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About Grant County news. (Canyon City, Or.) 1879-1908 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1880)
ADAM AND EVE. RY HENRY M.E0GER3. I always foci sad when I think of old Adam And that pitiful meanness which led him to say, When caught stealing fruit in the Garden of Eden, "Eve did it she tempted and showed me the way." From tbc day that first Adam drew breath to th ; present The thought has been constantly huqeed to our 1 A ncans That we are all right quite exceptional lows, When we're not lead astray man's arts. From the days of first Adam then down to the present It has been perfectlv clear to the view hat the troubles at" home, and within signal d iff Alice; When we're all ntiite near-sighted, both Gen tile and Jew. I do not admit that Eve tempted old Adam She poor little soul 1 had no guide in her mind ! She know she loved fruit, more especially ap ples, And woman-like, shared them, unselfish and kind. fel- hv some oth Sh to steal and then hide never attempted them, To gain for herself a more bountiful store,1 To take for herself all the juicy and ripe ones And leave to old Adam but sceds skins and core. She was tvpc of true womanhood unselfish, devoted , Brave, honest and lovely the very best rib In the whole of the body oi Adam, Just as ready to steal for her husband as skirkiiig old She fib. longed for the had taken all risk, having apples; Had conversed with the snake, and had plucked from the trees; And though weak-knee Adam had shared half the plunder, She'd have shouldered all blame and have let him go free ! Then hail, Mother Eve ! the most human of women ! Your faults, if you had faults, have made us your kin, You've shown to your daughters such exquisite traces. Perfection in you would have really been sin. lying thick among the fragments of the And shame and disgrace fall on all sons of half-destroyed stockade. To leap to the ground twelve feet be lov, to dart across the garden, to vault across the high stockade beyond, was but the work of a moment for the ath letic major; and in another instant he had lifted the fallen boy tenderly from the ground, while saying to the foremost soldier, in the low, compressed tone of a man who generally means just what he says: 4 'lie off with you !" "And who the deuce are you, shovin' yer nose in where you ain't wanted V" roared the infuriated ruffian, to whose eyes the Major's plain evening dress bore no token of his being an officer; "jist you The sentence was never finished. At the sound of that insolent defiance, Armstrong's sorely tried patience gave way altogether, and the powerful right hand which had hewed its way through a whole squadron of Shik cavalry, fell like a sledge-hammer upon his oppo nent's face, dashing him to the ground as if he had been blown from the mouth of a gun. "Well dono, Major Armstrong !" shouted Mr. Currie from above. ''You deserve your name, and no mistake At that formidable name the soldier took to his heels at once; and Arm strong, without even looking at his pros trate antagonist, proceeded to examine the hurts of the boy. The latter was sorely bruised in many places, and the blood was trickling free ly over his swarthy face; but the little hero still did his best to stand ere; and to keep down every sign of the pa1 which he was enduring. "You're a brave lad, and you'll make a soldier some day," said the major to him in Hindostanee. "Come with me, and I will see that no one molests you again." The lad seized the huge brown hand which had defended him so bravely, and kissed it with the deepest reverence; and the two then walked away together. Six months have come and gone, and Mr. dime's hospitable house presents a very different spectacle. The pretty garden is tramped into dust and mire, and the bodies of men and horses are Adam Who dare their shortcomings lay at your door; And shame on old Adam, who set an example Such as no living man had e'er thought of bclore ! All the windows of the house are blocked up, and through the loop-holed walls peer the muzzles of ready rifles, show how readily the besieged garrison stands at bay against the countless ene mies, whose dark, fierce faces and glit- :Vnd if, Mother Eve, you should find yourself toring weapons are visible amid the half- weirv , , , , . ruined building and matted thickets all Of having old Adam around, full of remorse aroimj Because he was sent, from the Garden of Eden, mi c ,. e -,0- n WoWillnrvnr nvnonsos Mild rr,,t vniir tli- TllC beWOV miltinV Of 18u IS bhlZlllg ..... t-.j j- - o--. i- , vr..ii t.t; ; -ii divorce. aivyiugu uvcr ixuruiuiu luuut, imu oui. Annesley is blockaded m Huttee-Bagh, with a certaint' of a hideous death for himself and every man of the few who are still true to him, unless helj) comes speedily. Day was just breaking when two men held a whisjjered counsel in one of the upper rooms JU.