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II. A.. LONDON,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
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Preta'sPouble
By HELEN
Copyright, by Kgfcert Bonner's Bo&sj
CHAPTER VIIL
CONTINUED.
Turning almost before the words
had died on the night air, he caught
the arm of his would-be assassin ere
lie could receive another and more
dangerous thrust from the weapon that
gleamed in the moonlight.
"Aha, my lady!" he cried in a voice
cot good to hear. "So yon would at
tempt to take my life, would you? You
shall pay clearly for this, mark my
worda! Yoi are clever, I admit, but
aot clever enough to rid yourself of
Cavlos Monteri. Had you succeeded
in your design to commit murder, you
would not have been free twenty -four
hours. I had cause enough for revenge
before. Now I have more."
She stood there, powerless to move,
13 tight wa3 his grasp upon her arm.
He took the dagger from her litnd and
placed it in his pocket.
"Well, what have you t say for
j-ourself ?" he asked.
"Only this," she replie.l In hoarse
iones: ".I'm sorry that 1 didu't suc
ceed!" "You are, eh? Well, that goes with
out telling. And to tink'that I did
you a great service to-day," he said,
with a harsh laugh.
"You did me a service!" she sneered.
"It would be a cold day when you
would do that, unless it would be to
artheryour own designs."
"Well take that for granted," he
said.
"Well, what service did you do me?"
she asked, in incredulous and angry
tones.
"WThat would you say if I told you
that you had failed in your other at
tempt to sommit murder as you did
in this?" he a3ked, in triumphant
tones.
"What do you niea-, Carlos Mon
teri?" "I mean that Breta Danton is alive,"
he returned.
"What!" she exclaimed.
"I repeat," said he, "that Brets
Danton is alive and well."
"You are mad! Do you think you
can make me believe any such story as
that?"
"Well, it's so, whether you believe
it or not. I met her to-day on the
train bound for Brentwood Park, and
but for me, you would have stepped
down and out by this time perhaps
been in the hand3 of the law."
"Carlos Monteri, are you speaking
the truth.2" as doubts entered her
mind as to whether or not Breta Dan
ton might live been rescued after all.
"yes, I'm speaking the truth," he
returned.
""7here is sna, then?" she asked.
"At present see is locked up in the
house of a certn friend of mine,
where she will remain until I see fit to
give her freedom. But see here, hand
over that money. You have failed in
your design; so if you don't want ex
posure pass over the greenbacks."
"Here, then! Take it, and may it
do you much good! I have not a cent
in the world now," she said, as she
took the notes from her pocket and
handed them to him, with a look that,
if looks could kill, would have felled
Sim dead on the spot.
"Oh, well, the Brentwoods have
enough sid to spare."
"Do you think I would ask them for
money?" she asked.
"No. Take it without asking." he
returned, with a short laugh.
' 'Why don't you say : 'Steal it, ' and
be done with it," she retorted.
" "As you will. It would not be the
first you had stolen," he said, as he
pocketed the money.
"Do you think that I would steal
from Eric Brentwood?"
"Who is Eric Brentwood any more
than any one else? Oh, I say!" as an
amusing thought crossed his mind.
"You are not sweet on him, are you?",
"That is not your affair. He is a
gentleman, while such as you are not
fit to mention his name, " she replied
angrily.
"And you also," he put in.
"You will keep that girl locked up
if she really is alive?" she asked,
abruptly changing the subject.
"Yes, as long as you do my bidding.
Befuse to as I desire, and I'll bring
her here to Eric Brentwood, with
whom you are in love, and tell him
who and what you are. Now go; that
is all to-night. When I want you
aain I'll find a way to apprise you of
the fact. And take my advice and
:nake no more attempts in the same
direction that you did to-night. After
all," he said as a parting shaft, "you
are glad that I came back, are you
not?" And with a low chuckle he left
her and made his way back to the farm
house where he had procured a room
and board. "
Hastening back to the park, a look
of baffled rage on her handsome, dark
f-".ce, the girl who had represented her-j
sslf as Breta Danton was in the act of
entering the side-door, when she al-!
most ran against a man Eric Brent-!
wood.
CHAPTER IX.
J30CTOB MONTFOKD INTEBCEDBS.
