in i s p. fill P L VAAV II II L . a Year, In Advance. ' " FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH." SIojU Copy 5 Centa. j VOL. XVII. PLYMOUTH, N, C,. FRIDAY, AC GUST 2i, i90G. V NO. 21 I PUTTY- A TALE OF A By John Number seven shed in Ridgeway IhoQk mill was admittedly the most exclusive and conservative room in the factory, and was managed not so much by its overlooker and "tacklers" as by an old and privileged hand call ed Peggy Pratt, who had been there time out of count, and was apparently as much a fixture as the iron pillar -which stood at her loom end. Nearly all the hands employed at tho time of our story were her nomi nees, and how Jessie (Heave came to obtain the pair of looms whi.ch were vacant when Sally Hunter got married was a mystery which puazled the rest of th hands and seriously piqued Pc-gsy. It was a crisis. Peggy had a reeling that her prestige was at stake; hti as the looms had been given by tho head overlooker, who scarcely ever interfered in such matters..- Peggy, after home- reflections, was philosopher enough to see that the surest way to retain unauthorized dominion is not to strain it, and so she resolved to "take it out" of the newcomer. Hhe had been sulky and wordless all morning, therefore, but by the break last interval had made up her mind. At the entrance end of the shed, where the ladders' stood, was an open space; find when the engine stopped the weav ers assembled here, and. squatting about, on the floor or on upturned cop ships, took their morning meal. En sine unci machinery being still, there wjih unwonted silence, except for the clatter of women's tongues. The new arrival did not join the company, but sank shyly down at the far end of her loom alley, almost hidden behind the Loam. It- was abuit two hours since lessie Cleave came among them and in th:it. short time every woman in the place had inspected her, . and could have told almost every stitch she wore.. They knew also that, she was married and .poor, and a stranger .to that part of .he valley. They had likewise dis covered: that "Lobby," the tackier who had hoc ;;nder his care, was smitten -with .tier, and that she had the best hands and teeth in the shed. She had been the cue topic of all the signalings and sign language which in the din -of the machinery, took the place of words, over since she came into the room; but not a so! had spoken to her. Her introduction bed been irreg ular, not ;o say unwarranted, and the manner of the unusually self-assertive PegS.v left so much to the imagination that even p.iw they were inclined, to hold their peace, and wait for Peggy's lead. But Peggv found something to Nlo atAhc looms, and took a long time in diVing 'It. Presently-; however, she 'it$bp Ktt.l) look her accustomed place in to tr.ith'le of the circle of break fastcif'Vnd opening a little handker chief, spread out her eatables on her kr.ee, art;: took from the -'tenter" her can (C .teaming tea. She knew that all her followers wore watching and walling, hence her excessive delibera tion; and so presently she raised the chin of tier hard face, and without looking anywhere in particular, cried out: "Hereh theer! thee come out here. KrJ let's lock at thee!" The brown head just afiovc the dis tant loom ducked lower but there was no reply. t ;.':3!ip wants a special deppytation to v her to jine our lowly circle' and Saily laughed ominously. Conscious that every eye was upon her, and that defiance of authority, however, ill-founded, must be nipped relentlessly in the bud, Peggy left her meal, stalked down' three loom alleys, awl almost immediately reappeared fyn the offending Jessie, who was evi . .dratly struggling to keep back her tears. With a blush and a sigh the stranger dropped into the nearest seat, ' and began quietly to consume her re maining food, which nobody in the cur iosity of the moment noticed consisted of plain dry bread. But somehow the thing did not go fcif properly. Jessie did not reseut her rough treatment, but only seemed a little more shy and timid than was common in such cases. She answered when-spoken to, enduring a dropping fro of stinging raillery without the -lightest show of resentment, was con ciliatory without being "soapy"; but neither then nor in the longer dinner hour did . they succeed in getting the le?.s3t hit- nearer to her. A mo ulrpassed. but beyond the dis covery that she did not belong to the valley at all, but walked three miles night and morning from and tu Ski!