North Carolina Newspapers

Inj (If Italham Record. 9HD ' H. A. LONDON, Jr., BATES or ADVERTISING. One square, one Insertion, fi.00 One square, two Insertions,- - 1.60 One square, one month, - - 2.60 EDITOR AND rKOl'IJIETOR. Ay v TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: One ci J", one yiar, ------ (2.00 liucoy ,Mx iii'Mll'.S 1.00 Cum cits' tUrcc moutLi, .50 VOL. III. PITTSB01lO CHATHAM CO. N C., SEPEMBER 1, 1881. NO. 51. For larger advertisements liberal contracts will All 0 Wailing. Will the slow weeks never go ? Hark ! tho curfew ringeth low ; Into twilight oft ami gray 3lolt at lat the weary day ; Once again the night is here. Are you thinking of rue, dear ? All day long my heart has heard Jut one nftly-whisiered word ; All tlsy long your nam has come T m. through the busy hum ; Everywhere iu hall aud street You have tarried with mo, sweet. In the faeea of the crowd, In the erio that echo loud, All throughout the hurrying throngs, All aiuil the strife of tongues, Nothing have I hear. or seen Saw your voice, your face, my queen. Other x onion come and go, Other voices whisper low, Other t'Vf8 grow dim or bright, Shed or vdl their changeful light ; Bat I stand apart, alone, Waiting etiil for yo , my own. .Mi ! fh.it waiting. JKyou feel, JVwling, as tho slow days steal SSih'iit, ofio by oho away, How my in-art must yearn and pray For the toueh of lips and hand ? I'arliug, do you understand '( hi the daily strife and stress l)o ymi t-i'i- tlie foes that press Clow and hard within, without ? All the dread and all the doubt, All the fears that clasp and cling, All the bitter questioning ? Pasf, though with no clash of swords, fi.-Uh'T all those phantom hordes ; And nty soul, as falls the night, Seems to lone her wonted might, Shrinks before the dusky crew, I "rays and long and yearns for you. iusr I always watch and wait, 1-Ailed, famished, at your gate? Will you not Ik? brave and come Fie the pleading lips be dumb ? . Fro within the weary eyes Hope's last glimmer fades and dies ? All ! dear heart, bo strong, le true I See, a kingdom waits for you ! High alnve all stain or scathe Floats love's banner, shines lcve's faith, Filter on your reign serene ! Come I my own ! my love ! my queen ! A RIDE FOR A WIFE. Did you ever ride a mule ? I don't mean a civilized creature accustomed to good society, out a wild steed of the plains bi ought up on the grass and rattlesnakes, and accustomed to cavort regardless of the constitution as amend cd, or the rights of man- Mules are pretty much alike the world over, only the Texas mule is a little more so. 1 rode one the other day, and I'm go. wg to try to tell you about it. It won't be very well written, because my right arm has been in a sling, and I have more bruises than bones. You see I fell in love with a girl deep as a forty foot well I mean my love, not the girl she isn't deep a bit and as my luck would have it, another fellow fell about the same distance at the same time. He's not a bad looking chap, and wears store clothes on week days. He parts his hair in the middle, and oils it up with bergamot and cinnamon. He has his name printed on pieces of paste board and drops them around promiscu ously for fear people might forget that A. Brown was about. I had to acknowl edge the fact that between this ". fellow and myself, in the affections of the di vine Aramlnta, it was nip and tuck, with the dog a little ahead. J put on my best clothes one day and walked over to the gal's house, intend ing to move on her works, and have the little thing settled without further de bate. My rival was there, and seemed to have onhislest clothes. That didn't amount to much, for I knew that at ten o'clock, six hours after my arrival, he'd have to wend his winding way home, for the old Udy he boarded with didn't allow irregular hours. If he got to his frugal couch, or rather the house containing it, he might skin his knuckles and kick his boots off, but he wouldn't get in after that hour, and the haymow is not a very pleasant bed room in Ilea time. But 1 was soon re lieved of all anxiety. We had a diver sion that broke up the fitting. Araminta is possessed of a little brother J hate girl's brothers ! If they are little they play tricks on you, and if they are big they borrow your money, get drunk, and insult you with impu nity, knowing that you are in love with the sister an J won't resent an insult. While we were talking in small way, and looking volumes of love at the girl aud wrath at each other, we heard a fearful yell in the garden patch, and running out, found little brother on the ground in active convulsions. He had been trying to eat his way through the melon patch. It was a disgusting fail ure, for he could not have