Roseburg review. (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, January 24, 1885, Image 1

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    THE REVIEW
IS ISSUED
SATURDAY MORNINGS,
J. R. N. BELL, - - Proprietor.
THE REVIEW
HAS THE -
FINEST JOB OFFICE
IN DOUGLAS COUNTY.
CARDS, BILL HEADS. LEGAL BLANIS.
And other Printing, including .
Large ail Eeayj Posters ana Sliowy Haul-Bills,
Neetly and expeditiously execubsd
AT PORTLAND PRICES.
One Tear
Six Months -Three
Months
$2 50
1 50
' 1 00
These ire the terms of those paying la adrtooe. The
Rkvikw offers fine inducements to adrertlsers. Terms
reasonable.
VOL. IX.
ROSEBURG, OREGON, SATURDAY,' JANUARY 24, 1885.
NO. 42.
iloseb
.RevieWo
J. JASKULEK,
PRACTICAL
Watctaater, Jeweler aiil Optician,
ALL y?GKK WARRANTED.
Dealer In Watches, Clocks, Jewelry,
Mpeetaelea and Eyeglasses.
aso a rcu urn or
Cigass, Tobacco & Fancy Goods.
Tht only reliable Optoraer in town for the proper adjuafc
meut of Spectacles ; always on hand.
Depot of the Genuine Brazilian Pebble Speo
taclet and Eyeglasses.
Office First Door South of Postoffice,
KOSEBl'RG. OUEGOX. '
LANGENBERffS
Boot and Shoe Store
ItOSEBUBCi, OREGON,
On Jackson Street, Opposite the Post Office,
Keeps on hand the largest and best assortment of
Eastern and Man- Francisco Hoots and
Shoes, Oalters. Clippers,
And everything In the Boot and Shoe line, and
SELLS CHEAP FOR CASH.
Ooots and Shoes Slado to Order, and
Perfect Fit Guaranteed.
I use the Best of Leather and Warran all
my work.
Repairing Neatly Done, on Short Notice.
I keep always on hand
TOYS AND NOTIONS.
Musical Instruments and Violin Strings
a specialty.
LOUIS LAXGEXBEllG.
HUBBARD
CREEK MILLS
CLARK & BAKER, Props.
Having purchased the above named mills of
E.Stephens & Co.. we are now prepared to fur
nish any amount of the best quality of
ever offered to the public in Douglas county.
We will furnish at the mill at the following
prices:
No. 1 rougn lumber ..$12 $M
No. 1 flooring. 6 inch $24 $ M
No. 1 flooring, 4 inch .-.$26 M
x mirjiuiusji au isa. ... (Mv v aia
AIo. 1 finishing lumber dressed on 2 sides $24 M
No. 1 finishing lumber dressed on 4 sides $26 $ M
CLARK & BAKER.
- - -
L. F. LANE. JOHN LANE."
LANE & LANE,
ATTORNEYS AT LAW.
OfSce on Main street, opposite Cosmopolitan
Hotel.
CHARLEY" HADLEY'S
131, BEX. SHOX
Next Door Live Oak Saloon.
Shaving and Hair Cutting in a Workmanlike
Manner.
ROSEBURG, OREGON.
JOHN FRASEB,
Home Made Furniture,
WILBlIt, OREGON.
OPHQLSTERT- SPM8 MATTRESSES, ETC,
Constantly on hand.
FURNITURE
havo tho Best
STOCK OF FURNITURE
South ef Fertland.
And all of my own manufacture,
Xo Two Prices to Castomors.
Residents of Douglas County are requested te give me
call before purchasing elsewhere.
ALL WORK WARRANTED.
DEPOT HOTEL,
Oakland, Oregon.
RICHARD THOMAS, Proprietor.
This Hotel has been established for a num
ber of years, and has become very pop
ular with the traveling public.
FLRST-CLASS SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS
-AMDTHl-
Table supplied with the Best the Market afferds
Hotel at the Depot of the Railroad.
H. C. STANTON,
DEALER IN
Staple Bry Q-oods,
Keeps constantly on hand a general assortment of
Extra Fine Groceries,
WOOD, WILLOW AND GLASSWARE,
A.U80
CROCKERY AND CORDAGE,
A full stock of
SCHOOL BOOKS,
Buch as required by the Fublie County Schools.
All kinds of Stationery, Toys and
Fancy Articles,
! 8UIT BOTH TOONO AND OLD.
Buys and Sells Legal Tenders, furnishes
Cheoks on Portland, and procures
Ai ULLO UU aZ700A A lCUiMUs .
SEEDS! SEEDS!
SEE3DS!
ALL KINDS OF THE BEST QUALITY
AL.1 OllOERS
Promptly attended to and goods shipped
wun care.