As Eric Brentwood came face to face
with the girl who he thought had re
tired an hour before, he gave a start
and exclaimed in surprise:
"Why, Breta! What are you doing
out at this hour? I thought you had
retired." -
"So I had," she answered, in-a soft
voice; ''but I had sujjh a seyere head-.
VOL. XXII.
V. GREYSON.
ache that I came out to see if the nio-Ht-
air would relieve me. I feel ever so
much better; but eee how nervous I
am!" holding out to him her hand
which, upon taking it in his, he found
to be trembling.
"So you are," he returned, letting
go her hand, which she wished ho
would retain in his.
An electric thrill passed through her
at his touch, and she knew that it
meant love. Every day and hour that
she spent at Brentwood only added to
the passionate love he had awakened
in her heart at the first glimpse of his
handsome, high-bred face; while he,
she knew, entertained no such feeling
tor her. - She determined that she
would win him.
"If only Carlos were out of my way!"
she thought to herself:
"You were unwise, Breta, to go out
alone at this hour. Who knows but
some tramp may be lurking around
the woods beyond the grounds."
"I did not think of that,"- she re
plied. "I shall lie down now and see
if I cannot get a little rest. Good
night, Eric," again holding out her
hand.
He could not refuse to take it, but
every time their hands met an un
pleasant sensation would steal over
him, and with it, hi uoubts of her
sincerity returned.
As she passed through the door and
up to her apartment, she thought to
herself: "It was lucky that he didn't
walk downto the gate, or he would
have seen me outside the grounds.
What excuse could I have made
then?"
While Eric Brentwood was asking
himself: "Was she speaking the
truth? This is the second time she
has been out alone. I saw her last
night, after she excused herself from
the drawing-room, walking through
the grounds, but I forbore following
her, lest she would think that I was
watching her movements, when I
merely came out, as I did to-night, tr
enjoy a cigar before retiring. But it
seems odd that she should go out
alone, when most girls would feel
timid in doing so. Last night she
certainly did not come out on account
of a headache, for she was walking as
if she was in a great hurry. Suppose
- but, pshaw ! I am letting my im
agination run away with me. Why
do I'doubt her, after all?" he said, as,
throwing away his half-smoked cigar,
he entered the house and repaired for
his own room.
:The following morning Erie was
surprised to receive a telegram from
New York which nad:
"Did Breta Danton arrive safe? Please
answer immediately."
and was signed:
"JOHS JIOXTFOBD, 51. D.
"Address, No. 352 Broadway."
"This is strange," he murmured.
"Who ia John Montford, M. D.? And
why should he wish to know about
Breta Danton? I must ask her who he
is. She said that she knew no one in
America. He must have been some
friend she knew in Italy. But turn it
which way you will, it seems odd that
he should inquire about her arrival af
ter 6he has been here for more than a
month."
Ringing the bell, he inquired if Miss
Danton had arisen.
"No, sir," returned one of the house
maids who had answered the bell..
"Oh, well," he said tohimself, "I'll
go to the station and answer the tele
gram, at any rate. She can explain
afterward. Whoever Dr. Montford is,
he evidently is anxious to know of Miss
Danton's eaf e arrival, so I'll not keep
him in suspense."
Half an hour later Doctor Montford
received the following:
"Breta Danton arrived safe.
"Ehic Brentwood."
"Ah!" the doctor said. "I feel
more at rest now. Somehow or other
I wouldn't feel satisfied until I knew
the child was safe with her friends. I
told her to telegraph me as soon as
8he reached the station, but I dare
say she forgot it. I feared that she
might miss her way, being a etranger,
and had it not been for my duties, I
would have accompanied her myself.
And," he added, "I mean toletGerald
Danton know that he has a grand
daughter living of whom he may well
be proud, and that it is his duty to
seek her and take her to his luxurious
home, which is her proper place. Al
though Ronald was wild and would
have his own way, he treated me un
justly. And now that the poor boy is
dead, he should not extend his malice
to his granddaughter. I don't really
believe he would, did he know that
Ronald left a child. He used to be
good-hearted enough when we were
boys together, and I never could un
derstand what prompted him to turn
his only son adrift. But that's all
past, beyond recall. Nevertheless, I
intend to inform him of his duty to
ward Ronald's child. She would
never appeal to her grandfather, and I
admire the pride which, prevents " her
doing it. The only course to pursue
is to take matters in my cwn handfr
and see that te child is not cheated
of her proper position in the world.
