ROCRY:-M'CITjMcr. : MAI
ROCKY MOUNT MAIL,
ROOKY MOUKT MAIL.
AH IHCIFINDEKT
JU.
AirnUaSng Eaton
Weekly Family Kewipaper.
J. H.V W. L THORP,
, PVSLtlBKU AD noPSIROSC. ' " .
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SUBSCRIPTION TIMS j- .
$2.00 per Annum, la 'Adrane
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W. L. THORP, Editor.
ItOCKY MOUNT, N. C.,APEIL 14, 1876.
VOL. IV. NO. 51.
v:.
Sri, A. 1
TkM KqaM. ...
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7
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' ' ,, Earth's Noblemen.
Wt1 of that bud that tUl lb hoi,
Aaddrwrfroa earth iMrato- ,
BM btm bxbxxl i th life fend,
- Whil. ear ds sr. puuac o'r. -Jbnrmrw
ante riant far
larpaMiDf lb farmftr'a purs,
fall other pursuits star MsM saw fruits,
Tfst often produce snub wars.
7 eovf Ml th statesman's lot, ;
BUfl eUmortng for hit cisas;
Har hi. that Dhta fw itorj'a righto, " J
. , At seta rsdoaMsd pass. . '
io risk hav w ob toarterous a,
fear Mot tosspot whelm
And wa poiim Without rsdreas, '
WhUlaberugatthhlaa. ,
Tb fruitful Add tn bottntiea jUlda,
A rfah reward tor toil)
B our th trad lo plj tha apala.
And daiply plow thasoih,
Wa walk abroad ' aarpat sod,
.. And dowaraai M oar fact, . .
Whoss odor rla to soant tha skits
A tribute pur and sweet.
To all wa fir tha stasis ta Bra,
Aa bratbarahara with brasher,
And was folnJltb holy will
That bid. n lev aaeb othar. ','
Ob, Ufa aaoara from falls, and para, '
To thaa our lora olinga ever,
With an It Slight and fond dIight- "
Toobaog from tb, no, nararl
u,.': :. " i M'':
X A WOKDIBTUI. WOLJ 8T0BT. T
A Laarbaw baaaewr la CTaamJa am. n Rar
raw Wmumtt n run. Bararml Hm
Traa tunuatl by Hmn Watraa.
Th Ottawa Tree Pre print tba fol
lowing Boeoant of an aaTentnre dt au.
John A. Ounn, in the towoabip of Blake,
Qoebeo: .- , . '
I set ont in eompany with two In-
- diana to aaeertain il any treapaasea had
been onmmitted on a limit owned by oni
Arm, Ilia aaid limit being northeast of
- the Oaiinwt riwr, and running parallel
with tba Daierre. The district ia M
markable only for it monritainona ohr
aoter, tba range being called Mont
Diablo, ox Derii'a noantain. I took mj
hone along with me ao long a a beaten
track enabled me todtf eo, when I tied
him vtp,-fbi eontinned the journey on
- anowshora. Wa had gone only about
four mile, when one of tha Indiana,
very running and experienced hnnter,
solemnly warned me to turn back, a
there were unmistakable indication! of
woWea being in close proximity ; bat,
' not heeding the roioe of the daaky aon
of the forest, I made rp my mind to
keep oa my way, a it ia a principle of
- min aemr to look back until my work
Ait aeoomplished. Ob the present oooa-
" aion, howeTer, my eon tempt for the pro
' photic word of the Indian oame near
oosting me doarly. Approaching the
foot of the mountain, I beheld full in
Tiew, and only abort distance away on
small eminence, pack of wohrea,
twenty oeTtn in number, derouring the
raruaina of a doer. Thia wa rather an
unpleasant position to be in, and the
only reooursa for safety was retreat or to
climb a bee. The former I decided on
without much delay, but on turning
bout I found -that the two Indiana had
gone. I saw to my re-rolTors aa my beat
friends immediately, and found ail right.
I determined to live as long aa I could,
and to sell my life as dearly as possible.
I began, the retreat, howerer, with all
the haste that my physical powers were
capable of, but was soon alarmed by
hearing the howling of the wobras in
" pursuit. I hay always prided myself
on my flertneaa of foot, as I hTe seldom
met my equal, but in this race with
' woiYe I lost sronna Terr fast. I quiok
ly realised thai the attempt to escape
was vain, for at the rate of going I could
not hold out long.'and therefore, belier
, ing that prodenca was the better part
of Talor," I eonoladed to climb a tree,
and Iboogh it took me a very few mo
ments to reach a eouTeuiant bough, I
was none too quiok, for th pack was
- nigh on hand, anxious for a fresh dish
aiUr disposing of the dee. ' They drew
" up in line, about ten yards from th
tree, and considering me opporonuty a
good one, I commenced to blase sway at
thm with 1adW efleoL no lea than
I.
four falling in answer to seven shots.