Address,
IIAGJIEXX A BEX0,
Portland, Oregon.
BETTER THAN GOLD.
My little world is very small,
Scarce worth your notice, sir, arall
The mother said.
"My (rood, kind husband as you so,
And these three children at my knee,
Who look to us so trustingly
For daily bread. '
"For their sweet sakes who love me so,
I keep the fire-light In a glow,
In our dear home.
That, though the tempests roar outside,
And fiercely threaten far and wide.
The cheery blaze may serve to guide
Dear feet that roam. -
And aa the merry kettle boils.
We welcome him who daily tolls.
For us each day.
Of true love kisses full a soore
He gets, I'm certain, if not more.
When fond ones meet him at the door,
At twilight gray.
"One gets the slippers for his feet,
Another leads him to his seat
The big arm chair
And while the children round him sing,
" v " And make the dear old rafters ring.
One little daughter crowns him king
With blossoms fair.
"Ah, sir, we are not rich or great.
The owners of a vast estate,"
The mother said;
"But wo have bettor far than gold.
Contentment, and a little fold
As full of love as it can hold,
With dally bread."
Mrs. M. A. Kidder in N. T. Ledger.
NATHAN'S LESSON.
Taught by a Sonsible and "Blessed
Old Maid."
"There is no other way, Clara. I am
the only relative she has left, and we
must invite her 'hero for the winter,
anyhow. She and John stayed with
father and mother while I was roamin
hero and there. Now they are all gone,
Martha's alone, and it's no more" than
right for me to look out for her awhile.
I'll write immediately."
"Yes, Nathan; that is right I know,
but I can't help dreading it. I always
had a horror of 'old maids;' " and Mrs.
Tracy looked nervously around the plain
kitchen of the little farm-house.
"You needn't be afraid of Martha;
she isn't very old, and I venture to say,
none of the prying, disagreeable old
maids we read of."
In spite of his reassuring words, Mrs.
Tracy dreaded the jarrival of her hus
band s maiden sister, who he had not
seen since the day he left his New En
gland home to try his fortune in the
new West.
But, aa Clara soon discovered, there
was nothing to fear from the quiet, sad
faced woman who came to them, whose
life tad been so full of devotion to
others, and noble -self-sacrifice, that
there had beon no time for growing
hard and bitter because some of life's
sweetest blessings had been denied her.
The children, Bert and Mabel and
baby Ray, with the unerring instinct of
childhood, felt the depth of he quiet
kindliness, and took her at once into
their loving little hearts. ,
Miss Tracy, although wholly unob
trusive, wa3 naturally very observant.
This, together with the interest she felt
in her brother's family led her, before
ene nad been many weeks an inmate of
his house, to make a discovery.
ss athan, in his desire to get on in the
world, was missing much that would
have made life pleasant. In thinking so
constantly of tho future, he was losing
all the sweetness of the present. That
this was affecting the whole family was
only too apparent. It was seen in
Clara s anxious, weary face, and re
peated in a less degree upon the coun
tenances of their children.
There seemed to be no rest for any of
them. No relaxation in the struggle for
existence, jn otning 10 vary tne wearing
monotony of every-day labor, which,
like some huge Juggernaut, was crush
ing beneath its wheels all that might
have made life sweet and pleasant.
Martha shrank from interfering with
the habits of her brother's family; bu'
looking ahead, she saw for them nothing
but '' sorrow and disappointment, and
felt that something must be done to save
them.
Wnfnrttnfr fnr an nnnnrfnnihr in fellr
alone with Nathan, she gladly accepted
his invitation one morning to ride with
him to town.
Triftv wnrn rnllintr rrmidlv nvpr r.Vin
level prairie road, when Martha broke
the silence.
"Tt. ?a tmltr PvliHa rnfino tn rirlo 5n fhia
bracing air, over these line roads, es-
fiecially with so nice a 'rig,' as you call
t. Tho buggy is easy and the horses
really fine animals. You must bo doing
well now, Nathan."
"I suppose I am, Martha; but it has
been a liard pull, with losing crops,
sickness, etc. We're in debtyet, but
with hard work and economy I guess
we can make it up in another year."
"Then what will come next?"
"I intend to have a nice large barn,
and some choice cattle; then I shall
build a good house and prepare to take
comfort. There isn't a better farm than
mine for miles around, and I must
make the best improvements possible.
Then, some day, we'll have the best oi
everything."
"But who will share it all with vouP"
"Why, my family, of course!" open
ing his eyes wide with astonishment.
"All except Clara, you mean," sol
emnly. "Why, Martha, how you talk. It is
for her I'm working who else, I'd like
to know?"