-T IN TIME. Dinner was over at last, and Mr. Wal ter Currie, English Commissioner at the irp-country station at Huttee-Bagh, in Northern India, had gone up on the ve randah with his wife and his two guests, the Colonel and Maior of the th Light when they have no suspicion, and think I'm quite one of them, I'll steal away, and slip across the river." "But are you quite sure the Sepoys will believe you ?" asked Maj. Armstrong, doubtfully. "They'll believe this, anyhow," re plied the boy, deliberately making a deep gash in his bare shoulder and staining his white frock with the blood as he glided from the room, followed by Armstrong. The plan was soon explained to the men below and a moment later Ismail's dark figure was seen darting like an ar row across the open space in front of the building, followed by a quick discharge of blank cartridges from the marksmen at the loopholes. The sound of the firing drew the attention of the Sepoys, several of whom ran forward to meet him. In another instant he was in the midst of them. "I can scarcely see for those bushes," said Col. Annesley; "but he seems to be showing them the wound on his shoul der, and telling them it was all our doing." At that moment an exulting yell from the enemy came pealing through the air. "That's the story of our being short of water, for a guinea!" said the Major; "it VUS U VL'lt UUU IIIUUUUU Ul JUJ. XL IV only delays their attack two days longer there may be time for help to arrive yet." Slowly and wearily the Ions: hours of that fearful day wore ou. The heat was so terrific that even the native soldiers of the garrison could barely hold their own against it, and the handful of Eng lishmen were also helpless. Had the Sepoys attacked them, all would have been over at one blow; but hour passed alter liour. and there was no sign oi an assault. At length, as after noon gave plaeo to evening, a movement began to show it self in the enemy's lines. Thin curls of smoke rising above the trees showed that the evening's meal was in prepara tion; that several figures with pitchers m their hands were seen going toward the river, among whom the Colonel's keen eye detected Ismail. By George! cried the old soldier, slapping his knee exultingly, "that lad's worth his weight m gold! There s his 1 til 1 it- way down to tne river right open to mm without the least chance of suspicion Why, he's a born less'!" iii very eye within the wans was now turned anxiously upon the distant group fearing to see at any moment some movement which would show that the trick was detected. How did Ismail mean to accomplish this purpose; Would he plunge boldly into the river, without any disguise, or had he some urther strategem in preparation? lo one could say "I'll go and see to it myself ?" cried Mrs. Currie, hastening out of the room. But the power of this new weapon had already become fatally manifest. The house was an old one, and dry as tinder from the prolonged heat, and as fast as the flames were quenched in one place they broke out in another. When day dawned the lire had already got a firm hold of one corner of the build ing, and a crushing discharge was poured upon all who attempted to extinguish it, while the triumphant yell of the human tigers below told them that they felt sure of their prey. "It's all over with us, old fellow," said the Colonel, grasping the old comrade's hand; "but at least we shall have done our duty." "Give me one of your pistols," whis pered Mrs. Currie to her husband, in a voico that was not her own. "I must not fall into their hands alive." At that moment Maj. Armstrong seen to start and bend forward, as if toning intently; for he thought though he could scarcely believe ears that he had suddenly laiut sound of distant hring. In another instant he heard it again. The Irish Agitation. was caught a If Daniel O'Connell had ever been in America, his course in Ireland would have been followed with that kind of in terest which springs from personal familiarity with a leader in great public affairs. The successor of O'Connell as Irish agitator in chief is undoubtedly Mr. Parnell, and him all who wished saw and heard in this country during his visit lost winter. No two men could be more different in temperament than the great repealer and his successor. The slim, almost spare, figure, serious mien, and dry manner of Mr. Parnell are ab solutely contrasted with the burly form and jovial, ready-witted eloquence of the shrewd Irishman who liked to play with fire forty and fifty years ago. Mr. Par nell shows plainly his part American origin. There was a quiet gentlemanli ness of impression produced by his pub lic appearance in this country, but thero was none of the characteristic Irish geniality. He did not seem like a man who had ever niado a joke or taken one a reformer rather of the lean Cassius type than of the order of St. Upon the delivery of his first Patrick. and this time there could be no more j speech in New York there was not what doubt, for several of the others had ! can bo called enthusiasm among the au- caught it likewise, and a gleam of hope j dionee; at least the impression was that once more lighted up their haggard faces and bloodshot eyes. Louder and nearer came the welcome sound, while the sudden terror and con fusion visible among the enemy showed that they, too, were at no loss to guess its meaning. Then high above all the din roso the well-known "hurrah!" and through the smoke-clouds broke a charging lino of glittering bayonets and ruddy English faces, sweeping away the cowardly mur derers as the sun chases the morning mist. "That boy's worth his weight in gold," said Col. Annesley, as a few hours later, he listened to Ismail's account of how ho had dived under the boat nnd kept it be tween himself and the Sepoys, that they might think him drowned. "He's the pluckiest little fellow I've seen, and although he belongs to the Maior. I'm going to take my share oi helping him, by Jove!" A rtlexicau War KcmlnLconce, gentleman nothing Few ever measured the lengthening miles with as anxious hearts as did these travelers. Guadalajara had forgot its flowers and birds and bursting vinos. The whole city was alive with the news- war! war! ing thick from the Rio Grande bo imagined. 