'FOR GOD. FOR COUNTRY AND FOR .TRUTH."
$1.00 a ycarin advance.
VOL. VI."
PLYMOUTH, N. C, FKIDAY,- AUGUSt 17, 1891.
NO. 7.
"W. FletcherAusbon,"EdUor and Manager.
THE GOLriETT SIDE. ' .
There Is many a rest on the road of 111,
If we only would stop totaVeit, "
And many a tona from the better land,
1 If the querulous heart would wake It.
To the Bunoy soul that ia full of hope,
And whosa beautiful trust no'er fafletb.
The grass Is pfreen and the flowers are bright,
Though the wintry 'storm provalleta.
Better to hope, though the o'oula hang low,
And to keep the eyes still lifted -For
tho swent blua sky wilt soon ' peep
through, '
When the ominous olouds are rlfte 1, t
Yhore was never a night without a day.
Nor an evening without a morning j
And the darkest hour thn proverb goes,
Is the hour before the dawning.
There's many a gem In the path of life,
Whioh we pis; in our idle pleasure, .
That is richer fur than the jeweled crown, .
Or the miser's hoarded treasure ;
It may be the love of a little child,
Or n mother's prayer to heaven,
Or only a beggar's grateful thank
For n cup ot water given. ,
Better to weave In the welyof lU'o
A bright and golden filling,
And to do God's will with a ready heart,
And hands that ara swift and willing.
Than to snap the delio:ite silver threads '
Of our curious lives asunder,
And then heaven blame for the tangled ends,
And sit to grieve and wonder.
. Mrs. K. A, Kidder.
TWICE IN ONE HOUE.
iLUAKLY Claudio
was tired, and it
took a deal to tire
this big, tousle
headed ycang Mex
ican. Bat it was
not to be wondered
at, after hia morn
ing's work. ; The
iambs in his barn
were now five days
old, and at that
Age a new Mexican
lamoissmar; enough in body and im
pish enough in mind to undo Job him
self. 1 Then tho mothers, whose age
might have been expected to give them
discretion, were as crazy as the lambs.
To add to the worry, the snakes were
beginning to come out from their win
ter. nap.
Latp in the afternoon, the ewes,
with a chorus of strange vhistles,
; went tearing and galloping over the
swale and disappeared over the brow
of tne ruige as u tne very wolves were
aff0r them. Clandio started in pur
suit, but the lambs hung at his heels,
in spite of a bombardment of words
and pebbles that he directed at 'them,
and.whenever he paused, pranced up
to him and muzzled against his' legs
and dropped contentedly at his very
feet..'. -
Palling off his coat, Claudio swung
it vigorously about him to clear , a
gpaoe, leaped over the ; backs of ' a few
loiterers and went running up a slope
at a gait it was a wonder to see. The
jumpeu a guiiey, ana as me lamus
came stumbling along several tripped
on it, and, finding it warm, promptly
sprawled upon their knees and began
. 1. - - it- - 1 T
to nurse at whatever rag or tag they
aret found. And the others, fancying'
that they were being robbed of their
dinner, crowded " and jostled about,
butting, " falling down, clambering
over one another., '
Claudio might have laughed at the
sight ; but when he came back, fifteen
minutes later, he saw about the ooat
l .. o lrtf nf lit.Ma. whitn natebflfl.
VUIJ vw , - " Jc T . '
''smeared with blood. : Here and there
a lamb was to be seen; wandering dis
consolately about or 1 fallen exhausted
under a shrub. And over the farther
swale was ju6t disappearing , a Tig,
dark, shambling figure, with two
white objects shining upon i :
It was all plain enough. The ewes,
scenting the bear from afar as .he
sneaked through the woods, had fled
incontinently ; and, taking advantage
of Claudio's brief absence, Bruin had
sallied from the junipers, played
havoo among the lambs (which were
too stupid to fear.even him), and vraM
now making off with a couple "for
f ture reference." - .