"Now, Nathan, just take a few plain
words from your sister, who means
only kindness. I've had experience,
and, in my judgment, Clara hasn't vi
tality enough to take her through an
other year of hard work. I have your
interests at heart, and would not need
lessly arouse your feare; but I am con
vinced that yonr wife is wearing out
She must rest from this constant labor,
or your children will soon bo mother
less." "Don't, Martha, talk in that way!
Clara is as well as usual. She was al
wavs slender and delicate. I'd gladly
havo kept her in ease, but sho knew she
married a poor man, and was willing to
work up. He was a little annoyed.
"I doubt not you have been kind and
good to her, and now that she has
helped 'work up so far, 1 know vou
will be glad to give her a vacation. You
do not realize what it is to care for three
little children and do all the work that
must bo done in a farm-house. She
might have been slender when a girl,
but not careworn. To-night, if you
will look at one of her old pictures, you
will be convinced I am right."
"Suppose I am; what then?"
"How much would it cost to send hm
back to Ohio for the winter? I cm
keep house.'
"Simply out of the -question. Sho
Wouldn't go anyhow, Martha."
"I thought you didn't know it; but
she is as homesick as a child to see her
father and mother. She hasn't said so,
she never complains, but an unutterable
longing fills her eyes, and- quick tears
when she speaks of them. Sure of your
eonscnt and my willimrness to keep
house for her, she would go gladly."
"And you think it would do bor
good?" -
"Undoubtedly, and it would be the
cheapest medicine you could give her,
and the surest" Think it; over a day or
bo, Nathan."
That evening Martha was not "sur
prised to see a startled, anxious look on
her brother's face, as he closely re-
farded his wife, whenever he thought
imself unobserved. Husbands are
often the blindest of all persons in re
gard to their wives, but Nathan was
convinced.
-That night when they were alone, k
euddenly exclaimed:
"Clara, how would you like to visit
your mother this fall?"
She looked at him a moment in
silence, while a wave of crimson swept
over her pale face. Then, turning away,
she said, brokenly:
"Don't talk about it, Nat; I know we
can't afford it, and I'd rather not speak
of it."
"But we can afford it, a,nd Martha is
willing to keep house for me. Now do
you want to go, dearP"
There was an unconscious tone of re
proach in his voice, and a look of pain
in his face which she could not under
stand. "O, Nathan!" she sobbed, with her face
hidden on his shoulder, "don't imagine
that I love you any tho less, or am tired
of our little home; but I do want to go.
Just now there is nothing in the world I
want so much as to see father and
mother." .
"Well, then, you shall go, little wife.
Don't cry so; I didn't know you cared
so much; but that settles it, you shall
go."
After MrSi Tracy and tho baby were
gone, Martha looked around the un
ornamented rooms and resolved that,
there should be something new, some
thing bright and pretty, to welcome back
the home-keeper. The "front room"
had never been furnished, but after con
sidering her resources, Martha thought
she could manage it, if she could per
suade Nathan into buying a carpet.
"A carpet? why Martha!" he ex
claimed at her proposal, too astonished
to say more.
"What was Clara's old homelike?
You don't want her to notice too sharp
a contrast on , her return," , said. : the :
sister, quietly. , .
"I'may get aT carpet, ,r thoughtfully; ;
"but sdmany other things would have
to follow."
"Nat, when father and mother died,
we were going to divide things, but you
had no home then, and while John and
I stayed,, everything remained the same.
When I came hero, I sold or packed
everything, and there is a big box for
you, which is on tho way out here. Be
sides bedding and clothing, there are
pictures, vases, curtains, a table-spread
and some of mother's nice rugs. They
will help furnish the room. I guess
you can afford to buy a cane-seat rocker
and two chairs, and we'll make tho
rest."
"I'd like to know how."
There are two bottomless chairs in
the granary; I will ebonize. the frames,
cushion seat and back, and with strips
of embroidery and heavy fringe they
will be handsome. That old rocker
which is forever coming to pieces can
be mended and treated likewise, minus
the rockers, and you'll havo an easy
chair. A pine table which you can
make, stained and varnished, and cov
ered with the spread, will do nicely."
"Well, it sounds practicable, I'll help
all I can."
"There will be. ottomans to make,
mantle to put up, and a cornice for the
?curtains. It will take our spare time
for all winter, but how pleased Clara
will bo."- -
"I intend to have everything nice for
her some day."
"les, iSat; but a woman must havi
something to live on in ! the meantime.
There's a love of tho beautiful in every
woman's heart, and it must be satisfied.
If surrounded by grand scenery th
mind can feed on that; but here, in thil
level monotonous country, I believe th
home should be very bright and at
tractive." .
"There may be some truth in that,
but I never thought of that before,"
replied Nathan.
"It is not common for a man to think
about the home as a woman does, for
he mingles with the world, while most
of her hours are spent inside the four
walls. Clara had no time to fix up any
thing; that baby was a sight of trouble;
but if you and the children help, we can
go wonders.