bursted open and gone into the contents of more than ten or twelve. As it was, it looked as if there was goiDg to be a death in the family, and Aramiuta screamed a scream and yelled at us to run for a doctor. We both took in the situation at a glance the man that got the doc tor first would get Araminta for life. My rival went out over the fence like a deer, aud seized the only horse in the stable. He bridled and saddled the an imal in double-quick time, while I found nothing left me but a mule. I seized a blind bridle, and rushing at the animal felt something whizz over my head that I am sure was a pair of heels. They narrowly escaped my skull but carried off my hat. Nothing daunted, I seized the crea ture by the ear, put on the bridle, un fastened the chain by which he was haltered and led him from tho stable. Ho went out willingly, so much so, in deed, that I had some difficulty in keep ing up, and had not the creature stopped outside to give vent in a pro longed bray, I could not have mounted. As it was, before he got through with his musical entertainment I was on his back. The beast seemed somewhat aston ished at this performance, and stood turning it over in his mind for a min ute, while I dug my heels vigorously into his sides. He seemed suddenly to come to the conclusion that a change of administration would be an excellent thing, and to this end began going up and down like a saw gale. I really thought I'd be split in two, and would probably have been pitched over but that, in the midst of this pleasing exer cise Muley caught sight of the horse dis appearing at a hard gallop in the dis tance. He seemed auimated by the laudable ambition of overtaking the horse, and started so suddenly that he came very near leaving me behind. I worked my way forward until I could get hold of the halter chain, and pulling this rigging tight, got a pretty secure hold. How that beast did run I He not only gained on the horse to such an ex tent that Araminta might have offered two to one and no takers, bat exhibited his superabundance of bottom by throwing in, at intervals, the liveliest kicks that ever emanated from a mule. About a mile out we closed in on the cob, and as we passed Muley favored him with a salute that was most diabol ically foul ; for planting his two heels upon the quarter of the honest Buceph alus, I heard a yell, and glancing around, saw my rival and horse go down in a most promiscuous manner. My steed of the desert kept straight on. We had a ride of eight mile3 before us ; and I felt satisfied that in that distance, at the rate we were traveling, Muley would have a good deal of demon taken out of him. I became aware of another fact, and that was that my best pants were giving way. About five miles out we struck a water-melon patch and went straight through. I could hear the melons bursting under me like bombs, and when we emerged from the farther side specimens of this fruit were strung on the mule's legs like beads. A mile beyond this I saw our excel lent minister of the gospel wending his solemn way across the prairies with a wagon full of infant Jacobs, and I saw that unless he whipped his horse into a most extraordinary run, we would be into him almost instanter. I pulled hard on the near rein with one hand, while I steadied myself with the chain with the other, but with no more effect than if I had taken a pull on Pike's Peak. We struck the parson's family about amidships, and went through. I never saw infant Christianity so scat tered as on that occasion. I left the parson gathering up his family, and continued until I struck the doctor's fence, and went flying into his front door with the bull dog close at my tattered rear. I knocked over the cradle and upset the supper table. The doctor came to my rescue with a kick in the ribs of his dog that sent him with a howl and a mouthful of pantaloons into the yard. I then told the doctor in one breath all I had left that Araminta's little devil of a brother was dying of too much watermelon patch, and wanted a doctor with squills. We returned in about the same style. The doctor having a younger horse than my rival had been favored with, kept the lead, his pill bags flapping in the air, while his coat tails made a straight line behind. If his horse flagged, the mule started him up again with a vigorous bite on the rump that seemed to infuse new vigor into that medicated animal. We passed my rival sitting on the roadside nursing his off leg as if it hurt him. He never came back, acknowledging his defeat in the most gentlemanly manner. The doctor soon put Araminta's little brother in a perpendicular position, and that night at the bedside of the little sufferer, keeping well to the front, I proposed, was