-lir-Kl'v-t. they knew little more of Js nic than a' the end of the first day. She turnr-i out to be a rather be; Lor p.vt than the r.io.'t of .them, arel do rather more money, and thi-s dl-l lie.', iuii3roVK her position but when "t: t sillv Lobbv" gave her an extra loo-n. though there were girls who li ; I f.cn' waiting expectantly for the privl for months, things began to ha,p cTiCurious rccidcnis occurred to her machinery, her-, cop-skips got accideu- 9t WEAVING - SHED. AcKworth. tally upset, little flaws which but for her very special assiduity, would have destroyed her reputation as a weaver, began to appear in work, and at last she had to be "called over the coals" by that terrible person the outlooker. Jessie grew limp and pensive, and had a worried look which somehow gave savage satisfaction to the hard-hearted Peggy. Meanwhile meal-time3 became, seasons of increasing distress to the stranger, for Peggy, employing her assistants to serve her purpose, con trived that Jessie should have no peace. And then an incident transpired which precipitated the inevitable crisis. Lancashire mill-girls are all musical, and the clatter of the looms made conversation difficult, and the nature of their employment sets both head and tongues at liberty, singing cf all sorts was general. The music in Number Seven shed was a curious medley of concert-hall ditties,. Sunday-school songs and San kcy hymns. It was soon noticed an other offense that Jessie Gleave never joined in; but when they recalled her low, masculine sort of voice, the more reasonable were not. surprised. In the dinner-hour the better singers, and those who could not sing but thought they could, were sometimes roughly constrained to give solos; and on sev eral occasions Slippy Jane, who was a sort of self-appoiDted stage-manager, invited Jessie, whom she called "Putty face." to "oblige the company." Jessie joined .in her soft, quiet way in the laugh against, her, but nobody thcught seriously of pressing her to sing. Then Slippy Jane made a discovery. Spying in Jessie's temporary absence in the warehouse, among the newcomer's per sonal belonging, she came across a paper-hack copy, of "The Messiah." With a little whoop of triumph Jane held it up. and in a few seconds some thirty girls were standing round ex amining and discussing it. The secret, such as it was. was out, and for three days poor Jessie was bul lied and quizzed until her pale face grew pitiful to behold. And then an amazing thing occurred. One after noon the telegraph boy a rare comer, indeed was led into the shed, and conducted straight to. Jessie. A few minutes later he departed with a reply, and at four o'clock Jessie stopped her looms and went home. What could it mean? Some thought she. was leaving the shop for -good, but when Jessie came back next morning more weary Io.king than ever, the queen of the shop was jeered so unmercifully for her failure that she determined to drive her away. On Friday, the pay day, Peggy Pratt, who had all day been unusually taciturn, left the shed and went out. In ten minutes she was back, with the still damp local paper just issued. She threw off her shawl, called to her side Dinah Belt, who acted as public reader to the sited, and. handing her thepaper doubled down at. a certain paragraph, laconically commanded her to read. Dinah did as she was bidden and an nounced: "Miscellaneous Concert at Siddenham." The extract proved rather lengthy, rind we have no space to insert it here. The part which concerns us. however, related that the popular contralto, '.Miss Lottie Rymer, had been taken ill, and that in the emergency the man agement had been directed to a local singer, living almost in their midst, who had been prevailed upon at. brief est notice to take the vacant place. Her name was Miss Jessie Haeseltine. There was a puzzled pause when the render concluded and nobody noticed the alarming distress of the unpopular weaver. Then some of the more im patient ones demanded somewhat sulk ily: "Well, Peg, what's ii all about?" Peggy, mute and still, glared around in stern triumph and uttered not a word.