This destructive fire did not abate their
fury in the least, and I proceeded to
draw my second revolver, when, unfor
tunately, it oanglit in a twig and was
- jerked out of my band to the ground. I
. now felt my predicament a worse on
than ever, fearing that they would re
' . main and starve me out, or.' until I
should become benumbed with the oold
and fall an easy prey to the ravenous
pack. My buffalo oat I had left in the
- cutter, and, being very thinly clad, I
' began very soon to experience the affects
of the oold. The wolves, i oeiieve, real
one. and as thev
' leasrnar. thev be ran to gnaw it Clown.
had been in many a tight place before,
in whalenshirig and other perilous posi
Hons, and flatter myself I have never
I been much of coward;, but on the
present occasion, with a hungry pack of
. wolves methodically at work, one after'
the other, gnawing nwsy the tree on
' which I had taken refuge, I began to
feel loose about the jaw, and my spirits
, -went down to forty-flve-JFahrenheit.
- -"However, an idea occurred to me ; I de
. " eided upon plan. Taking out my knife
7 1 cut the longest limb I eould reach, and
. leaving a book on the end of itloanght
' hold of a lanre cedar tree about ten feet
- off, and a th wolves continued gnaw
" ing, and my perch got more sad mora
unsteadv. I culled on the pole and drew
, ' th tree over toward the cedar. - With a
, drsmrate exertion, and alter
V minntea of Jeep anxiety, I sneooeded in
" gaining theoedar, and took Tip a safe
nnmtion smonir iUbrcnches. The wolves
uttered a fierce howl and took their de
parture, but I did not venture to descend
from my porch until the last sound from
them was faintly heard from the distant
. . .hill. On reaching the plsee where I
had loft my horse, I found that he had
'got frifrhtrf-ned and had gone. I was
about staking out in pursuit, when I
eopied the two Indians, who were en
d . avoriiig to secure two young moors,
which, thev hsd got into s kind of ore-
vft.wo st Ci bae of high rock. I
tarncd in with them, and w succeeded
' 1 3 1- -1 .l -. .. ,1 I..H.HI, hAil I ' ... . - 1
.w-lih,l - Thnv walked no to the I . r . r, 1 17 .. . . . ,
raow-wj , r , :tt MBjtimran. nr tn- rMw.n nili) t -.rtnmiii, wnniTnurfflr an ft tnn
-v .-.--.-j. y. ,. i team, wnies to torn rwurnwr obtk. insinsr. au acpoinsea dv
foot of the tree, which was a very smau I 0axtle that six members of last year's barr of war. It reduees the
one. and as thev could not reaon me oy i
II
in takinff them alive and nnhnrt. The
Indians had courage enough to go back
and skin the wolves. - Mr none I found
at the jobber's shanty, about seven mile
The BeMne of the M Donner Psi-ty."
Baaders of Bret Harte's Gabriel
Oonroy " will remember the following
r iooc noie wmon oocurs m oonneooon
( with the author's description of scenes
V. inJStarvatlon Camp r - -
Vi fear I must task the incredulous
tentiosrtu what may, perhaps, prove the
most literal and thoroughly attested
fact of this otherwise fanciful chroniole.
The oondition and aituation of th ill
famed 'Sooner Party then an un
known, unheralded cavalcade of lmmi
granta tsrrrrjg in an unfrequented
pass of the .Sierras, was first made
known to Captain Tonnt, of Naps, in
dream. 1 be Spanish records of Uali
fomia show that the relief party which
succored th survivors- was projected
upon this spiritual information. " :
, In the thorough scrutiny to which
everything relating to the heroic acre
of California has been subjected, there
are. probably, few beyond th moun
tains who are not familiar with the
details of the above expedition. - There
are many in the East, however, who
will be interested in Uaptain zount s
own version ot this strange occurrence,
a related by him to the late Bev. Dr.
Horace BmshneiL We quote from
Nature and the Supernatural " :
As I sat by the fire, one stormy No-
vember night, in a hotel parlor, in the
Napa valley of California, there cam in
most venerable and benignant look
g-person, rith- his wife, taking their
seats in the circle. The stranger, as I
afterward learned, was Captain lountfm
man who oame over into California, as
a trapper, mora than forty years ago.
Here ha has lived, apart from th great
world and its questions, acquiring an
immense landed estate, and becoming a
kind of acknowledged patriarch in the
country. His tall, manly person, and
his gracious, paternal look, as totally
unsophisticated in the expression as if
be had never heard of philosophic
doubt or question in his life, marked
bun as the true patriarch. The conver
sation tamed, I know not how, on
spiritism and the modern necromancy,
and h -discovered a degree of inclina
tion to believe in the reported mys
teries. His wife, a much younger and
apparently Christian persoh,Mntimated
that probably he was pretlisposer) to this
kind of faith by a very peculiar experi
ence of bis own, and evidently desired
that he might be drawn ont by some In
telligent discussion of his queries.
At my request, he gave me his story.
About six or seven years previous in a
mid-winter's night he had a dream, in
which he saw what appeared to be a
oompany of immigrants, arrested by the
snows of the mountains, and perishing
rapidly by cold and hunger. He noted
the very cast of the scenery, marked by
a huge perpendicular front of -white
rock cliff ; h saw men cutting off what
appeared to be tree tops, rising out of
deep gulfs of snow; he distinguished
the very feature of the persons, snd
the look of their particular distress. He
woke, profoundly impressed with the
distinctness and apparent reality of his
dream. At length he fell asleep, and
dreamed exactly the same dream again.