The bear, like bears always, was
only anxious .to get away. When
Claudio came in full view of him and
; only 100 yards behind, he whipped
' from his belt the six-shooter he car
ried in lieu,6f a rifle. "Throwing
down," in the swift, instinctive mo
iAion of those who really know how to
iusa a revolver, and never stop to 'ask
M. ii. :l i, ,. ;rrVf a fT nnt. lift Rent a
wc.einer ii o Dijj" y -
leaden proxy running for him. It
waa gol b'hot an' Rt B?Ce1 M
Is vsy t1' ; hind o.l Eioctiaa one hsJ
to learn on . the frontier , and cannot,
learn in a gallery. The bear turned
a complete somersault, and, gather
ing himself again, . began biting
viciously at hia body. Claudio had
not stopped at all; but now, within
thirty yards, he halted and watched
for the brute to give him a. shot at a
vital part. Hut in that very instant
the . bear, with a snuffle of rage,
wheeled and came galloping at his late
pursuer.
Claudio drove a square shot at the
skull not in any notion that he could
bore that sloping forehead,' but . hop
ing the rap might startle the beast
into rising, so that he could get a
chance at the throat, the best of all
shots at a bear. But the heavy ball
merely plowed a red . furrow up the
squat skull, and the bear came lurch
ing on. It was worse than useless to
run. Slender as was the chance of
life now, it all lay in standing firm.
Within six feet the huge brute did
rear up his haunches; and, springing
back a step, Clandio was bringing
down his weapon to "let go" when it
should be on a level with that mighty
throat, now fully exposed. But the
bear was 1 no innocent ; and, cleverly
jndgeu as was Claudio's move, he baa
met his match in quick wit. Even
the sweep of his swift arm was slow
beside the flash of that great paw as
it swooped far forward, met his de
scending hand with .a calculation an
Indian eye might have, envied, and
pent the heavy revolver spinning forty
tfeet,' going off as it . flew. And in an
other instant the shepherd was on his
back and the bear upon him.
The great claws had struok only tho
six-shooter, and Claudio's. hand was
unhurt, save where the violent wrench
ing of the guard had out and twisted
his fingers ; and instinctively he
gripped deep in the thick fur where
first hia hands lighted. Neither had
he been hurt by the fall, for here was
soft gray sand which a little relieved,
too, the iearful pressure upon his legs.
But none of these things comforted
Claudio ; and he fought only as a man
fights blindly to the end. , His la3t
faint hope had gone when the six
shooter went whirling far beyond
reach. -
The beari which had gone to bed in
his cave in the canon of Acebache, rolling-fat,
in November, but a few days
ago come forth from that long nap,
the shadow of his proper self- His
long, heavy fur was sadly rusted, and
his huge frame lean as a rail. He had
been interrupted in tiie rat square
meal in five months ; and from that
long fast came two strange results.
One was, that he was not half himself
in strength ; and that the powerful
young Mexican was therefore some
thing more than a puppet in his paws.
Of the end certainly, there could be
no doubt ; but meantime, Claudio
wrestled mightily, and even succeeded
in struggling to his feet, hugging close,
to give those paw3 no chance for the
swipes that would make an eggsneu pi
his head. 'His face he snuggled into
the bear's chest, and so kept clear of
the dripping jaws. And despite the
fearful pressure under which his ribs
creaked and sprung, he hunched and
tuged and swayed blindly and desper
ately, as wrestimg with some tall man
whom he might hope to pitcn at last.
But it was not for long.
Finding these close quarters unsatis
factory, the bear brought up hismus
milar arm. and clapping its paw upon
Claudio's mat of hair foxced his head
resistlessly back. The great claws were
buried in his scalp, and little streams
of red spurted out. The bear's left
arm was around his waist, while the
riffht was crivincr him the "break hold
as scientifically as any wrestler could
have done. And now a villainous
warm breath came sickeningly in his
face, and he could see the red jaws and"
white ."teeth within , six inches.' He
even noticed with ihat strange incon
sequence which comes upon a man in
these moments, that , blood from the
scalp wound had run down and tinged
the froth which dripped from great
mouth. In a. frenzy of terror he
caught a clutch under the throat, to
hold back that horrible head and the
strongest man could scarce have bent
against Claudio's desperate arms. But
it was only a question of a little longer.
