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VOL. XI.
THE TIMES.
An Independent Family Newspaper,
18 POTM8nED 8VEHT TUESDAY BT
F. MORTIMER & CO.
Subscription Price.
County,
" Hlxmnnthfl
Within the County H 25
Out of the County, Inclmlliiff postage, IN)
" " " six mouths " 85
mxnwiunn iu
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Advertising ratos furnished upon appli
cation. gelcft Poetry.
THE LABORER'S HYMN.
At close of day, when labor's done,
And all around Is still,
When homeward wends each weary one
That work the plow or mill,
I'll bend my knees in gratitude
To thee, my dearest Lord j
Alone, in silent solitude,
I'll ponder on thy word.
Thy truths upon my heart I'll stamp,'
My comfort they shall be
The Gospel, that unerring lamp,
Shall guide my eoul to the Thee.
Let saints and angels bless thy name,
Thou source of every good j
Let thrones and choirs proclaim the same,
By Christians understood.
O loving Jesus, kind and good 1
Of whom I've so much ne'ed,
Who for poor sinners shedd'st thy blood,
For me now intercede 1
Praise unto the great Father be,
With Christ, thy only Son,
And Holy Ghost, eternally,
O blessed Three In One I
THE ROBBERS' RETREAT.
SOME years ago my physician told mo
I must leave the counting house
and travel for my health. Let it not be
thought from this that I was a weak,
puny man. Far from it. In fact,I was
too stout and strong for so much con
finement, the result of which was a
morbid state of the liver, and a weak
ening of the digestive organs, with ac
companying dyspepsia and constipation.
I knew the physician was right, and I
at once planned a voyage to Europe ;
but my parents were anxious to know if
a horse-back ride through the Southern
States would not be as good for me. The
doctor said it would be better. " Then,"
cried old Lattitat, the head of the firm,
' " you Will kill two birds with one
etone." The meaning of which was
that 1 could visit a thousand and one
correspondents in the Cotton States, and
square up a thousand and one accounts,
while looking after my lost health. I
had no objections to this. I steamed it
by rail as far as Cincinnati; thence by
water to New Orleans.' Then I took the
river back to Vicksburg, where I bought
a horse, and started across the country
to the eastward, intending to strike the
Atlantio coast at Savannah.
Late one evening I arrived at a small
settlement near the Tomblgbee, in
Alabama, where I found quite a com
fortable inn. After supper I sat down
in the bar-room, and soon discovered
that among the guest presents, was the
Sheriff of the district and two of his
deputies ; and by listening to the con
versation I learned that they were out
on important business. Later, when
alone with the landlord, I was informed
of the particulars. That section of the
country had for a longtime been infested
by a gang of desperate villains river
pirates and horse thieves who had rob
bed and murdered both travelers and cit
izens, and who had thus far succeeded in
eluding the vigilance of the officers sent
after them. There was something won
derful in this, for the most expert de
tectives had been upon the track of the
marauders many times, and yet not
even a clue bad been gained of their
hiding-place. That they had a hiding
place was very evident; and further, it
was a place where both men and horses
could be effectually concealed. The host
declared that it was very mysterious, it
was past his comprehension. For more
than a year plantations have been rob
bed ; travelers have been robbed ; boats
upon the river have been robbed; and
even large settlements have been in
NEW BLobMIPIISLr), 1JA.., TUESDAY,
vaded, by these bold outlaws. The pul
llcan's idea was that they had a big cave
somewhere under ground; for If their
rendezvous had been above ground the
officers would have found It before this.
On the following morning we ate
breakfast at an early hour, and shortly
afterwards the Sheriff and his deputies
started off to the southward, towards ft
bend in the river, where the crew of a
llutboat had been robbed only a few
days before. My course lay to the east
ward, as I had business at Cahawba.
" You'd a made it better," said my
host, " If you'd crossed the river at
Bluffpost. In that case you'd 'a had a
direct road to Cahawba ; but now you've
got to take nearly half the distance in a
wildcat road and mule-path. Howsom
ever, if you've got a good boss, you'll
make out, I reckon that is,lf you don't
get picked up by the pirates."
I had been aware of the character of
the road that lay before me, nnd had
rather preferred It to the better route to
the northward. I had plenty of time,
and I liked to see theso out-of-the-way
plantations, and as far as for hospitality,
it was all alike. I was at home any
where. With one or two exceptions it
seemed to be the chief aim of the plan
ters to make my stay with them as
agreeable as possible ; and I found more
difficulty in getting away from their
doors than I did in gaining entrance.
