... u ' ' )P "(Fii1 1 v h :AA Hm ' ; T ! iTL : I I '. ' . - t Yir f V I i Tl "Tl TV I - n ; arm "w VOL X. THIRD SERIES SALISBURY. HV C.; DECEMBER 5l 1878. NO 7 TTTV L JLo - 1 , - - - ' - . - .;,.-.. ' t , . . ; . .... i ! Mountain Mystery. 'All along the mountain. Impossi ble!' 'Jack, you see those deer skins ly ing there on the ground?' 'That's what I should call thein - t ft without turtner examination. 'Just as distinctly a? you see those, I saw footprints all along the moun tain side, and up to the very fountain jead ofa little stream that flows down through yonder valley." X woman's footprints, did you say?' , ' ' . . 'Yes, a woman's, small and beauti fully made , ' 'Some of those lowlanubcrry girls, in searcli of blueberries.' ' 'That is good logic, Jack, but I don't see it in that light. In the'first place there is no blueberries within three miles of the mountains; in the second, no- girl unless lost, would veuture so far alone in the dense forest.' 'Very strange, indeed !' 'To-morrow, if you have no objec tions, I'll go up, and we will investi gate the mountain nymph's footprints. And who knows but we may catch the fairy creature by some of those Jittle cascades, her dainty feet buried in the white foam, combing down her long, dark tresses.' -. , 'Now, Harry, to tell the truth, I'd sooner expect to fd a meeting house up there than a woman. Were those tracks newly made?' VVes; it had rained very hard only yesterday, and the swollen stream had : washed the sand over the ground in juany -places. They were made after, the rain 'Now, Harry, ain't you mistaken ? Were they not deer tracks ?" 'Perhaps; if she is as beautiful as j ncrs. jn a rustic seat, beneath the her footprints she must certainly be 0( e, n the yard, might olrcn be somebody's dear.' seen two young parents conversing 'Have it your own way, Harry, buU together and looking very, happy, give us a light for this Havana, and while their little four-veal-old, blue call it (eveu. J eved siiul golden-hatred, chased the The two speakers in the above con- j butterflies over the green, or gather versation were Jack Daniorth and red bouquets of blue bells and hon Harry Littleton, two college students eysuekles, all stemless aud tightly spending their vacation in the quiet j pressed in dimpled baby hands, for town of Linsdale, long noted for its ; papa and mamma. Baby Lottie, as wild, romantic cenery, and rich hunt- j 8l,e was -calied, was a child of great ing grounds.; The beautiful level .; promise, and the pet of the village. surfaee of the town, from a distance, j Every Suuday found Baby Lottie resembled a pretty green foot stool for ! 8eatej with her parents at the churchy the proud old. mountain towering tlressed in her little plain drab gown above it. a and tin-Quaker bonnet. In the seat Harry's handsome face of late was jllst back sat7 another famfly, with a tnarretl witli a sail express.on, a look j of inquiry that none coubt read. Per haps he was not feeling well; sad news from home, or likely enough he had not revealed all he had seen on the mountain. Jack was all lifeand joli-ty-j ready to find or to make fun ut of everything that came along. 'Hunting and fishing holds an end less charm few can understand as well as tho bung student just from the . schooUrooni. With tae additional excitement, this last eJirsjon was doubly interesting. Theyokjan early start next morn ing with knapsacks, guns and three days' rations. Long ere the sun had withdrawif its long, golden fingers that pointed in here and there, through the heavy : tree tops, dropping bits of gold and sapphire over the beautiful mossy surface beneath, Jack was ful ly convinced of the truthfulness of Harry statement. They even found pieces f frabric clinging tothe un derbrush in several places. Once, where the earth had been removed in searchof ground-nuts, they saw dis tinctlyepriut ofa woman's hand. inrougU all the pleasant month of October, :Jack and Harry fished the mountain streams, trapped the care less brtiln, shot the gentle deer, but could never solve the mystery of the inounta'Tns. .: The last day came, and a lovelier one none need ask for, Indian sum mer hacl bound with a spell, and emptiedJier vials of beauty over earth and sky blending them together in one great whole. A day when flow i ers noCand-smile at every passer by, when hasting . brooks tell tales aud laugh, and all the leaf spirits silently commune one with another, and the heart pf man -is. filled with jy and lovend praue to the God -of nature for Hfe 'arid all its surround- mgs. Jack a id Harry were- hot blind to all this loveliness, and concluded to leave the mountain early in the day and enjoy the open- field sceneiy. Thev were to leave the mountain in two different directions. Just before starting they Jbuilt a fire at the foot if a very high ledge, toasted their fish, and ate their hard biscuit, lighted their cigars, and sprawled out, boy fashion, on the ground. The smoke soon wreathed about their heads, curled, and rolled off up among the trees. Harry gave an extra puff, raised his eyes to watclr it mount the air, when he caught a glimpse of the most beau tiful face he Jiad ever" seenJj)R gazing down upon them from the perpendic ular rock some forty feet directly above them. . 