In the morning he eould notxpel it
from his miad.. . Jailing in, shortly,
with an old hunter oomrade, he told
hint the story, and was only the more
deeply impressed by bis recognizing,
without hesitation, the scenery of the
dream.
This comrade came over the Sierra, by
the Carson valley pass, and declared
that a spot in the pass answered exaotly
to bis description. By this the unso
phisticated patriarch was decided. He
Lnrnediately collected eompany of
men, with mules and blankets, and all
necessary provisions. Toe neighbors
were laughing, mean time.at his credulity.
"No matter." said he. "I am able to
do thia, and I will, for I verily believe
that tha fact is according to my dream.
The men were sent into the mountiins,
one hundred snd fifty miles distant, di
rectly to the Uarson valley pass. Ana
there they found the eompany, in ex
actly the ecdUion of tbe dream, end
brought in the remnant alive.
A gentleman present said: ''Ton
need nave no doubt of -this; for we Csli
tornians all know the facts,, snd. the
names of the families brought in, who
now look upon our venerable friend as
a kind of savior." These names he
gave, and th places where they reside,
and I found, afterward, that the Cali
fornia people were ready, everywhere, to
seoondbla testimony. Scribner for
The Centennial Bine Team,
8ootoh Elcho Shield team ell who are
ahla to so to America to participate in
the Centennial matches Intend to shoot
for places in this team, and at least nine
other first-class shots are ready to coro
nete. ' No f hot. a resident of Scotland,
who can go, has held back. The deputa
tion of the Irish rifle association, which
Inlr-Hanw) Maior Leach in recrard to
the organization of an man team Dy mat
imntleman. included nearly all of the
1875 international team.Oapt Mildmay,
aecretarv of the national nfle
tion, thinks the action of the Irish team
daflnitelv settled in the negative the
Question . OI uie national -mgaauuu
representation, though Sir Henry Hal
ford has not yet received reply from
rvj Oildersleeve to bis eommunioation
asking that no team should be accredited
. . . i 1 .1 : 1
unices unaer sue suapio-w w uw uauww
rifle association. -
'- A Kew Trial.
In July, 187. Chicago merehsnt
named Staaden, having "heavily insured
bis hardware store' and removed his
stock, saturated the floors with oil and
heaped them with rags, men piacea aer
.mU kwa of nowder on the shelvne.
attached trains and lighted them. This
mt nnnn. on a crowded street, The
fire was fortunately discovered and ex.
tagnished. Staaden was oniy orougnt to
trial last winter, and sal to need to a
veer's imprisonment. He has secured
a new trial, and will probably be set free.
A gtory f . Dknlel Drew.
Hundreds of storMs have been told
tbont Uriel Darie-Drew's wsv of do
ing businesSr-ere i on I heard mi
Wall street some time ago that will do
as s specimen. Once while sitting in
his office Drew was approached by
cleric! looking personage, who intro
dnoed himself as a clergyman from a
town up tb Hudson. Unole Daniel
wanted to know what he could do for
him.
- Well, I thought Mr. rew,"aaii
the parson, "that you might pnt me
in tne way or making little money.
u Thinkin' . of buyin' some sneers,
ehr
"Tea, sir, Tve got something saved
op, and if yonll be good enough to tell
me what la best to do to increase it
you'll oblige me very much."
well, now, rt t una a reeky, ye
know, but
p'r'aps ef ye tried
a little
Erie"
'' Thank you. Mr. Drew, thank yon.
Now, will you be kind enough to tell
me a good plaoe to buyt Ton see, I
am not acquainted Mown here at all."
Drew sent him to one of his own
brokers, rho bad orders to sell Erie
right slang, and when the parson waa
leaving the good old man said to him :
"Now, don't ye go an' tell any of the
folks id thsre that I've been arivin' ve
any pints, for I don't want 'em to be
oomin down here an apeciusun . .
The narson ordered soma Erie, nut un
the margin, and went home, and in leas
than a week svery one of his neighbors
who oould command a thousand dollars
had come to New York and bought
Erie in the same place. But they were
all surprised to find stock falling instead
of rising, and when mora margin was
called for the dominie oame down in
hot haste to see Mr. Drew snd find out
what was the matter.'
Mr. Drew, my dear sir, how is this I
Ton told, m Erie was" a good thing to
buy." - .
"WelL" said Unole Daniel, with his
Egyptian mummy smile, " it ha turn
ed out poortv bad, that's a fact. But
of course I don't want y to lose any
money., , Let's see; how much ara y
outr - . : "'
Th dominie named his low. and
Drew told a clerk to fill a check for the
amount. It war handed to-the visitor,
who became quite profuse in his thanks.
As he was leaving the office, however,
he stopped and said : ." Mr. Drew, some
of my brethren have also lost large
sum in ILne." .