accepted, and the happy day was fixed. I rode into Araminta's affections on a mule. During the month of July there were shipped from Jacksonville 6,375,093 feet of yellow pine lumber, against 2,666,000 for the corresponding month of last year. Over six and a half miUion feet were shipped in June from the same port. William McKean, who saved a boy from drowning in Harlem recently, is said to have saved thirty-five other per sons from the same death since 1869. FASHION NOTES. Terra cotta shades will be much worn. Bed is the prevailing color in early fall goods. Fanchan and Normandy breakfast caps are favorites. Long miis are the favorite hand wear at the moment. Small broken checked suitings and plaids will be worn. Women with long, stick-like arms should not wear tight, long sleeves. White lace over-colored satin is the latest relief for black dresses in Lon don. Open work embroidery is an effective trimoiiug on mauve, lemon, pink and blue Surah. In England mourning is worn only one year for the nearest relatives and crapo but six months. Terra cotta in all shades from dark salmon to deep copper is the favorite color for early fall cashmeres. The lawn tennis striped suitings so fashionable this season have lent au ef fect to the newtfall goods. New plush goods have extremely long pile, which is cut in irregular depth, to form the figures of the fabric. Button, low-quartered or half boots will be the leading shoes until the mid dle of September or first of October. Plaid, striped and shaded goods will be combined with plain or self-colored fabrics in the composition of the earlie s fall dressed. Heavy satins in rich shades of color, with stripes of long pile plush or che. nille, will be used for the most expen sive dress accessories. The earliest water-color designs of dresses for fall show no decided depar ture from the general make-up of cos tumes worn this season. Plaited collarettes of mull, plain white and dotted, lace-edged, embroid ered and perfectly plaiD, are much worn, with scarf bows to match. Some of the new silk goods show moire stripes alternating" with stripes of brocaded or damask flowers and leaves encroaching on the edges of the moire stripe. The special novelty in fichus is the addition of long ends of wing-like shape to designs made of mull and lace. In some cases these'ends reach nearly to the knee and are narrow. Longitudinal stripes in bright colors, with gold and silver hair line effects, crossed diagonally with stripes formed in the weaving of the fabric, make one of the features of the new fall goods. A handsome novelty to be worn with a dressy costume is the pocket sash, made of black satin de Lyon, and either tied in a bow or simply knotted at the left side. The broad ends are formed each into a fiat pocket, on which there is a hand painting of poppies, daises and corn flowers. The edges of the pockets are trimmed with plaited black thread lace, the design being made to button over with a lap. Each sash end is provided with pocket, in one of which the handkerchief is carried. An Attempt to Assassinate Washington. An attempt made to assassinate Gen eral Washington in New York city in 1776 is imperfectly described as follows by James Thatcher, a Massachusetts surgeon in the Continental army, in "A Military Journal During the American Revolutionary War," under date of Sep tember 10, 1776 : "I have omitted to record the follow in incidents till I could ascertoin the particulars of the reports : We learn by accounts from New York that some time since a plot of a most atrocious nature was detected in that city. A gang of Tories had associated for the purpose of joining the British army, and had concerted a plan, it is said, to assassinate his Excellency General Washington and some other officers, and while our army were engaged with the enemy to blow up our magazines, etc. The mayor of the city and an ar morer who was engaged in making rifles for the Tories and Beveral others were taken into custody and committed to close prison. The mayor, on examina tion, confessed that he received money from Governor Tryon to pay the ar morer for the rifles. Two of his excel lency's guards were confederates, and a third, to whom the secret wan confided, honestly disclosed the information. Several of these miscreants were tried and convicted, and two or three were executed." A foot-note ol this account quotes as follows from one of David Ramsay's his tories : Governor Tryon had suborned the then mayor of New York to assist the royal forces on their arrival in that city, and General Washington was to be assassinated. This detestable design was rendered abortive by apprehending Thomas Hickey, one of General Wash ington's life-guard men, who was en