Ana tney am. wnen uiara came
home, four months later, she scarcely
knew tne place.
"Come and look at your wife," whls-
fered Martha, when Nathan had fin
shed the chores and was ready for a
happy evening.
There she was in the pretty room.
chatting with the children. - Joy and
fladness shone through her face, which
ad lost its sharpness and pallor, and
there was an elasticity in ner move
ments which recalled her girlhood.
RVif IrtriVa ffin irpflrc vrmnovr ,
and if I can help it she shall never work
so again. You've taught me a lesson I'll
not forget. We'll tako all the comfort
wo can now if wo never got a big house,"
"Martha has made this so pretty that
we shan't want another," exclaimed
Clara, hearing his last remark as they
entered the room. "I'm so thankful to
you all for this pleasant home-coming."
"Martha deserves the thanks, for sho
planned it all," said Nathan, catching
up tho baby.
"You are a jewel, Martha: and to
think that I was afraid of you and
dreaded to have you come!"
"Was that because you knew I was an
'old raatdP " asked Martha, iaurhins
"Yes, that was just it. I didn't know.
you sec, that you were such a 'blessed
old maid." Hearthstone.
Some of the good Indians In tho
Northwest are earning an honest liveli
hood by digging medicinal roots.
THE BLACK REPUBLIC.
A Itace of Savages without Hope of Re-
dmijtlo Horrible Talee f Crimea and
Superstition.
Sir Spencer St! John has just written
a book on the Hayti savages. "He says
the inhabitants were and savages they
are likely to remain, indulging in all
the horrible rites and riets of cannibal
ism. There are many restrictions which
the whites have to Contend with in all
commercial ; transactions, besides the
unfairness of tha laws; in brief, there
are no laws framed that afford protec
tion to the white. This rule is carried
to such an exteat that Judres are afraid
to give a verdict in favor of a foreigner,
no matter what , crime the black may
have committed. The dreadful massa
cres that took place during the revolu
tion are related with minute accuracy,
and the only man wkohad any humani
ty in his composition was Toussaint, the
hero of the time who with the true in
stinct of a General, foresaw that his
undisciplined forces could not cope with
the perfect discipline of the European
troops. He.therefore.in 1795,formedfour
regiments of two thousand men each,
whom he had drilled daily by French
soldiers, his former prisoners. "During
the continuous ngntlng, whien occu
pied a considerable period, Toussaint
showed great magnanimity and control,
and what was of great importance to
the unprotected, when his word was
once pledged he never broke -it." Pass
ing over this busy period, we can not
find as the yoars roll on that the brutal
nature of tho Haytians had changed one
iota, and it is difficult to decide which
are the most bloodthirsty the negroes
or the mulattoes. "When the decree
was issued by Dessalines that mulatto
children should inherit the estates of
their white fathers, two yonng men
met, and - one. said to tho other, 'you
kill my father, and I will kill yours;'
which they accordingly did, and took
Eossession of the estates." Now for a
lack example, "A negro General,
grandfather of a lady I knew in Hayti,
went to uessaimes alter the appearance
of the decree, to" murder the white
French left in the island, and said:
'Emperor, I have obeyed your decree.
I have put my white wife to death.'
Excellent ; Haytf an,' answered ho,
but an infernal scoundrel. If ever
again yon present yourself before me I
will have you shot" ; ;
No portion of the book is .more strik
ing and so likely to prove the retro
grade condition of the people than the
revolting custom of the voudoux wor
ship and its attendant horrors of canni
bal! ism. The obscenity of the rites and
the hideous practices are best described
in the anthor's own words: A child has
been stolen for the purpose of making a
feast "Sho was throwrron the ground,
her - aunt holding :vhrby -the 'waist,
whilst the papaloi pressed her throat
and the others held her legs and arms;
her struggles soon ceased; as Floreal
had succeeded in strangling her. Then
Jeanne handed him a Targe knife, with
which he cut ou (Jlaircme s head, tne
assistants catching the blood in a jar;
then Floreal is said to have inserted an
instrument Under the child's 6kin, and
detached it from the body. Having
succeeded In flaying their victim, the
flesh was cut off from the bones and
placed in large wooden dishes; the en-
iraus ana SKin ueing ouriuu near io iiie
cottage. The whole party then started
for noreal's house, carrying the re
mains of their victim with them. On
their arrival Jeanne rang a little
bell, and a procession was formed;
the head borne aloft, and a sa
cred song sung. Then preparations
were made for aieast Jeanne
cooked the flesh with congo beans,
small and rather bitter (pois congo),
whilst Floreal put the head into a pot
with yams, to make some sonp. Whilo
the others were engaged in tho kitchen,
one of tho women present, Iloselde
Sumera, urged by the fearful appetite
of a cannibal, cut from the child s palm
a piece of flesh and ate it raw (this I
heard her ; vow in open court). The
cocking over, portions of the prepared
dish were handed round, oi which an
present partook, and thd soup being
ready, it was divided among the assist
ants, who deliberately drank it. lhe
night was passed in dancing, drinking
and debauchery." In another case a
French priest said to a mother: " How
could you eat the flesh of your own
children?" She answered, coolly: "And
who had a"bctter right? tst c& que ce
n'est pas moi qui les at faitV
N.Y. Truth. .