- "Well, what's f comert tc do wi' us?" "That singer's name wur Jessie sum mat, worn't it?" "Well?" and though every face was set on Peg. eyes began to steal round toward the white-lipped, half-fainting Jessie. "An: thorp's a girl i' this shed called Jessie, isn't there only she says she's married. " Tho shrinking culprit cowered on her up-turned skip, a:ul hid her face in her hands. "Thai's what that telegraphs means, it wur her as sung." Duil vender :d blank incredulity chased each oTh-.r over fifty female faces, and.thi'ii vanished before hot re:-ei.! ii?ent, and Peg lifted a bony fin-;-cr, and pointing 'accusingly at Jessie, said: "And her prtendin she couldn't ting at allV' .Abashed before the lowering, harden ing faces, Jessie began a pleading p ro les t, but Peg, reading her supporters like a book, looked round them, 'and FACE. demanded: "Shall she sing, or shall she not?" '"Aye, she shall, she shall!" cried at least forty of the fifty voices. "I will I will sing!" and she lifted a face that would have melted a stone "but not how. Oh, not today:" "Now, now; strike up! Co on wi' thee!" "Oh, lasses! friends! please have pity! Yes, yes. I'll sing, if you'll let me alone." At a word from Peg the rest fell back, and. dropping upon the floor and folding their legs under them, they made ready to listen and laugh, or mock or ironic-ally applaud, as seemed fittest. Jessie, her face whiter than ever, and her lips quivering, puckered her brow in evident endeavor to recall some son-g, but suddenly she broke down and pathetically begged to be excused. "Let V girl alone!" cried two of the elder ones; but Peg. taking a stride nearer and standing over her. said: "I'll gi' thee till I count twenty, and then " And Peg shook a significant fist. Pitiful, abashed and tremulous. Jes sie desperately braced herself and thou as a sudden thought came rushing upon her, her face flushed, her eyes began to shine, and next moment that old shed rang with such notes as it had certainly never heard before. Few of the listeners knew the song, but all recognized the words, and presently the sneers began to fade, incredulity and grudging surprise both gave way to solemn wonder, and in a moment or two fifty pairs of eyes were fixed on the soloist and fifty mouths' stood half open in ever-increasing appreciation. Jessie was singing, "Oh, Rest in the Lord," and as the immortal solo as serted its ascendency the mcst flip pant and empty face in that company became sofL and solemn and Peggy Pratt, who had a Sunday school past, looked and listened with rupt melting expression. But presently there was a change. Even that wonderful voice and its equally wonderful subject faded in in terest before the notice given to tho singer herself. All fear, all shjness had gone, the face had become impas sioned; the singer had escaped them, forgotten them, floated out of their reach, her throat swelling, her face glowing, and her eyes ablaze with glory. She was somewhere else, sing ing to somebody else, and all the fire and passion of her soul were in her song. Every eye was riveted upon her, fascinated and hypnotized, the music forgotten in the musician; they watch ed and watched, and suddenly another flush and an eager, radiant smile pass ed over her face, tears gushed from eyes that seemed drowning in glory; she swayed a moment, expanded her chest for a last eort, and the next mo ment lay swooning on the floor. When Jessie came to herself, nothing would induce her to go home, and by three o'clock, whiter and wanner than ever, she badot her looms going. j lint I hat was the quietest afternoon in llw history of Number Seven site:!, j and though little was said, everything j that those rough natures could think 1 of was done to atone for the past, t Jessie was not in her place next i morning, sieither was Peggy Pratt, i The latter, however, came at breakfast j time, aliff as soon as the weavers had j got all seated, with their eatables in ! their laps, and their cans at the corner ! of their knees, Peggy came out cf her ! loom alley, and, standing in ihe'r ! midst, commanded, "Hearken!" Attention was not difficult to get, for they had not yet receive red from the sudden sobering of the day before, and most of them felt there must be something yet 10 be told. Even tlie rattle of spoons and can handles stopped. "I've found out all about that that there singer." The listeners were forgetting to eat. "She won a scholarship feu- singing, an' wur goin to London fur t' larn to be a perfessioziak" One or two looked a little, supercili ous. "And her folks wanted her to breik it off wi' her chap, 'cause he wur sickly-" The mention of her "chap" raised a little giggle among the juniors, but it was suppressed by sternest glances. "An' 'stead 'o that she married him and chucked London up." A 'low murmuring, supported by fifty pairs of shining eyes. "And her folks took agean her -for it ; and when he wur took bad she had to tak' to her weyving agvin to keep him and his mother." Short little gasps of interest and several biting epithets. "An" she's gotten him big doctors and Inexpensive things to do him good, an' nearly worked, herself to death, lie wanted her to stop wi' him yester day," but she couldn't, they were too poor." A series of pitiful, protesting moans. "An' when she sung yesterday she wur singin' to him." Tears were rising into eyes that were usually hard enough. "She was 'feared he might be dvin' j and he wur." j Open, undisguh-od weeping on evciy j side. "There's nobbut one thing more I've gotten to say, and I want ye to mark it." Eye-drying was stopped on the in stant. 