Slowly, slowly, those resistless neck
niuscles bore down Claudio's iron
arms; and tba big jaws, working
rriuly, drew hcp rar. A JeatUy flat
ness began to spread from his stomaai,
tnd Claudio shut his eyes. : .
Just then a sudden jerk ran through .
the body of the bear, and there was a '
sharp Bnortas of rage or pain. Claudio
opened his eyes. He could see nothing
but that demoniac face ; bat ia it he
fancied there; was a new expression.
Then there was a sickening movement
of the great olaws which had sunk
deep into his back and scalp. Surely
they were relaxing ! Their withdrawal
was far more painful than their en
trance had been ; but even with the .
faintness of the new pain, a sadden
wave of joy swept through the shep
herd -for the first time, now, he
hoped, though he knew not why. He
shook his head savagely," to clear the
blobd which streamed down over hia
eyes (the paw had dropped from his
soalp) and dug his fists into tho deep
furred throat, and fought with thJ
strength of iwo Claudios fighting no
longer ai a dying rat fights, but like a
man for hope of life.
Then a very wonderful trying beteiu
The bear was groaning and , panting
heavily ; and suddenly it lurched and
fell to the ground, carrying Claudio
with it. But it was no longer trying
to get his head between its jawu For
a moment he lay half upon him,'
writhing and grinding its teeth, au-J
then flung itself to one side, biting up
a great mouthful of sand. Clandio
leaned to his feet, ran to the six
shooter and fell upon it, crying like a
child. It was ten minutes before he
could get up, for loss ot blood and
moro than all, the frightful strain
had left him limp as a rag. At last he
staggered to his feet, clutching the
six shooter, and walked unsteadily
toward the bear.
Laying down his revolver he caught
the heavy, fur to turn , the bear over.
Ordinarily ho would have succeeded.
Four hundredweight is no ""fool of a
lump, but Claudio, a you have seen,
was an uncommonly powerful young
man. Now, however, . worn out by
his fearful struggle and with nerves
so unstrung that he trembled all over,
it was too much for him. Still, the
mystery would . not let him rest, and
hunching his shoulders against the
bear's back he ran his hand under,
feeling for the wound. He groped
and groped, but suddenly in a hollow
felt the touch of, something very dif
ferent from fur or sand, and ia the
same instant an inconceivable pang.
And when he jerked away his arm a
tiny snake, less than a foot long,
gray backed, and coppery on the
belly, was hanging from his thumb.
The last vestige of color faded from
ihe brown face, and left it gray as
ashes between the drying streaks of
blood for Claudio knew tho pichu
cuate, the only real asp in the new
world, the deadliest snake in North
America. So he had escaped the 1m
only to die by the tiny foe for never
yet had one been known to recover
from the bite of thepiohu-cuate. A
rattlesnake was nothing; but this
well, see what it had done for such a
monster as the bear and in the space
of less than a minute I Evidently in
their struggle bruin had stepped too
close to this unsuspected danger
that great lump on his hind leg ex
plained olL , Had he carried his usual
coat of fat the venom would have
taken far longer to operate and he
would have had abundant time to
settle accounts with Claudio. Bat he
no longer looked gaunt. He was still
swelling -already he looked fat as if
July were here.
Already Claudio was reeling. Fear
ful pains shot up hia arm and went
forking through his body. Upon the
thumb were only two tiny black doti
right at the tip, but the hand ia thete
five seconds had taken twice its size.
If he could only cut it off 1 But alas
his knife was in hia coat,' and before
he could get half way to that he would
be a dead shepherd,
All this nad taken not so long as yon
have been in reading it nay, scarct
the time in which one might spell the
longest word in it, fo' in these crises
things and thoughts move swiftly, ano
one lives fast. Claudio was still
squeezing his thumb and crying aloud
for a knife, when his eye lit on the s;z
shooter. Quick as a flaih he sprang
and caught it up and cooked it. Thara
was i list one cartridge left.