THE REVOLVER.
Result of Some of the Teachings of Our
Time.
May we not see, in the recent murder
ous assault in the counting-room of the
San Francisco Chronicle, the result of
the teachings of our timsf Hero is this
Sprsckels. Like thousands of other
young men, he carries a highly-dangerous
"self-acting" revolver. Should
any one apply to him a certain epithet,
that man would surely fall under the
young man's rapid fire. Why? Be
cause tho young man has no respect for
the law. Ho is intelligent He puts
things together. He says: " Nobadv
who is anybody is ever hanged. Ife
goes to jail, to be sure, but it makes him
a great man. Nobody with money, or
whose father . has money, is ever con
victed." And is not the lad right?
TVTHa itnoa Fir WAW.iter. amnncr lh.
better classes, has been executed for
murder? 'And what cowardly assassi
nations have we not had since the war?
Inasmuch as it has been murder or
nothing, the jury has always found that
It was nothing, or when, after deliver
ing a decision in favor of a defendant a
Supreme Judge has been slain at the
foot of his bench, by a plaintiff the
jury has affected to believe that the
slayer was crazy at the moment he
wreaked his vengeance. Horrible act-?
among the voung' men thus educated to
lawless work are at last bring'ng the
people to their senses. It is no uncom
mon thing for tho managing editor of a
great daily to nowadajs direct the
workers in his teiegrapn-room mat thev
4 cut down the ' hangings,' put then
In the supplement scatter the crimin.t'
news," and in other commendable war
distract the minds of the people fror
the bloody business which hath so b
formed their eyes that they can n
longer see the figure of Justieo sitlhi.
witfi equal scale.1. Current.
IRON ORES OF ERAZIL.
A Deposit of 8,090,000,000 Tons of the
, Useful Metal.
The iron ores of the province of Minas;
Brazil, are remarkable for their ex
traordinary abundance, their richness,
and their purity. They are to be found
almost everywhere in the center of the
province; sometimes in outcrops of
enormous extent, often worked into to
a great depth by the gold miners in
search of the precious metal; sometimes
deposited in large masses in the bed and
upon the banks of rivers, the floods of
which carry them away and scatter them
over other localities. In many places
they constitute the track of the roads,
the dust of which sparkles so brilliantly
during certain hours of the day that the
eye can scarcely bear to look upon it
So abundant is this ore, and so ready to
and, that large quantities of it are used
as building stone; this is notably the
case in the town of Ouro-Preto.
Manganese is always found In these
ores, 'often only as a trace, but
sometimes in considerable; quan
tity, as much as nine per cent in
some samples.. These remarkale ores,
equal, if not superior.to the best ores of
Sweden, Algeria and the Pyrenees, may
be had for the labor of picking them up.
In some places they crop out from the
hill-sides, as at Pitanguy, for example,
where, thanks to the Tabor of the gold
miners, the outcrop of a bed 450 to 600
feet thick may be seen at one view,
over an extent of several miles. In
other places, covering an immense ex
tent of country, occurs "canga," a su
perficial deposit, the thickness of which
is often as great as twenty-five or thirty
feot Everywhere the streams carry
down and deposit pulverulent oligist
iron, ready washed for whoever will
take the trouble to collect it Mr.
Gorceix estimates the mass of deposits
at the foot of the Serra De Caraca at
8,000,000,000 tons. But without such
estimates, whoever has travelled
through these regions must necessarily
have come away with the impression
that the deposits are practically inex
haustible. Unfortunately for this country, so
rich in metallic ores, no coal exists in
the neighborhood of - these deposits.
Lignite, of good quality, is found in
several places, and in beds of workable
thiekness. But this has only future in
terest when the industry shall have
been sufficiently developed to use the
fuel in gaseous form. But there is an
abundance of wood, and wood charcoal
must be the fuel employed in the reduc
tion of these iron ores. The extensive
forests of the province of Minas iare ca
pable of supplying fuel on a large scale -for
many years to come without the
material rising much in value. Jlence
it, will be possible to.carry on metallur
gical; operations for a long time very
"cHeaply by means of wood iueL It may
be added that water power is abundant
and easily utilizable in this mountainous
country. At present the means of
transport are insufficient; but a railway
will shortly bo completed up to tho
boundary of this mineral district, and
commercial enterprise only is needed to
continue it into the heart of that region.