1.1 x lie nut i lunula were uiuw- As may Dr. Wood did not now court observation. He hatsened to a hacienda, or inn, and wont at once to his room. The adjoining room was sep arated from him only by a thin parti tion, and was occupied by some Mexican oflicers of rank. He overheard their vi olent talk and hot discussions, and the Suddenly, as Ismail stooped to plunge facts he learned were startling. Hostili- lis light wooden dipper into the water, ties had begun on the Rio Grande. He "No fear of the water running short," it slipped from his hands and went float- heard them reading an account of the A cry of dis- capture of Captain Thornton and his days more." said Major Armstrong; "but, even upon half rations, the food will be out in foul ing away down stream. mg. On three sides the house was sur rounded by its compound, a large en closed space serving for the purpose of a courtyard, but the fourth was only separated by a small patch of garden from the public road, along which a number of native women were passing with their little pitchers upon their heads. The sight of them naturally turned may, a loud laugh from the Sepoys, and then the boy was seen running frantic- "And then we'll just go right at them, ally along the bank and trying in vain to and cut our way through, or die for it! catch the vessel as it floated past. growled the old Colonel, with a grim smile on his iron face, for, with all his arshness and injustice. Col. Annesley s "grit to the backbone. "We must not say anything to them about it. though," he added, with a side glance at Well done, mv brave boy!" Mr. Currie, who was standing in the fur- But at that moment a yell of rage ther corner, was anxiously watching the from the Sepoys told that the trick was thin, worn face of his sleeping wife. discovered, At that moment a loud cheer from be- Luckily those on the bank had left "What on earth is he up to?" grunted the Colonel, completly mystified. I sec. cried Major Armstrong, tri- dragoons. Dr. Wood immediately pro cured a Mexican newspaper with a full narrative of the affair. This sufficiently corroborated in outline the facts he had so iortunately overheard irom better authority. There was i no doubt now. He was in an enemy's country. umphantly; "thore's a boat yonder and was the bearer of hostile dispatches. among the reeds, and he's making for it. the conversation upon a favorite subject low startled them both, and the next mo- their pieces behind, or poorLsmpil would with all Anglo-Indians, viz., the cliarac- ter of the natives and the best method of dealing with them. "There's only one way," said the Colo nel, emphatically. "Tell 'em what they are to do, make 'em do it, and thrash 'em well if they don't. That's my way." "Well, I venture to differ from you Ismail (the "Major's boy," as soon have been disposed of; but the one now c.illed him) burst into alarm instantly brought up a crowd of ment every the room with a glow of unwonted ex- armed comrades, whose bullets fell like citement on his dark face. hail around the boat and its gallant little "Sahib," cried he, "there is hope for pilot yet! A detachment of Iuglcez (Eng- "Let us fire a volley and make a show lish) are coming up the other bank of of sallying out," said the Colonel; "It'll tho river; if we can send word to them there, Colonel," said Mr. Currie, quiet- as they pass, we are saved !" ly. "I had to do some thrashing once "How do you know?" asked the Major, or twice, I own, but most of my native eagerly. i i i ill servants seem to gee aiong very wen x uear(1 tho sep0vs say so, when I without it, and they serve me excellent- was ivjng amour the bushes yon- iy, xubhui-u you. . der, ' answered the lad. iwisnyon nact ucen in my place, "Among tho bushes yonder?" roared Luuu, luiunuu uiu vuiuuui; you u nave the Colonel, facing around. "Have you ua iLjjuujuur opinion, x wiirniui you. aetua v been in the midst of those cut- Why, tho year before last, when I had charge of two battalions of the rascals down at Sutteepoor, because there was not another Queen's oflicer within reach just like my confounded luck! there was no getting anything done unless I did it myself. By Jove, sir, I had to do overthing at once my own quarter master, my own sergeant major, my own caterer, and " "And your own trumpeter, Col. An nesley ?" asked Mrs. Currie, with anarch smile, Tho Colonel's broad face reddened ominously, and an explosion seemed im intfnt, when a sudden clamor of an angry voice from the road below drew them all to the front of the verandah. The cause of the disturbance was visi ble at a glance. Two half-drunken Eng lish soldiers, swaggering along the road, had come into violent contact with a na tive who was running past; and one of thorn, enraged at the collision, had felled the poor lad to the ground, and