"Seems to me, answered Mi. Drew,
I told ve not to say anything about
that pintM EJyHo the folks np your
way. Lots of 'em's bean down yer buy
In', an' I fear they haint made no thin'.
Sorry, but it haint my fault, for I told
ye not to tell 'em."
They had been buying the stock that
Drew was' selling, and the check to the
clergyman was only a small part of what
he had made. out of the -clergyman's
friends.
Beorgauixing the United States Army.
The committee on military affairs of
the United States House agreed upon a
bill .to reorganize the army, it being
Bepresentative Banning's bill, with
some amendments, and ordered it to be
reported favorably to the House. It
does not reduce, the -present effective
force of the army, but reduces the num
bar of infantry regiments from twenty
five to twenty, sad the cavalry from ten
to eight, thus reducing th number -of
infantry officers fifty-five and of cavalry
officers ill teen, snd increases the six of
the com rniea and resriments. IA does
away with the regimental organisation of
the artillery, reducing th field officers
of artillery seventeen. It consolidates
the quartermaster and commissary de
partments into one, designated as the
department of supplies, making a large
reduction of officers, : It provides for a
board to examine offloers and for the dis
charge of all worthless and inefficient
officers, and for an examination of the
condition of retired officers. All officers
who lose their places under the bill are
placed upon a list of supernumeraries,
and are permitted to resign with one
year's pay for each eight years of ser
vice, or remain in service to perioral
such duty at they may be assigned to.
It provides for the education of non
commissioned offioars snd soldiers by
the commissioned ofnoers, and for the
promotion of mm-ooramissionech officers
to commissioned officers. It abolishes
the office of judge advocate, fixes th
pay of first sergeants at 4U per month,
makes tha heedomartera of the ffenaral
of the army at Washington in time of
peace, ana provides mat n may act a
secretary of war in tha abeonc of
the secretary or temporary vacancy in
the office. .
It provides that sutlers andpost trad
ers shall be first elected by a oounml of
the adnimiatration, approved Dy th de-
1 V ill.
general of
the se ore-
staff ot ail
general offloers, and requires the general
of the army to report reforms to Con
gress annually and to lookrta economy
m all branches of the army. The bill
is approved by the testimony of many
o the offlonrs of the army. It is a re
duction of about two hundred officers,
and proposes reforms which, it adopted,
will, a Washington dispatch says, it ia
olaimed, add greatly to toe efficiency of
the army. - - , - -
Pobonoat Trees. .
The leaves of the gumbo trees, which
grow in the West Indies, when eaten by
any animal, will cause all its hair to drop
out, and I have seen horses and cows
both without a hair in man or tail from
eating its leaves. The manchenillo tree
hi auite common on some of these
islands, and is very poisonous. .The
wind blowing through it directly upon a
person sensitive to poison will take effec
ui a few moments. The smoke from it
burnintr wood has the sumn ir 't. 1
saw a horse which had takou slieiwr under-one
of these -bees during a show'-,
whose hair waa taken o.'I wuerever t ie
drops of rain from it bout hs had ton li
ed him, and years afterward had this
mottled appearance. A Binn who slept
under one of them in ml.l ! y was awak
ened nearlv unoonscious, rm:W the
effects of a powerful naro. Vr C:-hji
known sevorni caxsoi seve
two deaths froa eating Cm,
with this tree; : ,
j-Fsshlen lUtet,;
. Ball gloves are worn very long, often
reaching to the elbow,
J?"ealber trimmings of all varieties will
be worn until midsummer.
The Bubiria polonsis furnishes
graceful model for this leading garment,
which buttons in the back. : :
- Fringes were never more elegant in
design and finish than now. Graduated
fringes, woven very wide in the center
and narrow at the sides, are seen on
handsome tabliera. '
Small crochet buttons, both in black
and eolora, and smoked pearl ones are in
style.. . , w
The Byron collar, which the manufse
tnrers are trying to introduce, has not
proved successful. The English eollar
with ends sloped off and the upright eol
lar with ends slightly pointed and tolled
over are popular. - ;
Flowers are hrviahly used for evening
toilets. -
Waists of evening dressss are laced at
tha back; are generally high on th
shoulders, with low, neari anspea rom
padoux or high necks, as the figure re
quires. The sleeves are either very
snort or else reaon to tne eioow.
Cameos are in unusual demand, 'with't
a nreferenoe for ancient deaums.
The Toque bonnets, with small brim
and loose crown, are worn; some, in
deed, have no brim. long curled
feather being fastened all around the
crown. They have tulle strings attached
to tha back of the bonnet, brought for
ward and loosely tied in front.
Combs, not very high and forming
square rather than oval band, designed
in an open pattern, are adapted to" the
present style of wearing the hair.
. Bunting dresses of creamy tint wfll be
popular this year for seaside wear, as
will be bin bunting ones for yachting
purposes.
Expensive sets of underclothing eome
in ecru or rose colored silk, elaborately
trimmed with Valenciennes laoe.
Visiting cards of medium sine in nn
glsaed Bristol board, with English
script, is the popular style.
