r Qn e mountain
. . . side, in the midst
of a large pine forest. It wag fifteen
miles to the nearest town, and ten to
the nearest settlement. There had
been, a year or so previous to our locat
ing there, a saw-mill two miles far
ther up the mountains. An old house
was yet standing there, aud a beauti
ful spring bubbled out of a bank about
thirty yards away. Above this spring
grew the finest wild cherries I ever
saw. One morning, about the time
these cherries were fairly bursting
with ripe juice, my brother Frank,
three years younger than myself, and
I asked our mother to permit us to
take our basket and go to this spring
to gather some of the fruit. We knew
that children accustomed to walking
as we were could walk the few miles,
gather our cherries, and return by
dinner-time. Mother, being very in
dulgent, soon gave us permission to
go. So, taking our basket, we start
ed, followed by our little (log, Pansy.
A brisk walk soon brought us to the
spring. We had nearly tilled our bas
ket with cherries when we hoard Pansy
give a low whine of fear, as she came
scampering toward us. Frank cried
out: "Why, Pansy, what's the "
and then stopped, for we both saw
coming through the bush toward us
two large, lank wolves, of a species
known as the great dusky wolf. They
were not fifty steps from us, and were
coming on at a languid pace, for they
had not yet seen us.
"Quick, Frank," I cried, "let us get
into the house!"
"Oh, but the doors are shut and fast!"
he panted, shaking from head to foot.
"Yes, but the window! the open
window!"
We started for the house as fast as
we could go, but the wolves, who had
by this time discovered us, now came
for us, with loud howls of hunger.
On we ran, scarcely knowing what we
did.
Just as we reached the window we
heard poor Pansy give a yell of pain
—only one—and then—l was inside,
and vainly trying to pull frightened
Frank in. At last, with a scramble,
he tumbled in. Now, this window was
only a half window, and had been fas
tened with a heavy wooden shutter and
sliding fastenings. The fastenings had
Blid, letting the shutter fall inward on
the floor. As Frank scrambled to his
feet I grasped the shutter and was lift
ing it to its place, when Frank cried out:
"Oh, poor Pansy! poor Pansy! Let
her in; don't shut her out!"
I knew our perilous position better
than he did, and did not stop to an
swer, but placed the shutter in its
plaoe, and slid the heavy fastenings
against it—not any too soon, for at that
moment the howling, hungry wolves
dashed against it with such force as
to make it orack and spring inward.
I had presence of mind enough to
throw my weight against it, to hold it
in place for the time being, but it was
fortunate that the varmints did not
prolong the attack, or the rotten old
shutter would have surely yielded to
the pressure of their wild leaps. They
soon abandoned this, and went howl
ing about the old house, as if in search
of some way to get at us.
"What do you think has become of
Pansy ? Do you Hupposo they caught
her when we heard her yell ?" asked
Frank.
"Of course they did,"l replied, "and
if they hadn't stopped to eat her they
would have caught us," which would
certainly have been the case.
"Oh, I wish they'd go away,"moaned
poor Frank.
"If mother gets uneasy she may
come after us, and then "
We heard two loud reports of fire
arms, quickly followed by another.
Running to a crevice in the wall we
were rejoiced at beholding our father
and two hunters coming toward the
house. They had been following these
same wolves all the morning. Father
was as badly frightened when we
showed ourselves as we were. I don't
know which of us was the worst fright
ened, Frank or I, but I do know that I
never could eat wild cherries after
ward, and Frank says they never
tasted as good to him.— Chicago Led
ger.
Children's Parties.
. _ GT only in win-
JAY - I'ter, 1 'ter, but nt all
\\ seasons, the
/jl'f \ Aj amusements of
\MIIU |\ young children
KajWffS 1 \ ought to be sim-
LA U pic, unexciting,
and as free as
possible from the
characteristics of
/TTfl luOvY-m " le "pleasures"
Ail \|U"VyJ 'ate years.
Fho so - called
I \VV "pleasure" of a
w yi. children's party
Jfk involves a very
VSr" ■""" large measure ol
excitement, both before and after the
event; so that, apart from the expos
ure to the chances of "chill," and im
proper food and drink on the occasion,
there is an amount of wear and teai
and waste attending these parties
which ought to be estimated, and the
estimate can scarcely he a low one.
It may seem ungracious to strive to
put a limit on the pleasures of the
young, but it must not be forgotten
that early youth is the period of growth
and development, and that anything
and everything that causes special
waste of organized material, without a
compensatory stimulus to nutrition,
ought to be avoided. We turn from
these to the mental and nerve injuries
inflicted on the growing organism.
Thoy are certainly not to bo disregard
ed. A perfect storm of excitement'
rages in the little brain from the mo
ment the invitation has been received,
aud the affair is talked about in the!
nursery until after the evening. Sleep l
is disturbed by dreams, or, In some
cases, prevented, by thinking of the
occasion, and afterward the excitement
does not subside until days have
elapsed, perhaps not before another
invitation is received.
AN inventor of Belfast, Ireland, has
.made a pneumatic tiro for bicycles that
lis claimed to destroy all vibration. It
is about two and one-half inches in di
ameter, and consists of an outer cover
ing of rubber inclosing an inner air
tnbe. Air is pumped in by a foot
blower, and a valve prevents Its re
turn.
DINNER DISCUSSION.
The Uncle duuiition Practically Worked
Out.
A few days ago Mr. Grumbledorf
came home promptly to his six o'clock
dinner with the laudable desire upper
most in his breast to be pleasant with
his wife. They had a little tilt at break
last about the proper way to serve buck
wheat. cakes, and both were a little
ashamed of fussing over such a trifling
matter.