1 "He worn't in no clubs, an' she's nowt to bury him wi'." Then the floodgates were opened, and a crowd of sobbing women gath ered round the strangely softened Peggy, and as the engine started there was a rush and almost a fight for Jes sie's looms, which for some days were worked by deputy and for her benefit. Number Seven shed buried Jessie's husband buried him handsomely; and when at length Jessie went to Loudon to take up her studies her fellow stu dents had great sport with a big German-gilt picture-frame she brought with her, and which she hung in the place of honor in her lodgings. It con tained vignettes of fifty plain, even rough-looking weaver-women; but Jes sie seemed to set great store by it. Southern Christian Advocate. WOLF HUNTING IN INDIANA. Farmers Capture Five Within an Hour's Ride of Chicago. , Five wolves captured and some still free within rifle shot of where stupen dous manufacturing interests are be ing rapidly developed serves to em phasize the theory that, after all, civili zation is, as yet, only a step removed from savagery. In the Calumet district of Indiana, scarcely more than an hour's ride from Chicago, the nathes are boasting of recent wolf exploits and hoping for more to come. For some time tracks that old timers declare were those of wolves had been seen. Scoffers pronounced it impossi ble, but more tracks were seen. Stran&e noises were heard at night; chickens disappeared; even a sheep or two and small calves were killed and partly devoured. Finally George Hamper, in charge of a c lubhouse and the surrounding farm, killed a full grown wolf and, skinning it carefully, had the skin stuffed and mounted. Iiunt.?rs, of course, envied Hamper's good fortune. However, this was not the only opportunity afforded. The depredations continued. Wolves were often seen in the gray of early morning seizing chickens and devouring such carcasses of animals as had not been buried. No one secured another successful shot and apparently the wolf pac k was thriving and waxing larger and bolder. Several farmers along the river set traps, only to find them empty morning after morning. Hamper determined upon trying his fortune as a trapper. He hauled ref use, throwing it into considerable piles in such positions as to form a hollow square, in the centre of which was a dead horse. Between each two pile3 he set a strong trap so that to get at the meat the wolves must pa.?s over the traps or leap over the piles. Everything ready, Hamper and his men were anxious for the morning. It came, but no wolf was cowering in a tr.in. Wic noxt day, however, as they were husking corn one o" the men de clared that he saw something moving among the refuse piles. It p- ved to be a full grown wolf, and a male. How to- secure him alive without encountering danger puzzled them a little; but one of the men cut a forked stick and held it upon his neck with sufficient force to pin hint to the ground and to prevent him turning his head to bite. Next a strap was slipped over his body and moved forward until it could be buckled about bis neck. A chain fastened to the strap provided a moans by which he could be lied. Throwing blankets over the animal, the men took the wolf to a building at the club where he was chained very much like one of his cousins, the watch dogs. Since then three more wolves have succumbed to the prowess of Hamper, who is still awaiting a material reward in the form of bounty offered for wolf scalps. Chicago Daily News. Joy i n One's Work. It may be proved with much cer tainty that God iriends no man to live in this world without working; but jt seems to me no less evident that H" intends every man to bo hap py iu his work. It is written, "In the sweat of thy brow," but it was never written "In the breaking of thine heart "--"thou shalf cat bread." I find that no small misery is caused by over-worked and unhappy people, in the dark views which they necessarily take up themselves and force upon others of work itself. I believe the fad of their being unhappy is in itself a violation of divine law and a sign of some kind of folly or sin in their way of life. Now, in order that people, may be happy in their work, those three i ibins are ncoiieu: 1 ney musi no in for ii - they must not do too much of ! if cud tbi'v nnis; have n sense of j success in it. Raskin. 