No doubt, I'm a meddling old curmud
geon; but the poor little orphan has
found her way into my heart, and. ii
Gerald Danton is the man I think
him, he will not refuse to take her in
to his heart and home."
So saying, he seated himself at hif
desk and penned the letter to his . old
friend, stating that his granddaughter
could be found at Brentwood Park,
PITTSBORO, CHATHAM
where she was stopping with friends
of her de-eased mother. He thesj
sealed and dispatched the innocent?1
looking missive which was to prov
the forerunner of a tragedy.
CHAPTER X.
CECIL DONIPHAN.
HE?
- In a luxuriously-appointed drawing
roonrof one of the grandest mansions
of which New York could boast, being
a portion of the estate known far and
wide as Ravensmere, an old gray
haired man sat with an open letter in
his hand and: a startled and agitated
look on his face, which told that some
thing unusual had happened.
!. Ringing a bell, which was answered
almost immediately, her spoke, in an
unsteady tone:
"John, tell Mr. Cecil to come here
as soon as possible, as I wish to speak
with him on a matter of utmost impor
tance." "Yes, sir!" and the servant disap
peared to do his master's bidding.
It was not long before the door
opened, and in stepped a fine speci
men of manhood as far as outward
looks could tell. His handsome face
; had only one fault, and that was the
sinister look of his eyes, which never
seemed to rest long on one object,
v "You sentfor me, uncle?" ho quer
ied, in a soft voice, winch reminded
one of a woman's rather than that of a
man of his physique.
"Yes, Cecil, my boy, I wish to speak
to you concerning this letter I just re
ceived from an old friend. I've had a
shock!"
"Not money troubles, I hope," ex
claimed Cecil Doniphan, hastily.
"Oh, no! Nothing about business
matters. Here, take this letter and
read it."
Cecil took the letter and began to
read it, but stopped with an exclama
tion of surprise.
"So Ronald had a child and nevor
apprised you of the fact. Pshaw!
Uncle, this is some fraud!"
"You forget, Cecil, that as Ronald
and I held no communication what
ever, that it is not Lkely he would let
me know that he had a child," re
turned the older man.
"Who is this man who is interest
ing himself so much?" asked Cecil.
"Read on, you will understand."
Having finished reading the letter
penned by Doctor Montford, Cecil
Doniphan turned to his uncle with a
not altogether pleased expression.
"Well, sir, what do you intend to
do? Tako this girl home, here, who
may be some adventuress who Knew
something of Ronald Danton's life,
and who intends to make capital out
of that knowledge?"
"It must be Ronald's daughter, and
Montford 6peaks so confidently on the
subject that I cannot doubt. As my
old friend says, I should not extend
my malice to Ronald's child, and, af
ter all, perhaps I was too harsh with
the boy," said Gerald Danton, with a
note of regret ia his tones.
"Well, I suppose when this girl
comes to Ravensmere, I can step down
and out," said Cecil, the sinister look
in his es becoming more pro
nounced as he thought what the ex
istence of Gerald Danton's grand
daughter meant to him.
"Certainly not, my boy," said Ger
ald Dauton. "Of course, if this is
Donald's child, I will make her my
heiress; but be sure I will not forget
my dead step-brother's son. I know
that it will be a disappointment to
you, who have expected to be sola
heir, but nOw you could not reascna
ably expect me to cut off my only son'a
child."
"Of course not, uncle," he replied
hastily, fearing that he had said too
much.
"Montford says she is with friends
at Brentwood Park, and I wish you to
go there and acquaint her with my
wishes that she come to Ravensmere.
The child scarcely knows that she
has a grandfather, I expect; but I
want you to insist on her coming. I
would go myself, but gout has gotten
the better of me, and I doa't feel as if
I could undertake the journey."
"Very well! When shall I start?"
"As soon as you can get ready."
As Cecil Doniphan left the presence
of his uncle, an ugly look crossed his
face.
"I have a nice errand to perform,"
he murmured savagely. "To bring a
girl here to cut my own throat! If
that meddling old Montford had minded
his own business, Gerald Danton would
never have known that his scapegoat
son left a child. I was willing to wait
for his death, for his fortune, while
many a one would have helped him on.