gaged in the conspiracy and had en gaged others. This false miscreant was tried by a court martial on the 28th of June, found guilty and was executed the same day, amid the curses of the American army." RELIGIOUS HEADING. "Remind Me ot the King." La Fontaine, chaplain of the Prussian army, once preached a very earnest and eloquent sermon on the sin and f oily of yielding to a hasty temper. The next day he Was accosted by a major of the regiment with the words : " Well, sir ! I think you made use of the prerogatives of your office, to give me some very sharp hits, yesterday." " I certainly thought of you while I was preparing the sermon," was the answer, " but I had no intention of be ing either personal or sharp." "Well, it is of n use," said the major, "I have a hasty temper, and I cannot help it, and I cannot control it. It is impossible." And still adhering to this opinion, after some further conversation went his way. The next Sabbath La Fontaine preached upon self-deception, and the vain excuses which men are wont to make. "Why," said he, "a man will declare that it is impossible for him to control his temper, when he very well knows that were tho provocation to happen in the presence of his sovereign, he not only could but would control himself entirely. And yet he dares to say that the continual presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords, imposes upon him neither restraint or fear !" The next day his friend, the major, again accosted him. "You were right, yesterday, chap lain," he said, humbly. "Hereafter, whenever you see me in danger of fall ing, remind me of the King I" Iteligiouti News and Not en. Of the 689 missionaries in India the United States sends 117. The tolal membership of the Morav ian church in America at the close of the last year was 16,491. Last year 220 of the 526 Congrega tional churches iu Massachusetts had no accessions at all, and the net gain in the state was only 175. Spurgeon says that London is getting to be the most heathenish city under the sun, and the necessity for evangeli cal work there is greater than ever. The 10,000,000 members of the Evan gencai cnurcnes in tnis country gave last year to foreign missions 02,121,731, or an average of twenty-one cents each. In the revised New Testament the changes are more numerous in . the Epistles than in the Gospels. In the Epistle to the Ephesians, which has only 155 verses, there are 384 changes, most of them very slight. As an indication of the general atten tion the Christian religion is attracting in Japan, it is stated that a society has been formed whose members solemnly pledge themselves never to become Christians. In Rocklin, California, the Congrega tional church has for two years been without a pastor. There is no rush of applicants for the vacant pulpit, as the church has only five members. The vacancy will probably continue for some time to come. The oldest missionary in India is the Rev. George Pearce, of the English Bap tist society. He arrived in India in 1826, consequently he has spent fifty- five years in the service. The Bev. J. P. Bottler, who died in 1836, spent sixty years in India, a longer term than any missionary in that country. The native Baptist church in a Karen village, India, took up a collection for sending missionaries to the Ka-Khyena. The amount was so large that the mis sionary, Mr. Carpenter, who knew their poverty, declined to receive it. They insisted, saying: "We can live upon rats ; but the Ky-Khyenas cannot live without the Gospel." According to a correspondent of the National Baptist, there are more than 700,000 colored members of Baptist churches in the United States. In South Carolina, Georgia and Eastern Texas three of the Sunday echool mis sionaries of the Baptist publication so ciety report that 152 Sunday schools were organized last year. Billions of Matches. Europe, continental and insular, con sumes two millions of matches daily Assuming that each several act of igni tion occupies the brief period in one second and we have reason to believe it is rarely performed in a shorter time it will be obvious to every ready reck oner that five hundred and fifty-five thousand hours of each successive day are spent by the inhabitants of Europe in striking matches. There is food for much speculation in the fact that Europeans dispose of nearly sixty-four years per day in scraping tiny sticks, tipped with some inflammable composi tion. It is also interesting to learn that four hundred thousand cubic yards of timber and four hundred and twenty thousand pounds weight of phosphorus are in an-mml request for the manufac ture of the seven hundred and thirty thousand millions of matches used up by Europe in a pear. The Wedding