Annates des Mines. j .
AN OHIO SQUASH YARN.
A Tall Story Which. Scattered a Crowd,
and Made the Grocer Take Down UU
Shot-Onn.
Yesterday a lot of men were seated in
the "corner grocery," when their atten
tion was attracted to a pumpkin whioh
was just then brought in. Being of an
uncommonly largo size, it set tho more
talkative ones to telling "squash yarns."
After somebody had told a very extrava
gant one about a squash that weighed,
as ho solemnly asserted, seven hundred
and ninety-nine pounds, an old fisher
man arose and addressed the assembly:
"My very good fren's, I can jest beat
6ich squash yarns as that 'way yander.
W'y," he went on, "when I was plyin'
my trade m the West Injies, I; kept a
kind of sauash seed which 1 1 alwavs
planted a little before my reg'lar fishin'
ovuioiuuM M oiif unuu ill iwuu a uvCA)
in that hot kentrv. Mr. Sauash hed e-ot a
good start and I took him by tlie helm
and steered 'em toward the water where
I wanted to do my fishin'. I
"Only one squash growed on this un.
to wich I tied a big lump of cork to keep
im afloat xe see, the blame thing
growed so fas that it iust dragged the
squash over the water like double 'geared
lightnin . lhmks L I d better be a go
tir if I ketch you;' so I jumped into my
boat, first tyin' about fifty fish lines to
the vine as it rushed past me. I hed to
row for all I was worth to ketch up with
him, ho had got under such headway.
Howsomever, I got round on tho lee
side of it, as it glided onward toward
the settin' sun, and veered it square
around with an oar, and headed the
thing for port agin.
"1 hed mighty hard work to keep the
fide of my boat from getting stove in
by the squash a cavin' around so; but
when I got it started she went fer the
land at the rate of forty knots an hour.
"This I did, so as to land my fish,
which 1 could plainly.see, jerkin' my
vegetable trollin' line about sixty ways
ft minute. It took that vine just three
seconds to grow back again to - the
shore.and the distance was three miles;
This squash, contrary to all my 'expec
tations, didn't stop when it touched the
ground, but took the overland trail,
araggin' vine, cork, fish and all. It
was a beautiful sight to see the speckled
shiners go sailin' across lots, mixed in
with the em'rald green of the squash
leaves, floppin' again one anothor an
glitterin' in tho sunshine.
"I didn't hev much time to admire
it fer I see that I was li'ble to lose the
benefit of my catch, so I got ashoro
quick and cut the vine to stop the thing;
but I found out afterwards mat tne
sauash had knocked down seven huts.
killed a dog, and crippled three natives
for lite who tried to stop it
"When I got to my fish I found to
my astonishment that ev'ry blamed one
of em by rubbm' over tne ana bo iast
hed been cooked to a nice brown,
and" - ,
But when this disciple of truth
gazed around to see the effect of his
words, not a man, with the exception
of the rrocer. who had taken down his
shot-gun, was left. His audience had
silentlv departed by the back door.
Toledo Blade.
THE MOCKING-BIRD.
A Lover of Nature Visits the Sweet Singe
In the Florida Pines.
Near the mouth of the St Mark's
River, as I lay under a small tree, a
mocking-bird came and lit on the top
of a neighboring bush, and sang for me
Its rarest and most wonderful combina
tion, called by the negroes the "drop
ping song." Whoever has closely ob
served tho bird has noted its "mounting
song," a very frequent performance,
wherein the songster begins on the
lowest branch of a tree and appears
Eterally to mount on its music, from
bough to bough, until the highest spray
of the top is reached, where it will sit
for many minutes flinging upon the air
an ecstatic stream of almost infinitely
varied vocalization. t But he who has
never heard the "dropping song" has
not discovered the last possibility of the
mocking-bird's voice. I have never
found any note of this extremely in
teresting habit of the bird by any
ornithologist a habit which is, I sus
pect, occasional, and connected
with the most tender part of
the mating season. It is, in a measure,
the reverse of the "mounting song," be
ginning where the latter leaves off. I
have heard it but four times, when I was
sure of it, during all my rambles and
patient observations in the chosen
haunts of the bird; once in North Geor
gia, twice in the immediate vicinity of
Tallahassee, Florida, and onco near the
Bt. Mark's River, as above mentioned.