was un clasping his own belt with the evident intention of beating him unmercifully. "Serve the young whelp right," shout ed the Colonel, rubbinr his hands; "that's just what they all want." The other officer, Major Armstrong popularly known as Major Strongarni was a huge, brawny, silent man, whose forte lay in acting rather than in talk- throat villains, listening to what thev said! Whatever did you do that for?" "I did it for Sahib Armstrong's sake," replied the boy, proudly; "because he was good to me." The Colonel turned hastily away to hide the flush of not unmanly shame that overspread his hard face; and Arm strong smiled slightly, as he heard him mutter: jiy wove ; these chaps are nt so black as they're painted, after all." "But if the troops aro beyond the river, how can we" communicate with them ?" asked Mrs. Currie, who, awak ened by tho shouting, had arisen and joined the group. "They may not pass near enough to hear the firing, and we have no possible means of sending them word." "Pear nothing for that, mem-sahib," (madam,) answered the Hindoo boy, quietly. "I will carry them word my self." J "But how can you possibly do it?" cried Mrs. Currie, thunderstruck by the confident tone in which this mere 'child spoke of a task from which tho hardiest veteran might well have shrunk. "Listen, Sahib," answered Ismail. "I will slip out of the house and make a dash into the enemy's lines, as if I were deserting from you to them, and yoircau tell your people to firo a shot or two after me with blank cartridge as I go. Then the Sepoys will receive me kindly, and I will tell that you are all dying of o -tvnrd- bnfc at the sight of this thirst, and that they need only wait one rm ill usui" this child, he woke up day more to be sure of you, so that they rather stortlxngly. " ! won't care to make another attack. Then, mg. Dnrin" the whole discussion he had t. 1.1. , rrno statue, never ut- sat "51UUV . ,, . ; , r i take their attention from him But Iii this lie was mistaken. The firsf rattle of musketry from be hind the house did indeed recall most of Ismail's assailants, but at least a dozen were left, who kept up an incessant fir ing, striking the boat again and again. All at once the Colonel dashed his glass to the floor with a frightful oath. Between the two guests of smoke he had seen the boat turn suddenly over, and go whirling down tho river, keel upward. "There's an end of the poor lad," mut tered the veteran brokenly. "God biess him for a brave little follow. And now, old friend, we must just die hard, for there's no hope left." Tho ilrst few hours of the night passed quiet! v, and tiie exhausted defenders, utterly worn out, slept as if drugged by T i 1 i 1 PI A. 11 opium, iiut a iituo aiier miunigur. ine quick ears of the two veteran officers the only watchers in the whole garrison, except the sentries themselves caught a n. i:....n.- L.i. lainc scirring m uie surrounuiug uuckcis, which seemed to argue some movement on the part of the enemy. Listening intently lor a lew moments, they felt certain that tney were right, and lost no time in arousing their men. The scanty store of food wore opened once more, una, croucmng logeiuer in the darkness, the doomed men took what they fully believed to be their last meal on earth. 'They're coming," said Maj. Arm strong, fctrainiug his eyes into the gloom through a loop-hole. I hear them creeping forward, though I can't see them." What the deuce was that?' ex claimed the Colonel, suddenly. It looked like a firey arrow flying past." "It's worse than that," said the Major, in a low voico. "Tho rascals aro shoot ing lighted chips of bamboo on to the roof to set it on fire. Send up with buckets to flood ll . 1 ... i-lnrt mere s hod a wumuut iu ioai; the women the thatch; it was a moment ol extreme peril to an American officer. But it was a moment of destinies. It was one of those preg nant pivot-il moments alluded to. And fortunately the great republic had in this far-away sppyt one citizen who was not even thinking of personal safety, but was coolly revolving plan after plan to aid her. Sloat must know this news be fore Seymour, or California was lost. But how? how? Dispatches were to go forward, and dispatches were to go back. Information was to be collected for the Government, and information was to be sent for the Government. Dr. Wood, notably a cool man, of large in telligence, looked at his problem as a statesman and as a military man. He Vliow nc Ti-i1 1 nt; onv lin I'liinni'fnnnn rF this nows. Ho was learned, far-sighted; and even then was looking to the future of our country. Fortunately his pes- al courage was such that he was not hampered by a single thought of dan ger. He wrote a full account of all he had overheard. He re corded the facts told and the views expressed by the Mexican om ccrs. He translated the newspaper ac counts. When he had finished ho in closed the wiiolo to Commodore Sloat. ihis packet he took to Mr. Parrott, v. ho, from his large commercial relations in Guadalajara and Mazatlan, was enabled to procure a courier without exciting suspicion. This courier, ignorant of course of the news he was bearing, but stimulated by the offer oi a reward at the end of his journey, rode night and day till the packet was delivered at Ma zatlin, and thence immediately trans mitted