'By Jove, Jack, look up !' - 'Good Heavens, Harry, who and what, and where did she come from V Vc must know, we must find her. Nymph or maiden, that was too fair a faceibr this wild place.' They clambered up the ragged rocks with all possible speed until they had 'reached the summit. No one there, no 'trace yes, here across a bed of fine, damp moss, are the same foot prints. That and no more. All the afternoon, until nightfall, they tra versed the mountain near and far, all their efforts proving fruitless. The next day Jack and Harry Willed their hunting apparel to the farmer's two growing sons, and returned to school four weeks older, if not wiser. Fourteen years previous to the com mencement of this narrative, in a quiet Quaker village in thelown of M , might be seen a pretty white cottage, with nlain white curtains, an onen- work porch over the front door, cov ered with wood bi nft and scarlet run- 4 . g black-eyed. roniish-little fellow, two 'j j - - years older than Iottie, who often grieved his parents and jarred the equilibrium of thosesileut mcetfngs by reaching his foot through under the front seat and kicking the little slip-per-slwid foot just peeping Ht sight, causing the little Quaker bounet to bob around, and reproachful glances from beneath bonnets of a larger size. Nevertheless, the Sunday came and went, and with them Willie Land seer, and Iottic Danvers, to the old brown church and home again. The months gathered and numbered many. The years were filled and counted off, while the little Quaker maid slowly and sweetly blossomed intowoman hood. William was a handsome, pro mising young man, with the excep tion, of one great phreuological fail ing, a lack of firmness, which often put all his good resolutions to rout, and left him to drift down the stream helpless and alone. He' often wished to break from the restraint that held him within the lines of the calm and peaceful Quaker discipline. From his childhood heJiad loved the fjur Char lotte, and now that they were betroth ed, she was dearer thau ever. He would leave his home for her, the home of his childhood, and seek his for tune. He would go to Vermont, pur chase a large tract of uncleared land, fell the heavy timber, build a log cab in, then return to his native state, and claim his beautiful bride. With these resolnUons he repaired to the home of Charlotte, where he found her singing and spinning, seat ed nt the little flax wheel out under the old elm. It was nigh the close of day. Thej-ays of the setting sun tinged with gold the soft brown tresses thaffell in heavy ringlets over her shoulders of lilly-whiteness; one .small slippered footworked the busy wheel; while thev silken fla,x' yielded to the magic touch of fairy fingers, land-filled the flyers with shining thread. j 'Lottie, I've been thinking of thee all day.' 'Well, William,, what were ' thy thoughts; surely good ones if from thy heart?' 'I will leave that for thee to say, Lottie. I have been thinking that one year will ioon pass away, when our wedding day will find us without a home a little home of our- own, I mean. Brother John, up in Vei mont, writes me to come and purchase land beside him, and settle on it. What dost thou say to that, dearest ?' ' William, I believe thee will do whai is right and for the best. If thou dost, it will be well with us.' They bade each other farewell. William came to Vermont, bought his farm and prepared his home for the little Quaker maid. I would have the remainder of this life picture forever veiled. But no, it must be held up as an awful warning a proof that 'the way of the trans gressor is hard.' Within six months Charlotte received a letter informing her of her false lover's marriage. No word of mine can express the anguish of that poor broken heart. No word of complaint, no bitter words escaped her lips. She only saidf 'I hope Williaru will be prospered, butj know he never will.' After the lapse of a few weeks, Charlotte one day came to her mother : and said : 'Mother, my heart aches to-day; I wish thee-could spare me from home a week or two; I would like to go over the mountain aud visit Uncle f John's.' 