I have at several other times heard the
song, as I thought, but not being able to
see the bird, or clearly distinguish the
peculiar notes, I cannot register these as
certainly correct. My attention was first
called to this interesting performance
by an aged negro man, who, being with
me on an egghunting expedition, cried
out one morning, as a burst of strangely
rhapsodic music rang from a haw thick
et near our extemporized camp, "Lis'n,
mars, lis'n, dar.he's a-droppin.he's
a-droppin sho's yo' bo'n'. I could
not see the bird, and before I could get
my attention rightly fixed upon the song
it had ended.
Something of the rare aroma, so to
speak, of the curiously modulated trills
and quavers lingered in my memory,
however, along with Uncle Jo's graphic
description of. the bird's actions. After
that I was on the lookout for an oppor
tunity to verify the negro's statements.
I have not exactly kept the date of my
first actual observation, but it was late
in April, or very early in May; for the
crab-apple trees, growing wild in the
Georgian hills, were in full bloom and
spring had come to stay. I had been
out since the first sparkle of daylight
The sun was rising, and I had been
standing quite still for- some minutes,
watching a mocking-bird that Was sing
ing in a snatchy, broken way, as it flut
tered about in a thick-topped crab-apple
tree thirty yards distant from me. bud-
denly the bird, a fine specimen, leaped
like a flash to the highest spray of the
tree and began to flutter in a trem
bling, "peculiar way, with its wings half
spread and its feathers puffed out Al
most immediately there came a strange,
gurgling series of notes, liquid and sweet,
that seemed to express utter rapture.
Then the bird dropped, with a backward
motion, from the spray, and began to
fall slowly and somewhat spirally down
through the bloom-covered boughs. Its
progress was quite like that of a bird
wounded to death by a shot, clinging
here and there to a twig, quivering, and
weakly striking with its wings as it fell,
but all the time it was pouring forth the
most exquisite gushes and trills of song,
not at all like its usual medley of impro
vised imitations, but strikingly, almost
tartlingly, individual and unique. The
bird appeared to be dyingof an ecstasy
of musical inspiration. The lower it
fell the louder and more rapturous be
came its voice, until the song ended on
the ground in a burst of incomparable
vocal power. It remained for a short
time, after its song was ended, croucn
ing where it had fallen, with its wings
outspread, and quivering and panting
as if utterly exhausted; then it leaped
boldly into the air and flew away into
an adjacent thicket. Since then, as I
have said, three other opportunities
have been afforded me of witnessing
this curiously pleasing exhibition of
bird-acting. I can half imagine what
another ode Keats might have written
had his eyes seen and his ears heard
that strange, fascinating, dramatically
rendered song. Or it might better have
suited Shelley's powers of expression.
It is said that the grandest bursts of
oratory are those which contain a strong
trace of a reserve of power. This may
be true; but is not the best song that
wherein the voice sweeps, with the last
expression of ecstasy, from wave to
wave of music until with a supreme ef
fort it wreaks its fullest power, thus
ending in a victory over the final obt
stacle, as if with its utmost reach P Be
this as it may, whoever may be fortu
nate enough to hear the mocking-bird's
"dropping song," and at the same time
see the bird's action, will at once havo
the idea of genius, pure and simple,
suggested to him. Atlantxo Monthly.
m e m
Two Poisons.
The Progres Medical describes two
new Oriental poisons, both of which
cause death by arresting the heart's
action. One of them comes from
Borneo, and is an arrow poison. Almost
all that scientists yet know of it lies in
the number of unfortunate dogs they
have destroyed suddenly with it. Of the
other poison it is stated that an animal
of medium size, wounded with an arrow
whose point has been imbued, with it,
would make one bound and then fall
back dead. Even an elephant will suc
cumb to its effects after running - half a
mile or so. The composition of the
poison is not yet known, as it is kept
secret by the Mois, from whom a
specimen was obtained by a subterfuge.
The substance is said to be innocuous
when taken into tho stomach.
-"Good night," he said, as he at last
tore himself away and stepped out upon
the porch. 'Wait a minute," she said
"until I chain up the dog. It's about
time for the milkman, and they are not
very good friends."
. The art craze which formerly af
flicted Cincinnati, has run its course, it
is said.
SPOUTI N G OI L-WELLS.
Natural Curlostlet In Russia Which are
"Worth a Great Deal of Money.