Ilia nerves were steady now, ne
held him baud, at arm's length be .'ore
Lin, tho wounded tliumb erect, draw
the revolver baok to his very eye that
the ball might not mangle too much
and thus stop the blood . whioh mast
flow ; and with a haul as fir u as if it
had beeu oarved of stone pulled the
trigger. There was a dull, narob sen
sation, hardly a pain in all -that side,
and when the omoke cleared from his
eyes his right hand was blaok aud
bleeding. The thumb was goneslean
nt the lower joint.
There is one man in New-Mexico
who has been bitten by the piohu-cuats-and
lives to tell ot it a tall, power
ful, good natured shepherd with four
grim, grey furrows in his hair and the
thumb of the right hand missing. Bat
Clandio seems rather proud . of these
disfigurements and often says :
Who talks of bargains? For so
cheaply I bought my life twice in . on
hour." New York Press. ' ,
- FUN.
Some people never get higher than
a towering rage. Syracuse Courier.
When a girl is kissed she closes her
eyes ; thus a kiss is considered out of
sight. Adams Freeman.
Tyranny That domestic law whioh
forbids a day's fishing to the small
boy when it rains. Judge.
1 Give to man the meat of the banana
and he doesn't care if the skin of it
kills somebody else. Dallas News.
Expect every man to do hia duty,
and with all your expectations expect
to be disappointed. Galveston News.
Grandpa's Birthday ; "Many happy
returns of the day, grandpa; and
mamma says if you give each of us
fifty cents, we muswi't lose it.1' Brook
lyn Life.
"Do you take this man for better
or for worse?" asked the minister. "I
can't tell until I have had him a lit
tle while," returned the bride. Spare
Moments.
There is one thing to be said in
praise of the doughnut, and that ia
that the vacuum in its center will not
distress the weakest stomach. Bos
ton Transcript. ,
Hecker "His friends are talking
of Stillman for the Senate." Decker
"But ha has lost his palate. He
can't speak a word." Hecker 'Tea ;
that's what they're goiug to run him
on." Brooklyn Life.
First Politician "I can say thin,
that our party conducted th cam
paign in an honest, fair and straight
forward way. What more can you
say of your party?" Second Politi-
soript.
"They say Boor ley has developed
vfynUr ladv's man. xsn t it
rather strange?" "His becoming a
tt
ladv'sman? Certainly not. His. wife
paid something like fifty thousand for
A Alt'
him. Why shouldn t ne ue ners;
Buffalo Courier.
A little three-year-old girl, while
Vim mnfliav m trvinir to cret her to
UQA UIVV-v " J o
1-iAftA.mn interested in some
BAVWjLr, y
noise, one was tola tnat io was cbou
by a cricket, when she sagely ob
served: "Mamma, I think he ought to
be oiled. "-Pearson's Weekly.
Babson "How is it that yoa are al
ways in debt? You should be ashamed
of yourself." Jabson "Come, now;
don't be too hard on a fellow. You
would, perhaps, be in debt too if you
were in " my place." "What place?"
"Able to get credit." New lor
Press. .. .
The Missouri's ChannsT. .
'The Missouri River is - a restless
stream." said a Westerner "I can
remember Yankton as on the river,
and I can also remem ber ' it when it
was two or three miles away. The
Missouri, when it takes a notion to
appropriate a few farms, cuts them
down like a steam plow would. You
will see it start on a considerable strip
of the rich blaok loam soil and cut it
down for miles. I have a friend whose
farm was on the west bank of the
river when h9 bought it ten years
ago. Two ' years later he lived on an
island in the middle of the stream,
and to-day he is on the east side. It
is even mora restless than the Missis
sippi ; while there are not the Bamo
levees and other safeguards place I
about it to prevent its encroaching
upon the valuable farming landa alouj'
its banW Cir.ciu'jt-ti Eaquircr.