And to think that, after all, this girl
should turn up to claim what I would
have fallen heir to. I wish there was
a way to get rid of her; but at present
I see none. Let her come to Ravens
mere. I'll find means, perhaps, to get
what ought to belong to me, after all.
A weak, Billy gfrl as she most likely is
cannot cope with me. I must let my
uncle think that I am perfectly satis
fied with my change of fortune. Satis
fied!" he said, in low, hissing tones.
"Not until Ravensmere comes into the
possession of Cecil Doniphan."
With a malignant look at the letter
which he still held in - his hand, and
which his uncle had directed him to let
his granddaughter read, if she re
quested it, he began his preparations
for the journey to Brentwood Park.
To be continued.
Wedding; Anniversaries.
'i There are fourteen recognized wed
ding anniversaries. At the end of the
first year comes the cotton; second,
paper; third, leather; fifth, wooden;
seventh, woolen; tenth, tin; twelfth,
silk and fine linen; fifteenth, crystal;
twentieth, china; twenty -fifth, silver;
thirtieth, pearl; fortieth, ruby; fiftieth,
golden; seventy-fifth, diamond.
Tne population of many South Sea
Islands manufacture their entire suits
from the products of the palm trees.
COUNTY, N. C. . THURSDAY, NO VEMBER
IN MY LADY'S 'GARDEN.
NATURAL ARRANGEMENT AND PLANT
ING FOR PERMANENT EFFECT.
Hints , That TVill Be Useful the Tear
Hound From Snowdrop to Autumn
Green- Culture and Value of the Lily
and the Iris Hardy Plants and Shrubs.
ECENTLY, culti
vators of flowers
are beginning to
realize the folly
of depending
upon bedding out
plants and an
nuals for the or
namentation of
their groundsa
custom wh i e h
- . - - -
confines its - effects to three 01 four
months at thfc'most, leaves the garden
almost entirely denuded at the end of
the season aud necessitates beginning
all over again each year. Whether
cn a large or small scale, the system,
in the case of those who own or lease
their homes, is as short-sighted as it
is improvident Qd to the genuine
flower-lover unsatisfactory. What
should be aimed at in any garden,
is not one effect, however dazzling,
but a succession of effects appropriate
to and expressive of the passing
months. The most skillful arrange
ments of bedding out plants weary
the eye and starve the heart. A
chord of music, no matter how rich
the tones, how perfect the intervals,
of which it is composed, if incessantly
reiterated becomes first tiresome,
then maddening. What we want in
our . gardens is not - one chord, nor
even one pretty tune, but a symphony,
beginning with the delicate tremolo
of snow drops and crocus, and ending
in the grand finale of the chrysanthe
mum, The "bedding-out plants"
speak the idle chatter of afternoon
teas, the hardy plants the language of
poets and philosophers.
LANDSCAPE GARDENING.
The landscape gardener has never
lost sight of those truths, but where
ever given full scope has availed him
self cf the possibilities contained in
many hardy plants almost forgotten,
or indifferently regarded by the
present generation. Believe me, our
great-grandparents knew precisely
what they are about; their gardens
had a dignity and grace, a significance,
which our modern ones lack, but
which they need no longer lack. First
must come the conviction of pur mis
take, then careful study of means and
ends. The first cost may be a little
startling, the desired result not as im
mediately apparent as under the old
system, but a garden once stocked
with good, hardy, well-chosen v plants
will be the source of inexhaustible
pleasure and artistic development.
In the end the saving in expense and
labor will be apparent to any one.
Not that hardy plants ne9d no care,
for some of them' require considera
ble, but never that continual fussing
over and pottering about that mere
eummer floweTS demand.
CITY BACK TABDS.
Once again the writer urges the
beautifying of city back yard3. The
American abroad finds nothing more
surprising than the glimp3es of beauty
gained from windows overlooking
court yards and rear enclosures in
foreign cities. A little splashing foun
tain encircled with handsome plants,
rockeries and grottoes wreathed in
vines and ferns, bits of velvet sand
not larger than a dinner napkin, neat
gravel walks, grapes and apricots
trained against the dividing walls,
which are never of unsightly planks
as with us, bnt of good, solid masonry.