1 Moving. j lb- n-a-.l the letter twice and then sid: j "This i one of the most moving i pit ?:? of literature I over saw." . ! "is ii an appeal for aid?" asked his 1 -i 1 vi to. I "No. It's a note from the landlord i savins i-c n'!S raised the rent." CUSTOMS OF NAVAJOS. WIVES ARE BOUGHT AND THE MOTHER-IN-LAW RULES. Old Husbands for Young Girls The Marriage Ceremony Simple Super stitions Prevent the Navajos From Digging Graves Funeral Feasts and Customs. The Navajo is somewhat polyga mous in tendency, but as he has to pay roundly for each wife only the most wealthy of the tribe can afford the luxury of several wives. When a young wife has grown old and ugly, the husband often discards her, taking unto himself a younger and prettier one. Thus he takes his wives tandem, instead of abreast as the Mormons did. The Navajo secures his wife by purchase and the Navajo maiden never lacks offers of marriage. She is not at liberty to choose for herself, but is a sort, of standing invitation, which her mother holds out, for in formal proposals. The Navajo mother-in-law is the greatest on earth, for the daughter belongs to her mother until married, when the bridegroom also becomes the property of his mother-'n-law, with whom he is required to live. As he is also required never to look her iu the face, existence becomes a com plicated problem. The young girl seldom gets a young husband and the young man seldom gets a young wife. Property among the Navajos is mostly posses sed by the old men, so they are, a3 a rule, able to offer a larger price for the girl than is tho young man who has not yet had time to accumulate his fortune. It requires several ponies and a good flock of sheep to buy a young and buxom Navajo maiden. "I recently witnessed an old squaw leading a young girl about 10 years old, in the nchool :,;ciiuds at the Navajo agency," says a writer in the Indian School Journal. "As she ap proached the agent's office she fell upon her face by the sidewalk and immediately set up a loud, mournful wailing. " 'Some of her people must be dead," I said to the agent. " 'No,' he r.eplied. T know the old lady well. You see that little girl sitting there 011 the sidewalk beside her? Well, that girl is about ten years old. A short time ago her mother sold hor to an old man for his wifo. "'Ho is 70-years old and stone blind. The matter . was reported to mo. and I ordered her to bring the little girl to tho agency and put her in school, and that is what she is hero for, but she does not want to give the girl up ami that is why she is wailing. " "Site hopes to get my sympathy, but I will not stand for it. That girl must go to ;,ckonl. where she belongs.' "So sajiug, ho called a policeman and ordered the-' girl taken to school and turned over to the matron. The Navajo wedding ceremony is thus described by A. M. Sl"pheu: "On the night set for the wedding both famiiivs and their friends moot at. tho hut of the bride's family. Hero ther-1 is much feasting and singing and tho bride's family makes return presents to tho bridegroom's people, but not, cf course, to tho same amount. "Tim women of the bride's family prepare corn meal porridge, which is poured into the wedding basket. The bride's uncle- then sprinkles a circu lar ring and cross of tho sacred blue pollen of tho larkspur upon the por ridge, in-ar tho outer edge and in the cent 10. "The- bride has hit lici t o been lying beside her mother, conce aled under a blanket, on the woiuan's side of the hogau (hut). After calling to her to come to him, iter uncle seals her on the west side of the hut, and tho bridegroom sits down before her, with his face toward hers and the basket of porridge sot between them. "A gourd of water is then given to the bride, who pours some of it on the bridegroom's hands while he washes them, and ho then performs a like office for her. With tho first, two fingers of the right hand h" then takes a pinch of porridge, just where the line of pollen touches the circle cf the oast side. lie eats this one pinch, and the bride dips with her finger from the same place. "lie (hen takes in succession a pinch from the other places where the lines touch the circle and a final pinch from the centre; the bride's fingers following his. The basket of porridge k- then passed over to the younger guests, who speedily devour it with merry clamor, a custom analogous ;o dividing the bride's cake at a wedding. The eUkr relatives of the couple now give them much good and weighty advice, and the marriasc is compleie."' Tin- Navajos do not bury fie ir dead. A', lc.c-t il-.y do not inter tueni. The Navajo's superstition pre vents him from even so much as touching