'Yes, child, thee can go. Thy cou sins will welcome thee jrladlv. But hadn't thee better allow thv father to 1 take old Bann and carry thee over? Thou art not feeling exceedingly well, ' child, and-ten miles' walk over such a mountain may weary thee over- 1 much.' j 'Take no thought of mo, dear moth- ! er. I will return to thee in two weeks, ' our Father willing.' Two weeks passed, three and four, and still Charlotte came not. 'Father, thou must saddle old Baun, and go for our daughter. I have a strange fbrebidiug that all is not ! well.' The father went, only toHearn the , startling news that she had never ' reached there. Searcli was immedi- j ately made, but no trace of her could be found. The pleasant autumn pass ed by, and the chilling snows of win ter camq and found the grief-stricken parents still childless. The long, cold winter wore slowly away, leaving the earth bare and ! cheerless for younger, fresher lianTls to array again in robes of beauty. One beautiful day in May there came to this saddened home a young man faint and weary, begging amorsel of bread and a night's lodging, which w.as most willingly granted. The mor row found him wild and unable to rise from his bed. A physician was im mediately called who pronounced it brain fever. His name and residence was unknown, but those kind-hearted, hospitablepeople said 'This young man must have care. If the good Lord has directed his footsteps to out door, he must remain. We will be father and mother to him in this hour of need.' After long weeks of severe illness and kind attendance, the wan dering mind was restored 'to reason. He gave his name as ifarry Lit tleton, and said the last he remem bered he left his study room with a severe pain in his head, and directed his footsteps towards his boarding house, some twenty miles from this place--quite a long walk to take before breakfast. His host and hostess bade him remain with them until he was fully recovered and able to return to his studies, which kind ness he accepted with many tears ami very thankful heart. As soon as he became strong enough to converse freely the kind matron inquired if he remembered any of his strange con versations while ill. He had no re membrance, and requested her to re peat some of it. She told him he talked incessantly of the mountain's mysterious footprints, beautiful face, and so on. He then related to her the strange story of the previous au tumn, and said it ;was ntf idle fancy : that he could "bring1 hischum Jack Danforth, who "would affirm his as sertions. AVhen he hadr finished the staid Quaker turned to his wife and ... ' said : ; .; ' - .. : " Wife,thy thoughts are my thoughts. I will go." . ; . As soon as Harry was strong enough to travel be guided the sorrowing fa ther to the ledge where, he saw the beautiful face, and there within a few yards of the rock, beside the roots of an upturned tree, lay bleaching a lit tle heap of bones, a few shreds of check ed Hrienpieccs of the very dress she wore away on the fatal day. That was all that was left on earth of poor Charlotte. Whether she was killed by the wolves, or lost her way and died of starvation, will forever remain a nivsterv. - Jack and Harry saw the footprints, and thought they saw. a face, which proved to be a guide to the remains of the once beautiful Charlotte. What of the faithless William ? He labored early and late on his farm beside his brother, and true as the words of the sweet Quaker maid, he could not be prospered. While his brother became w ealthy aud happy, he grew poor and miserable. At last his farm was mort gaged and sold, his family scattered, and after a long and miserable her mit life, he died alone in a little log hut, in a distant State. THE NEW WAR. The invasion of Afghanistan by a British army will direct public atten tion throughout the world to that difficult mountainous regiou. If the struggle should prove to be one only between Great Britain and Afghanis tan, the public generally will soon lose special interest in it; if however it shall prove to be but another phase of the interminable and irrepressible conflict between England and Russia the outside world will continue to look on with unabated interest. Af ghanistan derives its importance in English eyes from the fact that its vast mountain chains render it a natur al fortification for India against all inroads from the west. Its length from North to South is nearly 