Truly we can learn many a lesson of
thrift and beauty from the "effete cit
izens" of European countries. Let
us then rise as ons man and banish
ash barrel and garbage pail from our
back yards, and make them little oasis
of verdure if not of bloom. Few are
the spots where nothing will grow,
thanks to bountiful nature's adaptive
ness. Study your ground. Note where
the sunshine falls earliest and remains
longest; note if there is any spot where
water settles and remains after rains
or melting snows. This last spot
should be given an outlet by draining
it into an alley. Or it may be deeply
dug, say three feet, and a layer of
stones, cinders or bricks placed at the
bottom before anything is planted
upon it. No plants can long survive
water settling and freezing about the
roots.
THE PRACTICAL DETAILS.
Layout your beds generously, grudg
ingly allowing for domestic purposes.
Examine the soil and supply what it
lacks. If you do not trust your own
judgment in this, get some one who
knows to advise you. Devote at least
as much thought to all these prepara
tions as you would to the planning of
a new gown or luncheon party, and to
the selection of what shall be planted
a thousand times more. (All beds and
borders are the better for being raised
somewhat in the middle.) Inform
yourself of the nature of the plants
you desire to cultivate. If possible,
visit all the fine gardens and lawns
within reach. No matter how inferior
your own resources, some valuable
hints are sure to be obtained, and pro
fessional gardeners and florists are
generally willing to talk to people who
appreciate their work. Study works
on floriculture, make diagrams of beds
and arrangements, plant imaginary
gardens and, finally, decide on what
seems most likely to succeed well un
der the existing conditions. Allow a
margin for the evanescent summer
flowers, annuals, etc., which help out
wonderfully, especially in the first
season or two, and be sure to plan for
a succession of bloom. Such a garden
once started is as satisfying as a good,
solid bank account.
' NATURE AND ART.
Study lor natural and picturesque
effects. Mass your plants.- a clump
of peonies here, another oMilies there,
a group of spirea in one place, of rud
beckia in another, of scarlet phlox or
ornamental grass elsewhere. Around
the roots of Lardy shrubs plant narcis
sus; in grassy corners, which the lawn
mower must not invade, plant our na
tive lilies, the scarlet "Turk's cap" or
a great clump of tiger lilies. In the
borders, too, plant in clamps tall
growing plants down the middle;
lower ones along the edges not i:i
stiff rows, but as if dropped accident,
ally by spring in her joyous flight.
This is true gardening, that rests and
refreshes eye and soul.
SUCCESSIVE EFFECTS.
, Perhaps it would not bo amiss to
suggest how these successive effects
may be obtained. Suppose prepara
tions to have been made in the fall, as
they should be, and coufining our
selves to hardy, permanent bulbs and
plants exclusively, here, in brief, is
about what the amateur gardener may
have almost without effort after tho
first planting: March and Apri',
crocuses, snow-drops, hardy violets,
pansies, anemones, daffodils, lilies of
the valley, flowariug almonds, tulips;
May aud June, many of the above men
tioned, roses of all sorts, irises of vari
ous sorts and colors, June lilies (L.
Cendidum), Columbines, foxglove?,
pinks, spireas, dentzias, peonies, ori
ental poppies in Bhort, June is tho
most prodigal of all the months. Tho
list, could be indeLnitely: extended.
July and August are ihe off months
for many flowering plants. The hybrid
roses are resting; the early blooming
bulbs have vanished from Bight en
tirely. But see what we now have:
Hollyhocks, magnificent in their right
place; Japanese irises, tho golden-
banded lilies (L. duratutn), all other
varieties of lilies belonging to tho
speciosum or Lancefolium family, and
many others; the delphinum or p.iant
larkspur; the phloxes, pure white
(rose) and scarlet, the achillea, a puro
white flower resembling the fever-few;
the August lily, orFuukiajthe hydran
gesa, the rudbeckia, or summer chrys
anthemum a great acquisition to any
collection. Most of these last well
into September.
QUEEN COMES LAST.