The principal oil-wells of the , Baku
district lie at Balaxame or Balakhani,
about six miles to the northeast of the
town: this is an oil-field about three and
a half miles in length by one and a half
in breadth. To the south lies a smaller
field called Bebeabat One fountain at
Balakhani, ninety-eight feet in "depth,
is noted as having been ; flowing steadi
ly for upward of two years,, and still
continuing to yield. 800 barrels a dayi-
Another well not far off, 490 feet deep,
commenced its career by throwing up a
jet thirty feet in- the air, and then flood-
i i.i 1 j ... i j i i i
jng me iana wim ou lor a consiaeraoio
distance all around, overflowing other
wells and several small refineries, so as
effectually to stop their work. The
roar of the rushing oil and gas could
be heard a mile from the spot
Various flowing wells are said to
yield 6,000 barrels a day, and some far
more: but from the fact . that these
quantities are generally stated . in the
Russian measure of poods, it is not very
easy to realize what is meant One
pood, we learn, is equal to thirty six
pounds English. Hence one thousand
poods represent somewhere about six
teen tons. Accounts have just reached
England of an oil-fountian which was
struck last December, and flows at the
rate of from fifty to 6ixty thousand
poods daily, gushing forth with such
force as to break in pieces a three-inch
cast-iron plate which had been fastened
over the well in order to divert the flow
in a particular direction. In the same
district a huge heap of sand marks the
spot where an oil-spring, on being
tapped, straightway threw up a column
of petroleum to twice the height and
Jze of the great Geyser in Iceland,
forming a huge black f ountaintwo hun
dred feet in neight a fountain, ho
ever, due solely to the removal of the
pressure on the confined gas, for there
is no trace of volcanic heat The foun
tain was visible for many miles round,
and on the "first day it poured forth
about two million gallons, equal to fifty
thousand barrels.
An enterprising photographer who
was on the spot secured a photograph
which places this matter beyond caviL
The fountain continued to play for five
months, gradually decreasing week, by
week, tilfit finally ceased to play, leav
ing its unfortunate owners (an Arme
nian company) well-nigh ruined by
the claims brjbught against them by
neighbors whose land"? were destroyed
by the flood of oiL Fqpular Science
Monthly. :- : ; : '
A PERFECT BRASS BAND.
The Only Sure Recipe for Properly Ef
- "". - -Xeotlng- Sucb. ttn Orgra titration.
All the romance has gone out of the
cowboy's life. The magnificent liberty
he was wont to enjoy, the recklessness
of the round-up, the hairbreadth escapes
from Indians, the thousands" of buffaloes
he saw, his camp fire, his fair Indian
princess, and his cattle roaming a thou
sand hills, are all hereafter the merest
myths to the innocent reporter who
wandered into the gallery of the Expo
sition Hall yesterday and saw a dozen
or more savage-looking cowboys blow
ing sweet music out of the intricate
folds of a lot of brass instruments. The
sight shattered the 0 lobe-Democrat
young man's dreams of the wild West
forever. There before him was tho
Cowboy Band executing a Beethoven
sonata, a Chopin nocturne, or some
thing of the kind, while the leader
waved a sixteen-inch silver-plated forty-four-caliber
revolver over them for a
baton. It was impossible to imagine
that these were genuine cowboys, but
every one had his certificate, and the
leader, who waved the six-shooter, as
sured the small reporter who questioned
him that brave men had perished in re
fusing to accept the genuineness of the
cowboy musicians.
They toot until the people in the next
county imagine that a lot of crazy bar
bers are out somewhere in their neigh
borhood serenading the.singing coyotes.
jNignt alter nignc passes m mis way,
until the self-educated musicians get an
opportunity to burst in upon civilization
and give the friends of culture and high
art a taste of their quality. The change
is a p:etty good one, so say the cattle
men, as the music some cowboys make
will kill jack rabbits at ninety yards
and frighten coyotes if they are inside
the county line.
', "What do you swing that gun for?"
the Globe-Democrat reporter asked the
leader of the Cowboy Band.
"That's my . baton," was the answer.
"13 it loaded?"
"Yes."
"What for?"
"To kill the first man who strikes a
false note.".
Advice to leaders of local bands: Get
a forty-four-caliber revolver and use it
mighty quick. St. Louis Globe-Demo
erac.
Italian Scenery. ?
There is an education needed for the
appreciation of nature as well as of art
Many people scorn this notion, and as
there undoubtedly are ssme with so fine
an innate perception and discrimination
of the beautiful that they instinctively
recognize it, anybody may belive him
self to be one of those chosen few. But
the rest of us know that without tho
native gift, which nothing can wholly
replace, the eye and taste require expe
rience and training to comprehend and
analyze the beauties of the outer world
There was a time when I resented as
hotly as most other Americans the idea
that any scenery could surpass oar own;
jl Knew uiai iuu aius wort uiKuei mau
the Alleghanies, Dut, beyond that, I
thought that where there are mountains,
valleys, a lake, a waterfall, there must
ofnecessity bo a view of the utmost
beauty, without regard to degree. It
would be as rational to maintain that a
human being is necessarily beautiful
because possessed of eyes, nose, mouth
and chin ; almost everything depends
upon the outline and the relative pro
portion and disposition of the features.
The Italian landscape has a classic form
and profile; its glowing complexion is
due to the light that heavenly efful
gence which can transfigure any sceno.
Atlantic Monthly,