450 miles, and a breadth of about 470 miles, giving an area of some 212,000 square miles, or about four times that of North Carolina. Its population is estimated at from four to nine mil lions. The first appearance of Afghanis tan as an independent jmver took place during the internal discords that reigned in Persia from 1748 to 1773, when Ahmed Khan, taking advan tage of the situation, liberated Afghan istan from Persian rule. He was succeeded by his son, Timur, who died in 1793, Mahmoud succeeded Timur, but was oblidged to abdicate the throne in 1823, and died in 1829. The empire then fell into the hands of three brothers, of whom the oldest Dost Mohammed ruled at Cabul, the most important of the three divisions of the country. But British armies have entered Afghanistan before now. On the 1st of October, 1838, Lord Auckland, the British Governor General of India, declared war against Afghanistan. On the 7th of August the British for ces entered Cabul. The British inva sion, however, finally proved a fail ure, ami the invaders agreed to leave the country. Accordingly the entire army left Cabul on the Gth of January 1842, to return by the Khyber Pass into India, but of the whole body that started, including women and chil dren, 26,000 people only one man es caped to tell the talc, others having been slain by the, native tribes who harassed the flanks and rear of the army, slaying women and children as well as men. Dost Mohammed, who had been captured, was released and returned to his kingdom. It was not long however, before he again com menced hostilities with the British in which in 1849 he was finally unsuc cessful. In 1855 he concluded an alliance offensive and'defeusive with England. In 1857 he made a new treaty with England. He died 29th May, 18G3, regarded as the liberator of Afghanistan from both English and Russo-Pcrsian hostility aud was succeeded by his son, Shere All. At first England favored , other pre tenders to the throne, but finally, in 1 869; Earl Mayo, the new Governor General of India, . made a formal al liance with Shere All recognizing htm as the legitimate sovereign, as the surest way to frustrate the designs of Russia, who had all along been ac cused ofa purpose to use Persian in fluence in Afghanistan to further her own designs in India. In 1871, through ' British influence, a treaty was concluded with Russia which it was hoped would arrest the progress oHlussiaioward the British, posses sions in ItMjia.r " i: , 4;, Latterly, however, British influence at the Court of the Ameer, Shere All, has declined owing to the fact as is alleged that the Gladstone Govern ment did not properly second the ef forts of its Viceroy to establish friend ly relations with Shere All. When the present Government came into power these efforts were renewed, and strong inducements were held out for an alliance. They were rejected, however, by the Ameer, who assumed an attitude of sullen reserve. His subsequeut refusal to receive an Eng lish Embassy on the ground that he could not then consistently refuse to receive a Russian embassy, while, as a matter of fact, the Russians were hospitably received at a moment when war betweeu England and Russia was imminent, left no doubt on the minds of the English Government of the hostility of the Ameer: and finally as they allege, patience ceased to be a virtue, and the Ameer was informed that unless a clear and satisfactory re ply was received from him by the 20th of November, he would be trea ted as "a declared enemy." The time expired aud the British army at once crossed the frontier. For the rest, we shall see what we shall see. DEATH OF HON. B. F. MOORE. At the hour of 2 p. m. yesterday Hon. B. F. Moore died. He had been for more than a year confined to to his iiome, his powers having fail ed. He relinquished all business matters and in the quiet of home, un distracted by the cares of life, sank slowly to rest. He was attacked by no disease and death was but the re sult of gradually failing powers. He suffered no pain but the senses one by one grew weaker, until, perfectly conscious to the latt, the lamp of his life went out. Bartholomew Figures Moore was the son of James Moore, a soldier of the Revolution, who at the close of that war settled in the county of Hali fax in this Slate, and was born in January 1801. He received a good academic education, being prepared by Mr. John Bobbitt, who was prin cipal of a school at or near Louis burg. He joined the University at Chapel Hill, whence he was gradua ted in the year 1821, with some dis tinctioji. at the age of 20. After leav ing the