SAILORS' OMENS.
JACK TARS MORE SUFERST
TIOUSIN FORMER DAYS. -
IjawyersJ Women and Clerjrymet
Looked, at "With Disfavor on ball
Ing Vessels Other Striking
. Superstitions of Seamen.
HT IEUTENANT J. D. Jt flROLTJ
I f Kelley gives an inJerestinj
J V, chapter of "Superstitions ol
.' the Sea" in the Century. Al
ter studying' them fairly -well, he
doubts if modern sailors are mori
superstitious than any other class witl:
equal training and opportunities. '
believe, he says, that everybody ii
leavened with superstition, notably
the noisiest scoffers, and those mounte
banks, the Thirteen Clubs, for these
gentry protest too much. It seems to
be a human instinct, modified by
racial inheritances and developments.
In the youth of the world its" mani
festations were the earliest recorded
utterances of men concerning the visi
ble phenomena of the universe, and
its grip on simple words was an out
growth of the fear of the unknown.
Of all people sailors must deal at first
hand, and helplessly to some degree,
with the most unknowable, uncon
trollable of material problems, the
sea, and it is only natural that their
folk-lore should be, in part, land
stories fitted with sea meanings, and
in part blind explanations of . sea
phenomena both being maintained
valorously by the gruesome conserva
tism of the seaman, even after rational
causes come to the rescue.
In earlier days superstition was as
much a part of every ship as the water
she was to float in ; for it entered
.... i
with the wood scarfed into her keel,
and climbed to the flags and garlands
waving at her mastheads ; it ran' riot
ously at her launching, controlled tar
name, her crew, and cargoes ; it timed
her days and hours of sailing, and
convoyed her voyages. It summoned
apparitions for her ill-fortune, and
evoked portents and signs for her
prosperity ; it made winds blow foul
or fair, governed her' successful ven
tures and arrivals, and when her work
was done, promised a port of rest
somewhere off the shores of Fiddler's
Green, where all good sailors .rest
eternally, or threatened foul moorings
deep in the uncanny locker of Davy
Jones of ballad memory.
In ma jy countries stolen wood was
mortised into the keel, as it made the
ship sail faster at night ; though ii
the first blow struck in fashioning this
keel drew tire, the ship was doomed
to wreck upon her maiden voyage.
Silver (usually a coin) placed in the
mainmast-step went for lucky ven
tures, and misguided indeed was the
owner who permitted any of the un
lucky timbers to enter into the con
struction. Something of the ceremo
nious character given to launching
survives to this day ; where of old
ships were deiked with flowers and
crowns of leaves yflags now flutter;,
the libation poured on, the deck, the
purification by the priest., ttie annoint
ing with egg and sulphur, ilad their
exemplars in the well-aimed Nand
wasted magnums which are shattered
on the receding cut-water as the craft,'
released from the ways, slips, Trell-
! greased, into the sea ; the jar of wine
4- Vt i ft lina Vttr VA Aflrtlol'n YIj9
then emptied on deck, the cakes and
ale set before the crew, the stoup of
wine offered to passers-by on the
quay, and the refusal of which was an
evil omen all are realized-in these
sadder lustrums by the bailder's feast
in the mold-loft. .
Lawyers, clergymen, and women are
ever looked at with disfavor on sail
ing ships as sure ' to bring ill-luijk
lawyers, undoubtedly, from tlje antip
athy of sailors to the class, dislike bo
pronounced that "sea-lawyer" is a very
bitter term of reproach, and "land
shark" is a synonym. Clergymen
priefts and parsons are unluoky,
probably because of their black gowns
and their principal duty on shipboard
that of consoling the dying and
burying dead though possibly be
cause the devil, the great storm-raiser,
is their especial enemy, and sends
tempests to destroy them. Women
who may reason out their unpopular
ity? save tli at a ship is the last place
for them, or perhaps because of the
dread of t .'lies; Vor of all spcllwork-
,rrsi noiid i i l j dreade 2
as the female brewers of hell-broth-Like
the priests of the .middle ages
they can raise a prime quality of ,
storm by tossing sand or stones in the
air, and, like Congreve's Lapland sor
ceress, are supposed to live by selling
contrary winds and wrecked vessels.