Bright colored plaids, intermixed with
grays, are brought oat in spring woolen
fabrics for house dresses snd children's
suite. Vvl"' --'v.- -
Whitby jet is the only jewelry appro
priate for deep mourning."
The heating eomb is a new invention
for drying the hair after the head has
been washed: it is also claimed for this
contrivance that it keep th hair glossy,
prevents its falling out, and is in many
ways' a benefit.
White is this season known in several
shades: blano roee also called month
of Jane e white, overcast with pink;
blano creme, a creamy white, and blano
mat, a dead white. '
Fans of Russia leather remain fashion-
. 4
Thought for Saturday Night.
To bear ia to conquer fate. " j
The sweetest pleasure is in imparting
it
Choose such pleasures
as recreate
much and cost little. --- .
Poverty persuades man to do and
snffer everything, that he may escape
from ft." . . -
Devote each day to the object then in
time,. and every evening will And tome
thing done. . - . f.
- TT'rid is vice which pride itself in
clines every man to find is others, and
overlook In himswllr- - ; - 1
: Suffering beoomes beautiful when one
bears great calamities with cheerfulness,
not through insensibility, but through
greatness of mind.
Lost wealth may be replaced by in
dustry, lost knowledge by study, lost
health by temperance or medicine, but
lost time is gone forever.
There is no less merit in keepin g what
we have got than in first acquiring it.
Chance has .something to do with the
one, while the other will always be the
effect of skill. !
Socrates, when informed of some de
rogating speeches one had need concern
ing him behind his .back, made only
this facetious reply: " Let him beat
me, too, when I am absent"
The akeptie.twhen be plunges into the
depths of infidelity, like the miser who
leaps from th shipwreck, will find that
the treasure which he bears about him
will only sink but deeper in the abyss.
Over the time thou hast no power;
to redeem a world sunk in dishonesty
has not been given thee; solely over one
man therein thou hast s quite absolute
uncontrollable power; him redeem, him
mak honest,' -
It ia at th approach of extreme dan
ger when a hollow puppet can do noth
ing that power falls into the mighty
hands of nature, of the spirit giant
born who listens only to himself and
I ...
toows nothing d .compacts.
I auneocvinced. both by faith and ex
perience, that to maintain one's self on
this earth ia not a hard hip, but a pas
time, if we will live simply and wisely,
a the pursuits of the simpler nations
are still the sports of the mora artificial.
Manis subject to fate solely in-himself,
not in others; he soon hardens his
mind against all fear, and prepares it for
all events. A little philosophy enables
him to bear bodily pain, or the common
infirmities of flash; by philosophy
sncnewhat deeper, he can conquer the
Otxnsry jBverses of fortune, the dread
of iAame, and the last calamity of
death. ; v
A Mexican dreus.
Ik o
euriout thing is a Mexican circus.
One. at Puebla, came np from oil Mexi
co The managers have eome sections
of eaiivas, and with these and such
pieces of lumber as they can f k up is
the town ia which they eiL .t, they
construct a sort of tent or corn. The
patrons of the show must provide their
own seats. Each eabellero r ny ba seen
going to the show with a r .iorite on
one arm snd a couple of cl - or stools
on the other. The advanoe : t spurns
the regular printer's ink, d ? instead a
muslin poster, on which is printeA an
advertisement of the eircus. The per
formance consists mainly of tnmbl ng
and horizontal bar exercises, though an
Ajilicatt. d pony and some trained- dogs
are wonderful athletes, and
Vj treats are well worth soeiiig.
SPECIAL AGBICUlTCJtiL FBJZE8.
tls.S Cbnaaas Car f sMe f.sarsss
mm tmri sTRls
The only department ef the Canteu-
nial exhibition in which special prizes
have been offered to any extent Is the
agricultural. These prizes will not be
swarded by the Centennial corn mission,
but by Individuals, -and in the agri
cultural department jure according to
the corrected list just furnished by
Chief Landreth, as follows : $1,000 by
th Jersey cattle club for the beat Jersey
herd ; $1,000 by th Pennsylvania agri
cultural society for general prises ;
$1,000 by the Memphis cotton exchange
for the best bale of cotton from any of
the States of Mississippi, Arkansas, Ala
bama and Tennessee : KAIU by Messrs.
B K. Bliss A Sons for ths best display
of potatoes io pecks ; $100 by Messrs.
D. sndreth A Sans, for th best dis
play of vegetables st a stated period
$76 by Chief Landreth, of the agri
cultural bureau, for the best essay on
forestry ; $50 by Messrs. Henderson A
Sons, for the best essay on th cauli
flower, and $60 by the same firm
for the best, essay on the cultiva-
tios of celery ; $160 by tb Fhibv
delphia produce exchange for the best
eneess: uou tj tne northwest urn
dairymen's sseociation for the best but
ter and obeese ; a prise by th National
dairymen's sasociation for the best
cheese t $160 by the Pennsylvania poul
try society for general prizes ; $100 by
the New York ibrssf Vd Stream tor
dog price: two $50 cups,' one by the
Chicago tUid and another by C. a
Westoott, for dog prises a prise by the
$200 by the proprietors of the "Ameri
can food for Osttle " in four prises of
$60 each for each class of horses, cattle,
sheep and swine, the owners being re-
?uired to oertify that they have used the
cod, and a silver cellar by Frank Roan
for the best Dachshund or German
beagle, of any age. The New York agri.-
eultural societyoffers free transportation
to and from Philadelphia for all first
class prize animals from that State.