University he studied law with Hon. Thos Mann, of Nash Co. After being admitted to practice by the Supreme Court, he settled in the town of Nashville. In the year 1828 he took his first step in political life, becoming a can didate for the House of commons and canvassing the county. It was at the time when the three candidates for the Presidency of the U. S. were General Jackson, Adams, and Craw ford of Georgia Mr. Moore was an ar dent supporter of the last named can didate. From Nashville he removed to the county of Halifax, settling near the town of Halifax, about 1833. In 1835 he was elected a member of the Leg islature from that county and took a leading part in therevisal of the laws, known as the Revised Statutes. He was then elected to the House for several years. Iu 1848 he was ap pointed Attorney-General by Gov ernor Graham, to fill a vacancy in that office. He then removed to the city, which was ever since his home. He was elected by the Legislature of 1848-'49 to succeed Edwin Stanly, to fill out whose term he had been before appointed. He served as Attorney-General until 1851, when he resigned. In the next year he was appointed one of a committee of emi nent legal gentlemen to revise the Statute laws of "the Slate. ; His asso ciates in this work were Hon. . Asa Biggs and Judge R. M. Saunders. They prepared-the revision in an able manner, and submitted their work-to the Legislature of 1854-'55, which adopted 4t. It was regarded as being in all respects excellent. Mr. Moore held office thrice again during his life, being one of the Com missioners to adjust the State debt, in 1861, just prior to the beginning of the war. In 1865 he was elected a member of. the'. Constitutional Con vention, and lt in 1866 to the lower branch of the Legislattire.'He took a prominent part in the deliberations and debates of both, as well as in all matters of State importance after tht war. He used untiring and earnest efforts for pacification and readjust ment of the difficulties which then closed thick upon us. Mr. Moore was liberal in his yiews and was in all matters oflaw held as high authority, aud his advice was much sought after. At the conclu sion of his official work he devoted himself to the practice of his pro fession, which was very large and re munerative. Soon after the war he associated with him in his practice Maj. John Gatling, his son-in-law. He always devoted himself to his legal business , and possessed one of the finest legal minds in the country. In theleath of Mr. Moore his State loses a man of whose memory she may well be proud. Hal. News. THE FENCE QUESTION. At a Meeting of the State Agricul tural Society, held at Raleigh, during fair week in October, a committee was appointed to visit Mecklenburg county and satisfy themselves as to the condition of afiairs in this county where the fence, or rather the no fence, law prevails. A similar com mittee was appointed by the Roanoke and Tar River Agricultural Society and both committees were present at our recent fair. While no formal re-' port has yet been submitted, it is tin derstood that when made it will en dorse the action of the people of Mecklenburg and recommend the law to a very large portion of the State. It is understood that the fences of North Carolina cost ten millions dol lars, and that the averge decay is about ten per cent. According to the census report l)f 1870, the value of live stock was down at not exceeding two millions of doMars. These facts show (including the annual cost of repairing the fences) that it costs live dollars and a half to fence outra dol lar's worth of stock. These figures, it seems to us, are so conclusive that no man ought to object to the fence law in every portion of the State ex cept where stock is raised exclusively. In the grass growing sections of the State Ashe, " Watauga and sevt-r.il other counties west of the BIu Ridge the same necessity for a stock law does not exist as in other jortions of the State, and yet the time is not far distant, under our changed system of labor, when the stock law will be of value even to the people who live in thofc counties. Char. Ob. ALL ABOUT A RAT. Mr. Sinclair Touscy appeared at the Tombs Police Court Tuesday morning as complainant against Eu gene Lillcston, a youth, whom he charged with torturing a rat. Eu gene had the rat by the tail when ac costed by Mr. Tousey, who, iu the name of humanity, demanded its re lease. The youth in his wicked heart had planned the death of the rat by drowning, and was in searcli of a sufficient depth of water to accom plish his design when interfered with. Mr. Tousey