I set out from the settlement af eight
o'clock, and at the distance of some five
or six miles I met a man who Informed
me that the water was toot high for a
comfortable fording of Linden Creek,
and that I would find it pleasant to turn
to the southward, and go below the Big
Brake ; referring to a cane brake not far
distant that covered several hundred
acres of the rich bottom land. This was
a route but little traveled, but I minded
not that so long as there was a plain
path ; so I Jogged along upon this new
way, which I found to be dreary and
lonesome enough. I had no fear of rob
bers, but still the character of the road
was calculated to excite one's caution,
and I Instinctively drew out my revol
ver and examined the charges, and the
caps ; and when I had done this I slip
ped Into the side-pocket of my sack,
where I could reach it most handily.
After this I whistled, and then I sang a
few verses of an old song, for the pur
pose, I suppose, of convincing the birds
that I was cheerful and easy.
By and by I reached a point where
the path crossed a little stream, and here
I was joined by a horseman who had
come out from the timber to the east
ward. As his beast had been drinking,
I did not notice him until I was close
upon him. He was a middle-aged man,
of medium size, dressed in a common
hunting garb, and carrying a rifle be
fore him upon his saddle-bow. If this
man was really a hunter, I thought he
was entirely different from other hunters
I had met in that country. Ills clothes
were vastly better, and he lacked the
free and easy off-hand way of your gen
uine forester. He hailed me as though
he was surprised to see mo there, and I
could not divest myself of the impres
sion that he regarded me as an inter
loper. He looked at me sharply, and as
be drew up near to my side he asked :
" Do you belong in these parts V"
It struck me then that he might be an
officer looking after the river pirates.
told him that I was a stranger in that
section, traveling partly for my health
and partly on business; furthermore
told him that I , was on , my way to
Cahawba.
He looked at me again, taking a care
ful survey of my whole figure, and then
remarked, as we started away from the
brake :
" I s'pose the Creek is full V"
" Yes," said I.
" And so you have to come this
way?"
I said " yes" again
" That's partly the case with me," he
said, " though I ain't going exactly
your way for any great distance. Rather
a lonesome road, Isn't it V"
" It is, certainly."
" Not a very pleasant place to meet
robbers," he suggested.
I admitted he was correct.
"Have you heard anything about
those chaps r"
" You mean the robbers I" ' . ,
" Yes." . , -
I now felt sure that my companion
was a detective, and I told him what I
had seen and heard at the inn where I
had hint stopped. He was deeply inter
estedvery deeply interested ; and I
ventured to suggest that ho might be
searching after those very villains.
" Do you really think so V" he asked.
I told him I thought so from the first.
" Zounds !" he niultered,wlth a smile,
" I niUHt be more careful, or I shall ex
pose myself too much."
Then he acknowledged that he was an
officer, and as we rode on I told him all
I had heard concerning the outlaws.
Iu the course of half an hour we left
the timber, and soon afterward we came
in sight of the cane brake. It was a cu
rious sight, that maze of canes stretch
ing away almost as far as the eye could
reach ; and as I came nearer I wonder--
ed not that even experienced hunters
sometimes lost their way and starved to
death In the trackless depth of such a
labyrinth. For the distance of some
two miles we rode along close by the
edge of the brake, and then wo were
forced to bear to the right on account of
the softness of the soil, and pretty soon
we came to where a body of water lay
between us and the canes. This water
seemed to be a sort of bayou, fed by
some stream beyond my sight, and it
certainly had a swatupy, dismal look,
suggestive of snakes and alligators. We
had passed a point of wood that made
close down to the water, when I fancied
that I heard the sound of horses' feet
behind me, and upon turning I beheld
four horsemen Just emerging from the
wood. My companion certainly en
deavored to make some sign to them,
but they did not see him. They kept
straight on to the edge of the bayou ;
went into the water as though it were a
continuation of the road, the horses
moving with perfect assurance, and
finally disappeared within the depths of
the cane-brake.
I looked at my companion, and he
looked at me.
"That's rather curious, isn't it V" he
said. And he looked into my face very
sharply.
" Curious enough," I replied.
".What d'ye spose it means V" he
queried.
It had naturally occurred to me that
within the cane-brake might be the hid
den retreat of the robbers, and that the
place of passage across the bayou was
known only to themselves, but I did not
speak my mind to my companion, I in
timated to him that I had no idea of its
meaning.