Finger. There are few objects among the pro ductions of art contemplated with such lively interest by ladies, after a certain age, as the wedding-ring ; this has been the theme for poets of every caliber for geniuses of every wing, from the dabbling duckling to the soaring eagle. The mouldy antiquary can tell the origin of the custom with which it is connected, and perchance why the ring was round, and account for many cir cumstances concerning the ceremonies of the circlet, on the most conclusive evidence, amounting to absolute conjec tural demonstrations. Amidst all that has been said and written in reference to the ring, I believe the part engaged in that mystic matter, the taper resi dence of this ornament has been neg lected. Now this is rather curious, and there are facts which belong to the ring finger which render it in a peculiar manner an appropriate emblem of matrimonial union. It is the only fin ger where two principal nerves belong to two distinct trunks: the thumb is supplied with its principal nerves from the radial nerve, as is also the forefin ger, the middle finger, and the thumb side of the ring finger, while the ulnar nerve furnishes the little finger and the other side of the ring finger at the point or extremity of which a real union takes place. It seems as if it were intended by nature to be the matrimonial finger. That the side of the ring finger next to the little finger is supplied by the ulnar nerve is frequently proved by a common accident, that of striking the elbow against the edge of a chair, a door, or any narrow hard substance ; the ulnar nerve is then frequently struck, and a thrilling sensation is then felt in the little finger, and on the same side of the ring finger, but not on the other side of it. Not Always a Remedy. There was a group of gentlemen sit ting in a drug store last Sunday morn ing discussing smallpox. Gilhooly was there, too. The doctor had just re marked what a blessing science was, and how the lives of so many thousands andtens of thousands of human beings had been saved by vaccination alone ; that vaccination never failed to save a man's life. "That may all be so," remarked Gil hooly, "but in the case of my uncle, his life was saved by his not being vaccin ated. He lived in California, and the smallpox was very bad, and all that saved his life was his refusal to get vac cinated. If he had got vaccinated it would have cost him his life." "That must have been a very singular case. wis n you would give me tne precise date," said the doctor, taking out his note-book. "Not at all. He was in jail, and the vigilants broke in and took him out of jail, and were about to hang him to a tree, when they discovered he was all broken out with the smallpox. They scattered like a covey of partridges. The further proceedings were suspended instead of my uncle, and his life was saved. Now, you will acknowledge, doctor, that if he had been vaccinated he could not possibly have taken the smallpox, and if he had not had the smallpox at the time he would certainly have lost his life ; so in this case, at least, you will admit that vaccination would have cost him his life." The doctor wanted to discuss the question, but was defeated on a strict party vote. Texas Sif tings. The Small Boy's Explanation; Angelica had invited her "best young man" to the evening meal. Everything had passed off harmoniously until An eelica's seven-year-old brother broke the blissful silence by exclaiming : "Oh, ma! yer oughter seen Mr. Lighted the other night, when he called to take Angie to the drill ; he looked so nice, sitting 'long side of her with his arm " "Fred!" screamed the maiden, whose face began to assume the color of a well-done crab quickly placing her hand over the boy's mouth. "Yer oughter seen him," continued the persistent informant after gaining his breath, and the embarrassed girl' hand was removed; "he had his arm " "Freddie !" shouted the mother, as in her frantic attempt to reach the boy's auricular appendage she upset the con tents of the tea-pot in Mr. Lighted's lap, making numerous Prussian war maps over his new lavendar pantaloons. "I was just goin' to say," the half frightened boy pleaded, between a cry and an injured whine, "he had his arm " "You boy r thundered the father, "away to the wood-shed." And the boy made for the nearest exit, exclaimed as he waltzed, "I was only goin' to say Mr. Lighted had his army clothes on, and Til leave it to him if he didn't." And the boy was permitted to return, and the remainder of the meal was spent in explanations from the family in re gard to the number of times Freddie had to be "talked to" for using his finger for a ladle. a millionaire miner. The Career of a Bonanza Kins A Romance