called officer A beam, f the fourth precinct, to his assistance, and the boy and the rat were made prisoners. The latter was securely caged in a market basket and brought to court as a witne s. The novel character of the case for a time puz zled the judicial mind of Judge Mur ray, who finally discharged the boy and sent the rat to the Society for thePreveution of Cruelty to Animals, leaving it with them to decide upon the most humane way of putting an end to its existence. AT. Y. Herald. METEORIC GOLD. r ' . -- The remarkable specimen of mete oric iron, resembling steel, picked up in the Mohan desert and . carried to Fort Yuma, a short time airo. it Is thus described. "It weighs nU.t pound and carries free gold, of which nearly a dollar appears on the sur face. It is not magnetic, and has suc cessfully resisted simple and compund Dat ns ot acid. In this respect it re sembles specular ion, but in no other. Une -of its surfaces , shows. a fracture that reveals a chrystalline structure. the color of which is a steel-gray, tinged with yellow. It has defied the best cold chisels m the blacksmith " shop, and has not broken or chipped nnder'heavy blows. If its coniposi- - uon can oe imitated it will nroduce the hardest and toughest alley k no wn.- "A Farmer" sums up his proposed sayings thus : Saved on Governor " " Attorney Oenefai!" " " Secretary ot State.. .. 3,500 Total reduction frseo We would prefer the reductions to be made thus : Governor's salary and Secretary's pay 3.m Attorney General vt,.... Secretary of Hate.7 ."."".!!.". The present pay of these offices is 814,850. This is probably the mini- mum. Reduction as above $7,950 or $100 more than "A Farmer" would save by his plan. The only difference of importance is in the place or man ner of reduction, v We leve the Gov ernor more pay, because we think it necessary, and cut down the others to a lower point than "A Farmer" proposes. But the real point is to secure the reduction. It ought to be done. Dis creet, sober, industrious officials can get along easily with the salaries pro posed. What say the peopled What say the press ? Wil. Star. Yes, they tried women's suffrage away out in the wilds of Wyoming Territory, and now Ihc good people who hunt in that region unite in say ing the experiment is a failure of the first magnitude. The crood women w remain at home aud fail toote. Women of the noisy, tom-boy sort are around at election times, aud exercise the right of franchise. Only one wo man has held office, and now none ask fr it. The proof of the pudding was eating it.- Wil. Slav. Haity Thought. Brethren, be fore we sing the next verse of "John Brown's body lies all mouldy in the grave," let us take a look into the grave and see that it is there. In these days of Ohio medical colleges a cemetery isn't no safer than a savings bank, and it may-be that political glee clubs, who have been si nins the sons quoted above, have been-chanting a rhythmic lie for the past fifteen years. Burlington Hatckcye. The revivaj service, by Mrs. Moon and Miss Painter, stilTTconti tines with unabated interest. Tho Methodist E. Church is so crowded each day ami night that many are unable to get in. The interest taken in these meet ings is unprecedented here. The pro fessions, we learn, exceed 50. Minis ters of all denominations join the ser vices. Salem Press. Democratic doctrine : "The substi tution of greenbacks for bunk notes," "a uniform greenback currency," that is, "a legal tender for everything," redeemable in coin, or in absence of coin redeemable at postal saving banks where they draw 3 percent, interest, which will practically keep them at all times at par with coin." A DYNAMITE FUOLIC AlMHit 4 o'clock on Friday mornm, tli 15th iust. a convict belonging to the night force at the. Lick Log tunnel was thawing a charge of nitro-glj'ceritro" mixed with meal in a can over a fire. When 412 Fahrenheit was reached the darkey sud denly sailed fifty feet through t lie black air, landiog at the mouth of the tunnel entirely nude his body pitted with mi nute blisters. He walked cooly back to the- fire and recovered his stirring paddle and a wjuirrel tail, which had served as an ornament to his head gear. "Iu this Georgia, major's uniform he -was pnt t bed; no apprehensions are entertained tli at be i ions injury will result from hii brief arouantic tour. It is only two week "since another convict fell (J feet from trestle near mudcut, but contrary to all expectations is still living. Verily the African is a hard bird to kill l-Dlne Uhhjt lihuU. ' '

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