Karion't Dinner Party.
A British offloer was at one period of
the Revolutionary war dispatched with
a nag of true to Ueneral alarion.
What was his surprise on being con
ducted into Marion s presence to behold
in our hero a swirthy, smoke-dried little
man, with acaro enough of threadbare
homespun to cover his naked rjesel- Hav
ing recovered a little from his surprise
he presented his letter to General
Marion, who perused it, and soon settled
everything to his eat isf action. The
officer took Up his hat to retire.
Oh. no." aaid Marion. ' it is now
about our time of dining, and I hope, sir,
that you will give us the pleasure of
your oompany to dinner."
At mention of the word dinner the
British offloer looked around him, and
to his great mortification oould see no
signs of it - , -
"WelL Tom." said the general to one
of his men, " come, give us our dinner. "
The dinner to which be alluded was
no other than a heap of sweet potatoes
that were snugly roasting under tha em
bers, snd which Tom. with hispine-
stiok poker, soon liberated from their
ashy confinement, pinched them very
now and then with "his fingers, especial
ly th big ones, tor see whether they
were done - or not -Then, having
cleansed them of . the ashes, he piled
tome of the best on a large piece of bark
and placed them between the British
offloer and Marion on Abe trunk of the
fallen pine on which they sat
A New Hampshire Town aTeetiag.
Space would faQ me to tell half the
oddities of election customs in this
State, writes a Concord correspondent.
They oaU an election a "town meeting."
and that's what, it really is, for the whole
town turns out in the morning and
gathers in the town hall. At nine
o'olook the three selectmen 4ake the
platform and announce that the eleotion
of a moderator is in order. Each party
makes a nominatiouHtnd if the town is
close there is a division tha Democrats
going on one side of the hall and the
Republicans on the other to be oonnted.
Either side, if dissatisfied, can demand
a ballot, and sometimes the whole fore
noon is consumed in getting organised.
When they get a moderator they put it
to vote how long tha polls shall b kept
open. Sometimes they close the poll
for representative at one or two o'olook,
and keep on voting for the general
ticket until six. Usually all voting in
the eountry towns ceases at three, but
there is nothing to prevent keeping the
boxes open until midnight, and this is
occasionally done in the cities. If there
are three candidate for representative.
and neither gets an absolute majority,
there is a second ballot had and often
11
third ; or if night comes on, and the
fanners want to go home to'milk, they
postpone the business until next day.
The town, being s petty sovereignty in
such matters, can do as it pleases.
JWfcrs to Bay. - '
A Vermont" lady '' sends a protest
against an article which appeared in
the columns of a city paper advising
people to go to the city to purchase their
goods. . She thinks country merchants
should be encouraged; that their judg
ment and taste in the selection of goods
is better thaa the average housewife's;
that the time and trouble ahe takes in
going to the city to do her own shopping
gives poor returns; that ahe might bet
ter give the merchant a list of what ah
wishes, and get him to purchase for bee,
than go herself; that the practice of de
pending upon neighboring cities for
shapping facilities tends to make towns
suburban, and keepa them from retain
ing their diatinotive character as coun
try villages; that tbe ladies of her town
who make their purchases in large cities
do no better, so far a ahe eaa learn,
thaa those who bay of th eountry Soer
chant Sheeoocludes thus: "I agree
perfectly with what you say about buy
ing by the quantity, but we eaa do that
without going to cities; and just think
of the loss of trade to eountry dealer
and the personal discomforts husbands
and children if women, on the strength
ef your advice, fie to tha city stores to
spend their money this spring.
M0SET IJ COAL DIET.
Mvtaw a Pnabsi that baa Feasted Mas, a
- $ Mot aa Haw a SsnM.
l11,0" theTXSBBtmntry. ssys Fotts-
ville (Pa.) correspondent of the b.ar
to rj seen mountains of coal dirt. It has
been piled up ever since minhur begun.
Thousands upon thousands of tons are
packed away in the mountain gorges. It
has always been considered useless and
valueless. Coal operators damped the
dirt along the streams, in th hopes that
spring rreanetsjiouid wash it away.
portion- of tba upper section of
bohaylkill canal waa thrown out of
because the expense of dredging ooal
dirt from th bottom wa too great, and
the oompany accordingly abandoned it
- Suddenly all this aooumnUted'.noal
dirt ha been brought to a market value.
and every ton of it is worth money to
the steam power manufacturer. - Buper
intendent Wootten is one among twenty
inventors who have been considering
his great problem and trying to solve
it Few scientific man have ever wit
nessed these Immense mountains of coal
dirt without asking th question: " Can
not this staff be put into some shape to
be burned I" At least twenty different
parties and oompsniea have been organ
ised for the purpose of making a fuel
out of the dirt that would burn. In
nearly every instance th partiee took
the dirt, mixed it with ooal tar. lime or
other material, and then pressed it to
gether in lamps o molds. The stuff
would never burn sstiafaotonly. Tb
ooal tar, eta, would ignite, but after
that the dirt' would appear like dead cin
der and. emit no heat at all. -
One man took a preparation of buck
wheat meal and mixed it with the coal
dirt Afterward it waa pressed into
blocks th shape and else of brick.