of Mining. A Denver (Col.) correspondent says : I had heard so much about Tabor's mines and Tabor's building and Tabor's schemes from the time I crossed the line which separates total-abstinence Kansas from drink-as-you-please Col orado, that I was quite anxious to meet the bonanza king face to face. My curi osity was amply gratified to-day. By the courtesy of Governor Pitkin, I occu pied a place on the balcony of the State house while the splendid militia com panies of Denver and Leadville passed in review under the Executive eye. A number of the State officers assisted the governor, and among them was Lieu tenant-Governor Tabor, arrayed in the uniform of the Tabor Guards, his strong, bony head surmounted by a lit tle skull capi apparently two sizes too small. His warmest admirers would not call Mr. Tabor either handsome or graceful. He is apparently about fifty-five, his hair is black and coarse as an Indian's, and his large mouth is covered rather than ornamented by a heavy moustache, which is slightly tinged with gray. His aims and legs seem made of wood and his joints of iron, and it is very evident that he does not feel at all at home in military uniform. In conversation with this luckiest of men one soon forgets his peculiarities of manners and appearance. There is so much straighforwardness and strong common-sense in what he says that no one who knows him wonders that he has become one of the great masters of the great art of money making. His history is one of the romances of mmmg, Twenty-two years ago, wnen the " Pike's Peak or bust " fever was at its height, Tabor and his wife left their hungry home in Maine to seek a fortune in the wild West. They didn't find it. For eighteen weary years they went up and down the foot-hills and mountains of Colorado, pursuing the phantom gold and growing old and discouraged in their tiresome and bootless search He was sober and thrifty, but somehow they did not get on in the world. Now, when they have more millions than they had hundreds then, Mrs. Ta bor delights in telling how " me and Tabor " moved in an ox team across the Park from Denver to Oro City, where they started a little store for the sale of miners' supplies. Oro City was a small camp about two miles from where Lead ville now flourishes, and where the first discoveries oi quartz were made in Leadville. Tabor "grubstaked" two prospectors, August His che and George Fryer, to search for ore, on the condi tion that he should have half of all they should discover. The first ore they found ran only eight ounces to the ton, but as they went down on " Little Pittsburg " the quality steadily improved. About this time Leadville had outgrown Oro City, and Tabor moved his store to the larger place. He came to Denver and bought a bill of goods amounting to $2,500, and not having money enough to settle, he offered his share in the mine to the Denver firm, but they preferred to take their chances on getting their money back when he had disposed of the wares. J-iater ne oougnt $d,7uu worth of goods from another firm, and actually succeeded in inducing them to take his half of Little Pittsburg in payment. When he reached home, however, he received a letter from the firm asking him to take back his mine, as they had no desire to go into that kind of business, and assuring him that they would trust him for the bill. Well they might, for within three months he had bought out both his partners for $150,000, paying them out of the proceeds of the mine, and had in turn sold out to Chaffee, Moffatt & Co. for $1,000,000. In all he made about $1,300,000 on the mine, which was then stocked at u,uuu,uuu, yielded some $5,000,000 to its new purchasers, and is now an empty ruin, so far as appear ances go. Tabor's wealth is variously estimated between $4,000,000 and $10,000,000, but it is doubtful if even he could state its exact figure. Notwithstanding his sudden leap-from poverty to millions, he is as plain and approachable as ever. His only son and heir is one of the les sees of the Windsor hotel, and is said to be a shrewd, level-headed young man. Mrs. Tabor delights in fine clothes, diamonds and New England grammar, and is now enjoying a tour of Europe. It is said that the presence of glucose in sugar can be detected in this way : Take a handful of the mixture and drop it into a glass of cold water. Stir it a few minutes, and you will note that the cane sugar is entirely dissolved, leaving the grape sugar undissolved at the bottom of the glass, in the form of a white, sticky substance not at all unlike starch in looks, and quite bitter to the taste. It won't do to use hot water in your test, however, for if you do the whole thing will dissolve." ITEMS OF INTEREST. Midhat