Then came the late-blooming anem
ones, a class of hardy plants almost
unknown to the amateur, but onc3
known never dispensed with, and
lastly the chrysanthemum, queen of
autumn, and third in rank iu the floral
kingdom, the rose, being the first, tho
lily second, and how m my more be
sides these, omitted for lack of space,
or through oversight. Add to these
the ever-blooming roses, and see how
eminently easy it ia to have a truly
beautiful permanent garden, that will
be a delight to the artist, and a con
tinual feast to the possessor.
Add to these, if ona wishes, some of
the finer annuals, and foliage plants,
and, as a matter of course, vines, flow
ering and non-flowering, wherever
vines can find support. -Such a gar
den will be the home of bird, bee and
butterfly, who will give it its final
touch of grace and beauty, and when
she or' he who has planted it passes
on to the undiscovered country it will
remain a precious legacy to the living.
Washington Star.
CURIOUS FACTS.
Game cocks in Porto Rico bring as
high as 100 each.
The chance of two fiagar-prints ba
ing alike is not one in sixty-four bil
lions. Milk weed condemned a.T poison
in this country ia a staple article of
food in Tyrol.
The capital of Herzegovnia ha3 a
man named Gjujrja, who is 100 year3
old, and boast3 of 135 descendants.
Seal flesh, though perfectly black,
is matchless for flavor, tenderness, di
gestibility and for heat giving power.
, It is believed to be bad luck to cut
the finger nails on Friday, and mani
curists say their business is lightest
on that day.
Among birds the swan . lives to bo
the oldest, in extreme cases reaching
300 years; the falcon has Jjccn knewn
to live over 102 years.
A clock is being constructed for
Liverpool Street Station, in London.
The interior of iti case could allow
five persons to dine comfortably.
The stairway leading to the tower
of the Philadelphia City Hall contains
598 steps,' and is said to be tho tallest
continuous stairway in the world..
Every inhabitant of the Austrian
village of Storbeck is a ohess player.
The children are taught to play chess
just as they are taught to read and
write.
The longest tunnel in the world is
that of St. Gothard, on the line of the
railroad between Lucerne and Milan,
Italy. Its length is nine .. and one
half miles.
There were in 1760 over three
fourths of a million people living
south of Philadelphia, and Charleston
and Baltimore were the only cities of
any importance south of Philadelphia
Paul Brown, who died at his home
near Sedalia, Mo., the other day, at
the age of 108, was called the Miss
ouri Samson. When he was ninety
eight years old he carried logs six
teen feet long from a clearing to his
farm house, where he split them into
fence rails. On his one hundred and
eighth birthday he jumped over tho
back of a kitchen chair to. show his
agility. - - . . ,--
Kaiser Succors a Soldier's Flancoa.
While the Emperor, of Germany
was viewing the drill of tne Twenty
seventh Field Artillery at Mayence he
witnessed the death of a gunner, who
bad - carelessly handled his piece.
His Majesty was deeply moved and
fihook the dying man's hand. He in
quired what his last wishes were and
has since sent the man's fiancee a let
ter of condolence, inclosing a large
ma o? money, . . ..
Ay
2, 1899. NO. 10.
CATTLE RANCHING BOOM.
THE HICH PRICE OF BEEF REVIVES A
LANGUISHING INDUSTRY.
How a Herd Is Grown In the Southwest
Cliangcs In tlio Uusines6 Arizona as a
Cattle-Ground Methods or tlie Cow
boysStampedes Tlieir Terrors.
USING the past
few weeks the
rise in tho price
of beef has di
rected attention
anew to the
ranching busi
ness. It had
fallen into a state
of decadence
owing to the poor returns of the past
few years, but it is certain that it will
now take on a boom.
The most conservative recent esti
mates of the cattle industry of Arizona
and New Mexico put the invested
capital at $56,000,000. This includes
the value of the ranges and the tost
of cattle, ranch houses, cowboys'
horses, and a thousand and one articles
that comprise an up-to-date working
cattlo range. All grade3 of cattle
bring very profitable prices now, and
the ranges and cowboys have seldom
been in better spirits. There are a
score of men, living in rude adobe
houses with mud floors and having
few of the modern conveniences and
comforts of life, who have made great
fortunes in cattle ranching in the
Southwest territories in the last thirty
years. About a dozen of these men
have property worth easily from $1,
200,000 to $2,000,000 each, and sell
cattlo each year for $60,000 and even
$30,003. John Akers, of New Mexico,
who solif'over $90,000 worth of cattle
last year, and whase lauded posses
ions are over 70,000 acres, lives in
nn adobe house with his Mexican wife
and nine children. He cannot read
or write, and has been out of the terri
tory but twice in twenty years.