(irumbledorf earnestly resolved to
make amends for his quarrelsomeness, if
he possiblv could. He thought he
would begin by not alluding in the least
to their unpleasantness at breakfast,
and to be very genial at dinner and not
touch on any subject upon which dis
pute could possibly arise.
As Grumbledorf seated himself at
the table, his wife said: "Willie, dear,
will you carve the duck ? It looks so
nice and tender, I am sure you would
rather serve it in that way than have
the girl cut it up in the kitchen."
Grumbledorf couldn't hell) but think
this a little oovert fling on his wife's
part at their morning's trouble, but he
put on his blandest smile and replied:
Certainly, pet j I would rather carve it
than not; but you mistake the name of
the bird. This is not a duck, but a
canvas-back."
"Well," said his wife, color ing a lit
tle, "isn't a canvas-back duck a duck V"
"No," replied Grumbledorf, quite
blandly; "a canvas-back duck is a can
vas-back duck, but a duck is quite a
different thing. A duck runs around
in the back yards and is killed with
an ax."
"Oh, you're talking about tame
ducks," said his wife, with a least bit of
sarcasm. "I would like to know, if a
eanvasback is not a duck, why a tame
duck is a duck, either ? If you weren't
as stubborn as a mule you would see
it, too.'
"No, my dear," said Grumbledorf,
struggling to appear calm; "I have in
vestigated this subject very thoroughly,
and know what lam talking about. If
you have any conception of reason,
please listen to me. A tame duck is
simply called a duck, whereas this
here," stabbing the bird with this fork,
"iR called a canvas-back duck to distin
guish it from the other kind of ducks;
the same "
"There," cried Mrs. Grumbledorf, in
ternpting, "you admit that it is a duck
yourself. You say the prefix 'canvas
back' distinguishes it from the other kind
of ducks. Doesn't the word other prove
I am right, Mr. Grumbledorf '!' If 'can
vas-back distinguishes this from the
other kind of duck doesn't that prove
this is one kind of duck ? And if it is a
kind of duck, haven't I a right to call it
duck just as much as you have to call a
tame duck a duck ? You know you are
wrong, like you always are, and if you
weren't a great big, obtuse, headstrong
man, talking to a poor, weak woman,
you'd admit it." And Mrs. Grumble
dorf began to get ready to cry.
"Listen, my love," said Grumbledorf,
trying to talk an blandly as possible,
"you have a false conception of this
matter. I am sure if you would only
listen to reason you would agree with
me. For instance, a dog is a dog, isn't
it ? Yet, if you had a prairie dog here on
the table would you ask me to carve
the dog ? But if you shut up I will
carve this canvas-back or die in the at
tempt. There, I've met you half way,
any how."
"But you might have called it 'duck'
while you were about it."
"Mrs. Grumbledorf, you are the most
unreasonable woman I ever had any
dealings with. What in the (jab with the
fork) world do you expect! slash with the
knife) of a man, anyway. What hum
bling (jab-slash-slash) concessions do
you want (jab-slash-slash) me to make
and still (jab-slash-slash) preserve my
self-respect? (Jab-slashety-slash.) If I
ever get enough off this duck—do you
hear that?—duck to jabety-jab-slash)
stave off starvation, I suppose I ought
to be thank—(jabety-slasliety-slash).
Confound it! What are you standing
there grinning for like a weather-beaten
idiot? Call in the girl! There's your
canvas-back 011 the floor!"
"The what?" asked Mrs. Grumble
dorf.
"The duck," replied Mr. Grumble
dorf, sheepishly, as he went to look for
the benzine to clean out the grease
splashes all over his coat and vest.
But Mrs. Grumbledorf was smiling.
She had carried her point.
A Long-Delayed Wedding Fee-
Three years ago, said a well-known
San Francisco journalistic clergyman
to our reporter, I was called on to
unite a young couple in marriage. I
received no fee at the time, but the
groom, with whom I was acquainted,
promised that he would not forget me.
I saw him several times afterward, but
he never recurred to the subject of the
fee, and the matter passed from my
mind, but this week I received a $lO
bill from him, with this brief but sig
nificant explanation:
"DEAR Slß —During the three years
of my married life the extravagance
and wastefulness of my wife, to whom
you so kindly united me, was such
that I was kept constantly in debt. A
mouth ago I obtained a divorce from
her, and am now able for the first
time to fulfill my promise regarding
the wedding fee. With thanks and
excuses, I remain faithfully yours,
It Was Charily.
Mr. Isaacstein—l sells you dot coat,
my front, for sayventeen shilling; you
dake him along.
Customer I thought, Isaacstein,
that you didn't do business on Satur
day. Isn't this your Sunday ?
Mr. Isaacstein (in a low reverent tone
of voice) —My frent, to sell a coat like
dot for sayventeon shilling vas not
peesness, dot vas sharitv.— London
I'ick-Me- Up.
He Didn't Know It All, After All.
Ycllowly—Whitely i 3 a very intelli
gent fellow, isn't he ?
Brownly—He pretends to be.
Y.—He knows lots.
B.—There's one thing ho doesn't
know.
Y.—What is that?
B.—Ho doesn't know that he doesn't
know everything.
A Weather Prophet.
Scientist—So you have followed the
sea all your life! I presume you are a
thorough meteorological prognosticator
by this time.
Jack Tarre —A which?
"A —X mean you can easily forotell a
gale, can't you ?"
"Easy 'nough, sir. When you see
the captain daucin' around an' yellin'
out forty orders at onct, you kiu jest
make up y'r mind thet "it's goin' ter
blow."— New York Weekly.