Samples were shown to Superintendent
vt ootten try the inventor for mi
After thinking a moment the inventor
was asked whether he had ever consid
ered that the flour alone would cost
much more per ton than the best anthra
cite ooal I The reply wa "no" that
he hadn't thought that far.
Air. Woolen labored considerably, and
at last oame to the oonolosion that the
only way the dirt eould ever be used sat-
isfactorily would be to burn It the
aa other ooal is used either by locomo
tive or stationary engine. . The trouble
was it would not burn, bees use it was
too ODmpact, and would smother rather
than ignite. For fifty years that has
i . i : . . , i . .
ut bu vita una grtw impediment, ana
scientists eould not overoom it Final
ly, however, Mr. Wootten thought of in
troducing a steam blast through the
coal from the bottom, in the hope of
penetrating the masa and supplying
plenty of air. He built a furnace apecial
ly for it, and placed it under a station
ary engine boiler. Instead of using
grate bars, he employed a perforated
iron plate for the fire to rest upon. A
pipe from the boilefoonveyed the steam,
and the necessary pressure supplied the
blast, and this stroke proved to be th
key note of the entire coal dirt problem.
It burned freely, and threw out an im
mense heat The oldest dirt was used
to see if it possessed burning qualities,
and it was found that it was consumed
freely, the same as the best of coal.
It waa next.tried in the furnaos of a
looomotiv engine, and was found to
burn equally well. The other day whan
the wind was blowing st s velocity of
fortv miles ner hour, a ocal dirt burnina!
engine took np a train of one hundred
oars through the valley with the same
and with aa little la boras an engine
burning the very best anthracite ooal.
This certainly ia regarded as great
revolution ia the ooal and iron eountiy,
because it transforms at least a million
of tons of heretofore useless eoal dirt
into a fuel -worth at the very least one
dollar per ton; and provides away to.
consume all eoal dirt that may come to
tb surface in the future.
The Drying Biters ef Europe.
It is a well known fact that as the set
tlement of a oouutry beoomes general,
and the forests are cleared, or the open
eountry brought into civilization, the
effect is quiokly seen in the diminished
water supply of rivers during the sum
mer - -
In Europe this diminished water sup
ply is yearly more felt " Attention is
again called to the subject in Austria,
and a circular, accompanied with a re
port, has been addressed to the scien
tific societies of Europe, by the Vienna
academy of science, inviting them to
unite in oDeervanons tor th oe termina
tion of the oauses of the decrease of the
water in springs, . rivers snd water
courses.
For a oertaia number of years the wa
ter of the Danube and other large river
bar been diminishing. The Austrian
engineers' snd architects' union have
ta
taken np the same question, and. hare
my
ipolnted x nyarogtatia eomaanBon m
Ueot facts and prepares report Two
collect facts and prepare a report.
members will observe the Danube, tbe
Elbe and the Rhine; and two others will
study the meteorology of the subject,
aftd the influence that the Alpine-gle-oiers
and torrents may bear upon it
The commission regards the destruc
tion of the forests as the prime cause of
the disastrous decrease of European wa
tera, and urge an immediate adoption of
to remedy the evil.
(Bteanlal Race.
' Major 3. D. Ferguson, secretary of
the Maryland jockey dub and also se
cretary of the running meetings of the
Point Breeze Park Association ol Phila
delphia, announces the em trie closed,
with th following ' nominations for the
Cuntennial races : -rr -
Inaugural swe'patakoa, for all ages
twrnitj-one.
Reform club stakes, for thre year -old
Allies twenty-one.
Grand Exposition stakes, for colt and
fillies, three year-olds twenty.
- Leamington stakes, for two year -old
twenty.
Philadelphia club cup sweepstakes,
for all ago twenty-three. v
International handicap stakes thirty
en. -' - - .
Association stakes ten. "
Centennial stakes eevnnteer.
Ladies' stakes sixteen. . " '
. Total 179.
Tb first mseting oocurs Jon twet,ty
IateVest,
r a .9 lark
Men who go out for i
are apt
to snake it a "swallow.'
Naturally enough " Troth Js stranger
than notion," because it is sot. Au com- .
An observing man has discovered that
the sua sets just before early candle
lighting.
- One cent per bushel make a difference
of $10,000,000 in the value of the annual
crop at corn in the United States. .
i Little Harry, five years 'ol4..,;was
ealled to see the new baby. After a mo
ment's contemplation, . he turned to his
expectant papa with : "We didn't need
that" , " .