Stock-raising in the West begau to
bs a business at about the close of the
Civil War, when meat, as well as other
kinds of food, increased so much in
price. The Mexican ranchers in Texas
owned immense herds of semi-wild
cattlo of inferior breed, which roamed
over the prairies in herds of from fifty
to cno hundred thousand, of little
value to their owners in the absence
of a market. When beef began to be
scarce at the Ncrth, a few Govern
ment contractors drove some small
bunche3 of cattle from Texas over the
weary trail which has since become
historic, for the uso of tho Northern
armies. In those days steers coald
be bought for six dollars, and 6old at
tho end of their two or three months'
journey for thirty-five. The profits
were enormous; the secret leaked out;
men with large capital and unfettered
by Government contracts took up the
traffic, and until the easy-going Texan
rancheros discovered what profits were
being made, and "cut things finer,"
capital was doublod in a few months.
More than one-half of Arizona's area
offers good grazing. There is no in
tense cold, very little building of
barns or corrals is necessary, nor is it
indispensable to store winter food.
Black and white gamma grass, bul?ch
and mesqnite grasses, grow on plateau
and valley, mesa end mountain so
abundantly that after the rains of July
and August the country roll3 a billowy
sea of living green. Gamma grass is
particularly nutritious.
Stock-raising in the Southwest ter
ritories, where the conditions for the
industry are so favorable, and where
so little capital is required, is an at
tractive occupation. The intending
stockman, supposing him to have
about $3000 capital, either takes
"squatter's right," by building a hut
on unsnrveyed land, or buys 160 acres
from the Government at a nominal
price. A house need not cost more
than $100. Provisions bought, there
is no expense but the wages of the
cowboys, each one of whom, for $30
monthly pay, will take care of about
250 cattle.
Cowboys may be divided into two
classes those recruited from Texas
and other States on the eastern slope,
and Mexicans from the Southwestern
region. Mexicans are unrivalled as
cowboys splendid riders, hardy, born
to the business but they have a bad
reputation, and are quarrelsome and
unreliable. Americans are perhaps
less skilled, but they are more order
ly. The cowboy tracks his animals as
Indians do game; dismounting, he
leads his pony and follows patiently
faint tracks in the dust which, after
all, may prove to be those of unshod
ponies.
The most important matter for the
stockman is how to get his cattle. He
can buy them "on the range," which
is the quickest but the most expensive
way. The cattlo are bought so many
head, "more or less," but this mode
leaves a good many openings for sharp
witted guile, to which the novice may
fall a victim. The best way for the
newly arrived 6ettler is to make a con
tract with some responsible drover for
a number of cattle, breed and age
specified, about seventy-five per cent,
of the cows to have calve?, the pur
chaser to be free to reject any animals
not in good condition when delivered
at his ranch.
The third way of procuring stock,
which was originally the only one,.- is
to go to Texas, Oregon, or Utah, the
three best sources from which to draft
cattle, buy the animals in "bunches"
from, different owners, and start home
ward with them as soonas the spring
sun causes the grass to crop up on the
prairies. Biding on trail is an under
taking requiring the natural talent of
a trapper and some of the astuteness
of a commander, adroitness, firmness,
a quick eye, and a quicker hand with
the revolver. Great mountains have
to be crossed; vast stretches of dreary,
plains have to be traversed; rivers full
of dangerous quicksands, in which
whole herds have been known to perish, j
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and streams given to sudden fresheU
must be forded; long expanses of bar
ren alkaline desert, where for forty or
fifty miles not a drop of precious water
is to be found, must be passed over
and all this with a crowd of semi-wild
cattle, just taken from their pathless
home, unaccustomed to the sight of
human beings, and easily startled in
to a general stampede; and through
countries where Indians, if not ac
tually hostile, are always ready for a
haul, and where white marauders
"rustle" systematically for a living.
Thunderstorms, the chief danger
through the summer months- in these
regions, are terrifying to cattle. On
the approach of one, the herd should
be collected in as small a space as
possible, while the men should con
tinually ride around them, calling to
each other in tones not too loud; for,
like horses, cattle derive courage from
the voice and presence yf man. Some
times, however, a steer more alarmed
than the rest, and unable to oontain
his terror, will make a dash through
an opening in the guardian chain.