'.Certain families could never, get '
sea-employment under their own sur
names,, not even such members as
were born with cauls, for they were
tabooed, hatred; and many animals
hares, pigs, and black cats, for , ex
ample could neither, be carried nor,
mentioned on shipboard, save under
very stringent conditions. Scarbor-'
ough wives kept a black cat in th a "
house to.assTora their husband's lives
at', sea ; but on voyages every black
cat carried a gale in her tail, and if
she became unusually , frolicsome a .
storm was sure to follow.
Figureheads were at first images of
gods, and later of saints and' sea-he-'
zoes, and were held in high reverence,
and the eyes glaring from, each bavr
of a Chinese junk eiiable the boat to'
voyage intelligently for "no have
twn (tp. how can see? No can see.
how can do?" is the shibboleth of their
sailors. Ships' bells were blessed, and ,
to-day it a mistake in their striking is -made
by a stupid messenger-boy, they
are struck backward to break the
spell. ' In one ship to which I was at
tached the bell had come down to us".
Irnm iha Tif.nnrlpmrA. ihrousrh tl J
" - - -3- ,
Thetis, I think, and . was supposed l
be under1 the special control of a blue
spirit of mischief. Why ' the blue
spirit should indulge in bucu vagaries
is hidden, but in the middle of the
deep-sea nights, when the moon rode
in an auspicious quarter, and the wind
blew with the force,, and from the di
rection, necessary for the spell, the
vu. Vi-il won Vinnnd to make a com-
plele circle, and ring oni nine bells
stridently. . Of course' no one ever
heard or onght to hear nine bells at
ice, fqrseight bells are as nxeu m,
limit as the decalogue ; but this waa
promised. , Whether the condition?
failed to co-ordinate, I cannot say,
but though the bellwas ' watched by
all sorts and conditions 'of in?V the
occult ceremony was never performed
for our benefit. It. is necessary to add
that by report it was a common event
in the other ships mentioned.
The proverbial desertibn of sinking
ships by rats is founded upon reason,
and undoubtedly occurs, for as rats
like to prowl about dry-iootea, ana
will stick to "one place so long as food
is plenty, it is probable that the ship
they leave is so leaky and unseaworthy
that their under-deck work ia too wet
to suit them.
' A Rival of the Bicycle.
A rather formidable competitor of
the cycle has made Ata appear aocaria
tho Midlands in the shape of e. pneu.-'
datio road skate. . It has lately been
teen in the streets of Birmingham, ud
judging from the admiration i k ex
cites, is not unlikely to find its wy.
soon into all parts of the country..
The invention, which was patented'
a short time ago ,by a Scotch firm, is
evidently derived from the old roller
skate of skating celebrity, but, where-'
as the ordinary roller skato has four
wheels, the pneumatio skate has only
two, placed in line at either extremity
of the skate. The wheels are larger
than those of the roller skate and in
stead ofsolid rubber are covered with
pneumatio jires. The patentees claim
for them (5V one can 1 skate ovex
ordinary tunike roads with them the
same as on ice at eypii greatel
speed, while at the same UmTtiixU
easily ascend ' and descend hills. Si?
r seven miles an hour, however, ia
the maximum speed attempted in the
streets of Birmingham, and that only
on smooth roads. One obvious al
vantage of the pneumatio skate over
the pneumatic cycle is that punctured
tires may be readily replaced, as the
skater may carry surplus tires, , or
oven "reserve wheels ready fittsd, ia
his overcoat pocket. London Iron
monger. Smoking Through the Snow. . -In
the snowy regions of th Hima
layas, i is said, little smoking fun
nels are made in the. iioz:. a enow, at
the end of which is placed eurae to
bacco, while to the other tho moun-
I laineers place thoir months, as 1 lying
f!!.t on ihci ' ..h. - i .' ' tljj