a dead body. So before life has entirely left the body i:. is wrapped in a new blanke arid carried to some convenient set eluded spcot. where it is deposited 04 top of the ground, together with al the persona) effects of the deceased trinkets, etc., are carefully deposited beside the nodyv when there are ac longer any signs of life in the body, stones are piled up around and over it, in order, they sa, to keep the coyotes from carryingit off. If the deceased be aXgrown person! his favorite saddle ponyvjs led up to the grave, where it is knoVked in tho head with an axe. Here itSjiee, with bridle, saddle and blanket, ready for the journey to the spirit wor lne iavajos never dig a gvave themselves, though they like v much to have the white people bur their dead, and if they are anywhere y neur wiieiu wans peopie uve iney will ask them, in case they have a. death in the familj', to take charge of the body and bury it. If by chance one of their number dies in the house before they have time to remove him they immediately set fire to the ho gan and burn it up, with its contents, thus cremating the body. Believing that an evil spirit enters a body at death, and that if they come in contact with the dead this evil spirit will enter into their bodies, they are afraid to touch a corpse or even the house in which the person died. Upon the dtath of the head of a Navajo family all of his possessions go to his relatives brothers, sisters, etc., instead of descending to his wife and children. This custom is, perhaps, the most harmful in effect of any practised these days by the Navajo. It often leaves the wife and chil dren destitute, especially where tbt? husband owned the flocks as well as the cattle and the ponies. However, the Navajo women usually own the flocks, in which case the mother and children have some mears of scanty support at least. SEEKS TO GROW OUR TOBACCO. Japan Imootts American Product Now But Plans to Raise It at Home. Under authority of the tobacco monopoly bureau of Japan, which is operated as an adjunct of the Depart ment of Finance, T. Abe of Tokio called at the Department of Agricul ture, Washington, D. C, with creden tials from Viscount Aoki, the Japanese Ambassador, to ascertain exactly the amount of tobacco raised in Virginia and North and South Carolina.-.a part of which is sent to Japan, as: well as the met!. oil of production., Mr. Abe made no seers'!! of the fact that the Japanese government desired all information possible reganling the culture of this particular grade cf to bacco in order that Japanese farmers may successfully grow it, and thus do away with the necessity of importing American-grown tobacco. Several at tempts have been made to cultivate the American product in Japan, but failure inevitably resulted because the lobacoo produced lacked the aroma characteristic of the American pro duct. Such information as the depart men had was given to Japan's repre sentative, who laler loft for Connectl- cut to insn: ct the Government expfri mental station in that State. The Government has become alarm ed over the effect 0:1 American tobac co exports due to Governmental mon opolies abroad, having in mind the conditions existing in France. Italy, Spain. Austria, and Japan, and to meet hose conditions and to prevent, so far as possible, a curtailment of Amer ican exports of tobacco, there was in corporated in the Agricultural Appro priation bill recently an amendment providing for an investigation in countries where the. business of buy ing and selling tobacco is conducted by the Government. Letters of Excuse. A school teacher has a collection ot ouaint excuses brought in to her by her pupils. She teaches on the Easfe Side of New York, and her wards, who are of very humble birth indeed., hand her excuses written on paper boxes, maga.-.i no covers, and even wall paper. One note said: "Rxcuse my soa. Gorg for been absent on previa oc casion for he had no shews." Another said: "Please excuse Jacob for not to have because it was z. hat buying, and came till late." A third, written on a piece of walk paper, said: "Dear and honored ad -.i;'.ni.-.traisur. wish yourself of excus iug n:a daughter because thai she ah seated herself. Wish yourself to ao cent rnuve tellciU-.doiis. Llano Pi ei re." New York Press. A Hop and a Jump. "It seem- h-' met her at a hoy, promptly ir.o-.io.-cd and now they're tk be married." "Sintu-a' thr. : he should take that bleu a. a hep." "She took it at a jump." Courier Journal. The great Lick icicscune reveals."' vtars so far distant thai it would re-, quire :h'.e ) of them placed togelhec to be visible to the naked eye. n ! i