"It isn't impossible," he pursued,
with his eyes still fixed sharply upon me
" that the rascals we'vo been speaking
of have a haunt in there somewhere."
I told him I thought it quite likely.
We rode on a short distance further,
and close by a spur of the timber he told
me that he must leave me.
"I should like to keep on with you,"
he saldj " but I must take the rest of my
way alone. Here Is my path."
He bade me good-bye; hoped we should
meet again, gave me some directions
touching my route, and then turned to
ward the timber. , Dear reader, did you
ever, either while standing in the street,
or in some crowded assembly, grow ner
vous and uneasy under the impression
that some one was gazing upon you t
and have you not, under such circum
stances, looked nround and found a pair
of bright, electrio eyes fixed upon you V
Something so felt I as I rode away from
that stranger. .
At length the feeling became oppres
sive and I stopped and turned. In an
other Instant I should have been a dead
man 1 The seeming hunter had dis
mounted, and his keen black eye was
glancing along over the barrel of his
rifle directly at my heart. Quick as
thought I slipped from my saddle, and
on the same second a bullet came whiz
zing over my shoulder close by my ear.
I think the tenth part of a second lost
by me at that time would have been
fatal. The villain supposed, of course,
that he had shot me, and leaving his
horse behind he hurried toward me. Un
der such circumstances I could have no
hesitation. I waited until he had arriv
ed within a few paces, and then I level,
ed my pistol and shot him through the
heart. He kept on toward me, and I
fired a second time ;' but the first shot
had been sufficient.
"You're a fine traveling companion,
aren't ye ?" said I, as I bent over him
OCTOBER U, 1877.
He started to his knees, and raised his
hand toward the cane-brake, and tried to
cry out, cither for help, or else to worn
his companions there hidden, but his
voice had failed him, and he sank back
dead without having spoken a word.
With as little delay as possible I drag
ged the body up Into the timber, and
having re-mounted my own horse and
taken the rein of the dead man's horse
over my arm, I started back. I did not
follow the road over which I had come,
but kept to the southward, toward
Brlekett's Ford, where the sheriff had
talked of going. By the middle of the
afternoon I was on the track of the
officers, though I did not find them un
til evening. I told them what I had
discovered, and early on the following
morning, with fifty or sixty well armed
citizens, we set off toward the Big
Brake. I remembered the place where
the horsemen had taken to the water,
and upon entering here, and following
carefully along, we found a hard road,
where some peculiar movement of the
flood had thrown up a ridge of gravel.
Having gained the cane brake our way
was clear enough, for we found an open
path, cut through the canes, and at the
end of a quarter of n mile, where the
ground was high and dry, we came upon
the robbers' camp. Twelve of the desper
adoes were there, and were easily captur
ed fand'the amount of property which
fell into the hands of the officers was
large. Some of the villains were away,
and probably made their escape. The
chief of the gang, a Texan ranger, of
of the name of Bastrop, wag the lndl
vidual who had overtaken me on the
road, and whom I had shot. Had he
been content to let me depart in peace I
doubt if I should have been the cause of
trouble to him. As I have already said,
it had occurred to me that the haunt of
the robbers was in the cane brake ; but
aa I had no particular desire to be mixed
up In such A mess, I might have kept
on my way, allowing the proper officers
to attend to the finding of the outlaws
The cowardly attempt upon my life,
however, determined me otherwise; and
the last act of John Bastrop's career,
instead of saving his gang from arrest,
as he bad intended, proved the signal
of the destruction of both him and
them. - ,
Not as Cunning as the Fox.
me somerset (Me.) iccponer is re
sponsible for the following fox story :
" The fox which Mr. Falrgrleves now
has, occupies a yard back of the store, to
which Mr. F.s' dog has free access. The
dog and fox are great friends. They
frollo together, play no end' of jokes on
each other, and live in the most perfect
harmony save at 'mealtime.' The dis
cussion that a choice bit will call forth
is sometimes most interesting. Mr. F
gave the fox a bone the other day. The
dog had been taught by experience that
it was no use for him to try and capture
it, so he retired into the store to watch
the proceedings, doubtless hoping some
thing would turn up in his favor. The
fox ate what he wanted of the bone and
preferred to lay it away for future use.