to Sloat A thrill of excitement ran through the Avhok squadron, among those who were permitted to know the news. The Cyano and Levant slipped out of the harbor, under secret orders, for Montery, and the rest of the squad ron was held in readiness to act in stantly on any further information which might be received from the com rade who was in tho very center of the enemy's country Californian for December r r O. E. S. Wood in Stains. Remove ink stains from car puts with milk, and afterward wash with fine soap, a clean orusn and warm water. For grease spots use powdered magnesia, fuller's earth, or buckwheat. Sprinkle on tho spot and let lie until the grease is absorbed; renew tho earth, magnesia, or buckwheat until all the greaso is re moved. Time and patience will in this way remove the worst of grease spots. the feeling of the audience impatiently sought an occasion in his speech to man ifest itself rather than that it was resist lessly evoked by the speech. Ho was cool, measured, prudent, and without the least trace of pandering to the passions of his audience. These also are qualities of a leader who knows his men and pursues his own ends. Within a few months the Irish agita tion has been again very active, and enormous demonstrations have taken place in honor of Mr. Parnell, while the murder of a landlord-nobleman and the tone of the speeches of Mr. Parnell and his associates have aroused very deep feeling and much ajjprehension. Mr. Froude has contributed one of his char acteristic articles to the literature of the contest, his remedy of the situation bo ing a firm and uncompromising assertion of British power. His doctrine is that the islands cannot be severed, and that humanity, reason, and every interest re quire that fact to be conceded, and that the imperial authority be imperially maintained, justly but inexorably. The article is vigorous, but no policy which Mr. Fronde could propose for Ireland would bo acceptable to the Irish. Looking over the ocean, it seems to be clear that the real object of the present agitation is the old object the practical indejiendence of the country. Perhaps Mr. Parnell would say that ho aims at peaceful revolution. His purpose seems to be to produce a state of feeling which will cause the Irish tenantry to refuse to pay rent for land except upon its own terms. This would bo practically recon fiscation by revolution. If the refusal were really general and national, it could be met only by arms, and anarchy would ensue. The terrible famine of the last year is a powerful ally of Mr. Parnell. War and anarchy may be bad, but are they worse than starvation? This would be the unconscious or open argument of the tenant and the agitator. This is the situation which confronts the Gladstone administration. Any govern ment might bo perplexed by the problem of Ireland. It is the result of prolonged and ingenious and outrageous misgov ernment, and the feeling in England, as shown by the action of the House of Lords, which holds a veto upon ligisla tion, only increase the difficulty. From the American point of view tho true policy of the friends of Ireland, would have been to make a cordial alli ance with Mr. Gladstone's government, in the confidence that a statesman so able and so sincere, who had shown himself to be a faithful friend of justice in Ire land as elsewhere, would do everything that could be done, if not everything that Irish agitating ardor might desire. But to perplex his administration by de mands whose concession would involve tho overthrow of the most cherished and fundamental British principles and tradi tions seems at this distance to be the de liberate preference of an enemy to a friend. The Irish agitation has a very simple choice of alternatives, unless it has decided to invoke war. It must choose between the most liberal of possi ble Liberal govc iments, which is that of Mr. Gladstone, and a Tory adminis tration such as the vote in the House of Lords indicates. But the unreason of the agitation, like the old misgovern ment, and tho bitter race and religious prejudice, is one of the chief elements of trouble for an administration of the best intentions. Tho Irish agitation has evidently de cided that Mr. Gladstone's inheritance of trouble is its opportunity. Here in America, where there is strqng sympa thy with the suffering of any peoplo, there is also a profound faith in the sure and permanent, even if gradual, remedy of law. Although a Republic, and with burning questions to consider, we do not take revolutionary short-cuts. It seems to us here that it will be long bo fore Ireland is likely to have so power ful a friend among British statesman as Mr. Gladstone, and that co-operation, ot distrust and opposition, is the balm t :i he preseut ill. The domain of the Ltiy Chair," indeed, is not the realm of politics, in any local or partisan sense. But a tranquil spectator looking out up on current events at home and abroad, and chatting of them without acrimony, cannot but hear, as the whole world has heard during the year, tho cry of Irish suffering, and look with sympathy and friendly interest upon the methods pro posed not only for feeding the starving, but for preventing starvation. Har per for December. Ceremonies differ m every country, but true politeness is over the same.