Pasha escaped the executioner and goes into exile, where he will live and, perhaps, die unwept, unhonored and unhung. From the steamer's deck she beheld a barge laden with cotton. "Ah!" mur mured the fair Angelica, " my bosom friend is baled out." Sara Bernhardt has drawn a plan for her tomb. It does not, as might be in ferred, resemble the barrel of a shotgun or a joint of gas pipe. The Fenians are aiming a carving knife at the very heart of Old England they try to keep the Prince of Wales from enjoying his dinners. Senator Wade Hampton has written to General Ranm that he hopes that the men who recently have defied the Fed eral authority in South Carolina will be arrested. There are seventeen important arte sian wells in Philadelphia, mostly at manufacturing places. The deepest is 556 feet, and the amount of water drawn from them is large. President Garfield's two elder sons will not be obliged to go through the Williams College entrance examination next month. They will enter on a cer tificate from their tutor. The Smithsonian Institute has secured the turtle which has been the object of the curious for the last few days in New York. It died Saturday, and its weight has been ascertained at 2,084 pounds. General Robert Lowery, the demo cratic nominee for Governor of Missis sippi, was taught to read by his wife, since which he has risen to be one of the most influential men in the State. Poor old Spotted Tail. We trust he has gone to that happy hunting ground where Indian agents are never seen and in which Indian police captains are not allowed to fire at human marks. Exploring: Hudson Bay. Prof. Bell, who has spent five years in exploring the Hudson bay, gives, in glo rious terms, an account of his wanderings in and about the great body of water, which, in his enthusiasm, he designates he Canadian Mediterranean. He states that Hudson bay, is in effect 1,000 miles long, more than 600 miles wide and cov ers 1,000,000 square miles. Instead of being, as is usually supposed, a part of the Arctic regions, the nearest shore is more southerly than London, and its farthest still remains within the Tempe rate zone. On the northeast coast there is little snow in winter and little rain in summer. The tributaries of the bay are ;he Nelson, which discharges the waters of Lake Winnipeg ; the Winnipeg, about the size of the Ottawa ; the Saskatche wan, 900 miles long, pouring in from the west, and the Bed river, coming over 500 miles from the south. All the central part of North America, from Labrador to the Rocky mountains, drains into Hudson bay. The largest tributary is the NeJson, about four times the size of the Ottawa at the capital ; then ccmes the Churchill, the Big river and the Albany. On the west side oi the bay the southerly winds are the cold est that blow in the winter, and there is less snow and less intense cold in the vi cinity of York Factory and Fort Church ill than in more southerly regions. Du ring winter the temperature improves as one goes from Minnesota northward through Manitoba, and down the valleys to Hudson bay, and bathing is found agreeable in July, August and Septem ber. On the southern and western shores unlimited supplies of red and and white pine, spruce, white birch, balsam, poplar, aspen and tamarac are found. The Hoop Snake. C. Leventhorpe, of North Carolina, writes to the New York Sun on the sub- ject of tne uoop or sachem snake, which js 0ftn geen Virginia and the South : The snake is of venomous fame, and, though it may be an extreme precau tion, I should not care to risk even now a scratch from the point of the spur. In the early summer a serpent of this species was killed within three hundred yards of my house. I saw this snake when dead. Its color was dingy yellow, marked and blotched with black. The head was flat and vicious looking. There was a remarkable mus cular swell, like that of the biceps, some inches above the tail, and suggestive of an intention to give force to a blow from the tail, which tapered below the swell, and terminated m a horn like that which I send. The horn . was grooved in the same manner, and curved similarly. This specimen meas ured four feet ten inches. The young man who killed the snake stated that the viper coiled up at his presence, ap pearing greatly irritated, holding its tail aloft, and agitating it violently. He did not await further hostilities, but settled the matter by a well-directed shot from his rifle. There are many stories of trees that have died after hav ing been struck by this snake. I should not wish to be responsible for them, for there is a wonderful sameness in one and alL But, beyond a doubt, the hoop snake is an ugly and wicked reptile, and is considered here as fatally dangerous.