-Tha Ohkeao Times wants to knew
1. Items ef Is
M w fellows whose grandfathers fought -in
the Bevolutioa' are not going to
have our expense paid to the On ten- ,
nialt . - '
A Fitohbavg ' woman applied to the
wu mstseeis for help. They sent be .
a bag of meal, but ah scolded at them,
sayingt "What is a bag of meal to fat
two huge hogs with
A man - who contracted a debt of
$1,113, promised to pay it in two install
ment. Last week he forweided $11,
and promised to send th other $13 aa
soon as th times got better. -
A Drominent broker hsd on his office
door the following interesting legend ;
" If you owe me and cannot pay me
employ some one who wants to owe me, '
as he can find me in thirty minutes."
As an evidence of hard times it msy
be mentioned that a young man in New ;
Tork State wrote to every bank in De
troit offerinsT to "be your kasheerfor
$30 per month and board ' and no bank
oould give him a plaoe. ;
John Harrop, aged eleven, has been
indicted for willful murder by a coroner's
jury at Boston, Lincolnshire. He had
quarreled with another boy named
White, aged ten, and had pushed him
into a pit, where he left him to die.
Widow in Ifidis are Bow permitted to
marry again, instead of being burnecu
This will have a tendency to increase
th list of widows in India; but no doubt
manv of them.1 after hving with a second
husband a few months, will yearn fur a
restoration of the old law.
A prudent Caioago mother of wealth
and respectability has brought up her ,
accomplished and beautiful daughters
to do washing and ironing. When ques
tioned a to the cause of this somewhat
unusual proceeding, the prudent-mother
replied : "Oh, it is always well to pre,
pare for sny emergency. Perhaps some
of the poor children mayTnarry an
Italian count"
In the town of Hartland, some twelve
or fifteen years ago, lived An old fellow
who was not noted lor ms ionanoss ior
good books; he liked good liquor better.
An agent ealled one day and asked if
the house was supplied with the Bible.
"Oh. yea," he-said, " they always had
it" The agent was a little incredulous,
snd decided to see it The-eld -man
searched the boose through, and at last
produced a few stray leaves,-saying,
" he had no idee they were-vo near out
of Bible."
Mrs. Fitch's Diamonds.
The revenue authorities are puzzled
to know what to do with the khedive of
Egypt's famous gift to General Sher
man a dauguter.
, , . r .i
- The- diamonds arr-
looked np in the big vault in the sub
treasury. They were placed there in
Jane last, and unless they are taken away
before next June, they will be classified
as unclaimed goods, and sold by auction
to pay the duties and storage. If this
should happen, the money, after the de
duction of the official chargea, would be
paid to Drexel. MorganJtjDo-, hi whoso
name the diamonds are oonBigned. The
trouble ia that Congress in authorizing r
IAaut. Fitch to receive the present to
his wife, neglected to relieve, him from
the payment of the duties. . The neck
lace and earings which compose tbe gift
were first raid to be worth $250,000, but
experts have since appraised them at
875,000. The duty on this amount would
be about $10,000. Gen. Sherman feels
that he is too poor to pay this, and he is
unwilling to appeal to Congress for an
exemption of the payment of the duties.
Neither the secretary of the treasury,
the collector, nor any of his deputies are
disposed to exercise their power of
granting a free permit for the diamonds,
and the Turkish ambassador, who has
the official prerogative of receiving them
ia his name, will not ask -for their re-
lease, beoaose tha khedive is only recog
nized by his government as a Vassal.
A Goat Story. 1. ..
Fob -some time past the clerks at
station in Louisville have been annoyed -'
bv goats that infest that immodia'e hf -'V
corny, nut sausueu mm urn utmu i i
devilment these sly rascals are guilty of
thev ehew all the tags on the cotton . .
bales cent there for shipment, thereby
cans ng s g-ft deal of tmnble iu.liip- J
ping the cotto). The other day. tbe
clerks surrounded about a doses of the
goat And succeeded in driving them into- . T
a box oar alongside the platform and
fastening the door. That, night there : . .
waa a carload of goats going north, i -hitched
to a freight train. The ear was,
left at Indianapolis, snd the next day
the door was thrown open and the goats V
rushed out and made a raid through the , "
town, upsetting and butting.' cierks,
hands, boxes, bales, etc., as they oa.-.
eaped. ' Not being apprised cf the ship- .
meat by way bill tbe Indianapolis clems
chased them, al Lover town, endeavonn g
to catch tbem, of coarse believing ths
eompany would have to pay for them as ,
"tost freight" if they Were not eeugut.
By night all were caught snd put back
in the car. . A dispatch was sent to the
station man in Louisville t M Send oa -your
way bill. ; Got all the goats." , A
dispatch went oaox iu repij : r - , -want
any. Let'em go," The race in ..
Indianapolis is said to have beta very
exciting. ;
Locrr His Ltfs. A local wit of La
fayette, Art, undertook to fool 'lir.
V, estbrook one dusky evening into, the
belief that a ping of twist tobacco timt
he pointed at Uie doctor's head war. a
pistol. He sueoeeded admirably, k I
was shot desj before ha ooull eihuj
that it was ail a joke.
T
as..-.
.