The dog pricked up his ears.but yawned
and betrayed no especial interest. The
fox dug a hole, placed the juicy bone in
the bottom and covered it over with
earth, patted' it dowD. He then went
Into his kennel, brought out an old dry
bone that he had kept away from the
dog for several days ' out of pure cusscd-
ness,' placed it in the hole over the
sweet one, covered It up with apparent
care, and retired to his kennel to watch
operations. The dog saw the fox safely
housed, and, as he had done before.
stealthily approached the treasure, re
surrected the dry bone and trotted off.
A Cure for Gossip. (
WHAT Is the cure forgosslp V Simply
culture. There is a good deal of
gossip that has no malignity In it. Good
natured people talk about their neighbors
because, they have nothing else to talk
about. As we write there comes to us
the picture of a family of young ladies
We have seen them at home, we have
met them in the galleries of art, we have
caught glimpses of them going from a
book-Btore, or a library, with a fresh
volume in their hands. When we meet
them, they are full of what they have
seen and read. They are brimming with
questions. One topic of conversation is
dropped only to give place to another
NO. dO.
In which they are Interested. We have
left them, after a delightful hour, stim
ulated and refreshed, and during the
whole hour not a neighbor's garment
was soiled by so much as a touch. They
had something to talk about. They
know something and wanted to know
more. They could listen as well as they
could talk. To speak freely of a neigh-
bor's doings and belongings would have
seemed Impertinence to them, and of
course, an impropriety. They had no
temptation to gossip, becauso the doings
of their neighbors formed a subject very
much less Interesting than those which
grew out of their knowledge and cul
ture.
And this tells the whole story. The
confirmed gossip Is always cither mall
clous or Ignorant. The one1 variety
needs a change of heart and the other a
change of pasture. Gossip Is always a
personal confession either of malice or
imbecility, and the young should not
only shun it, but by the most thorough
culture relieve themselves from all temp
tations to Indulge in It. It is low, friv
olous, and too often a dirty business.
There are country neighborhoods in
which it rages like ajpest. Churches
are split in pieces by it. Neighbors are
made enemies by it for life. In many
persons It degenerates into chronic dis
ease, which Is practically Incurable.
Let the young cure it while they may.
' The Kind of Religion we Want.
We want a religion that softens the
step, and tunes the voice to melody and
fills the eye with sunshine, and checks"
the impatient exclamation and harsh re
buke : a religion that is polite, deferen
tial to superiors, courteous to inferiors
and considerate to friends ; a religion
that goes into the family, and keeps the
husband from being cross when dinner
is late, and keeps the wife from fretting
when the husband tracks the newly
washed floor with his muddy boots, and
makes the husband mindful of the
scraper and the door-mat; keeps the
mother patient when the baby is cross
and amuses the children as well as in
structs them; cares for the servants
besides paying them promptly, projects
the honey-moon into the barrest-noon,
and makes the happy home like the
Eastern fig-tree, bearing in its bosom at
once the beauty of the tender blossom
and the glory of the ripened fruit. We
want a religion that shall interpose be
tween the ruts and the gullies and rocks
of the highway of life and the sensitive
souls that are traveling over them.
(yA Spanish sentinel one dark night
was posted at the entrance of a fort out
side of Malaga.' About midnight he
heard some one approaching, and gave
the usual challenge, equivalent to
" Who comes there V
' To his amazement the answer was,
" Jesus of Nazareth I" '
He at once called the sergeant of the
guard and reported the facts to him.
The sergeant went forward, challenged
the intruder in his turn, and received
the same answer. Infuriated at what
he considered an attempt to trifle with
him, he knocked the man down with
his musket and beat him severely. He
then sent for a lantern to ascertain who
it was. When the light came, he saw
that it was a gentleman of high standing
who lived in the neighborhood, but who
was out of his mind. The sergeant,
deeply regretting his hasty action, said
to the man :
" I am sorry I hurt you ; but here
after when I challenge you, remember
to give your own name."
The poor victim replied :
" I am not such a fool as to do that
If this is the kind of reception you give
to Jesus of Nazareth, you would have
killed me outright if I had given my
own name."
O" The triumph of a woman lies not
in the admiration of her lover, but in
the respect of her husband, and that
only can be gained by a constant culti
vation of those qualities which she
knows he most values.
' ' 63" An hour's industry will do more to
beget cheerfulness, suppress evil humors,
and retrieve your affairs, than a month's
moaning.
O" An old negro cook says, " Sass is
powerful good in everything but chillun.
Dey needs some oder kind o'dreaeiaV