His example is sure to be followed,
and in two minutes the whole herd
will have stampeded a surging mass
of bellowing, terrified beasts, rushing
headlong through the storm.
Once fairly started, they will run
for twenty, thirty, perhaps forty miles
at a stretch, many of the cattle being
killed by falls or trodden to death,
while "bunches" stray from the main
herd and disappear forever. It is
dangerous work, and many a cowboy
has lost his life in a stampede. The
run has taken the cattle far off the
trail, and led them perhaps into close
vicinity to hostile Indians or crafty
"Greasers." Often on these occa- .
sions men do not leave their saddles,
except to chadge horses, for thirty-six
hours.
Arrived at the ranch, the cattle are
branded, and then carefully dis
tributed, some here, a few miles
farther on others, and so on, until the
whole herd is "turned out." If young
steers are kept two years on the
range, they can be sold as four-year-olds
at an increases in value of from
ten to fifteen dollars per head; thus
the ranchman nearly doubles his capi
tal in that short time, providing his
losses do not exceed five percent, and
he has luck on his side.
In connection with the cattle busi
ness the truth that "a man out West
is a man" is asserted by the poorest
cowboy. That marked feature of
America," social equality, must never
be forgotten by settlers fresh from the
East. The cowboy asserts his perfeet
equality with all comers, and let a
"tenderfoot" once get the name of be
ing possessed by unsocial pride, there
will not be a man in the cattle region
who while otherwise he would read
ily share his last bite or sup with the
etranger will not, for his real or sup
posed arrogance, be eager to spite and
injure him. In no business is popu
larity more indispensable, in no walk
of life is a man so dependent upon the
good will of his neighbors as in stock
raising on the plains of the West.
New York Post.
Plants That Seem to Keason.
'Do plants think?" said a St. Mary
planter. "Have they powers of rea
son or any way of determining what
is going on around them? The ques
tions seem rather fantastic, I admit,
but they are prompted by some very
curious observations made at my home
only a few weeks ago.
"My daughter, who is very fond of
flowers, has a morning glory vine
growing in a box on her window ledge.
While watering it recently she no
ticed a delicate tendril reaching out
toward a nail in the side casing. She
marked the position of the tendril in
pencil on the wood, and then shifted
the nail about an inch lower. Next
day tho little feeler had deflected it
self very noticeably, and was again
heading for the nail. The marking
and shifting were repeated four or
five times, always with the same re
sults, and finally one night the ten
dril, which had grown considerably,
managed to reach the coveted sup
port, and we found it coiled tightly
around it. Meanwhile another bunch
of tendrils had been making for a
hook that was formerly used for s
thermometer. Just before it reached
its destination my daughter strung a
cord across the window sash directly
above. It was a choice, then, be
tween the old love and the new, and
as a morning glory always seems to
prefer a cord to anything else, it
wasn't long in making up its mind.
In a very few hours the pale, crisp
little tendrils which, by the way,
convey a surprising suggestion of
human fingers had commenced to lift
toward the twine. Next day they
reached it, and took such a firm grip
that I don't believe they possibly
could have been disengaged without
breaking the fibre. Scientists are no
doubt familiar with such phenomena,
and, if so, I would be very glad to
learn whether they have formulated a
theory on the subject. To me it seems
simply inexplicable." New Orleans
Timea-Deniocrat.
Had Cat Away tbe End.
After pulling in forty or fifty
fathoms of the line, which put his
patience severely to proof, as well as
every muscle of his arms, ne mui
terd to himself, but loud enough to
be overheard by an officer:
"Sure, it's as long as to-day and
to-morrow! It's a good week's work
for any five in the ship. Bad Juck to
the leg or arm it'll lave last! What!
More of it yit? Och, murther! The
say's mighty deep, to be sure!"
After continuing in a similar strain,
and conceiving there was little proba
bility of the completion of his labor, he
suddenly stopped short, and looking up
to the officer on the watch, he ex
claimed: "Bad luck to me, sorr, if I don't
belave somebody's cut off the other
ind o' this. ljnej"--oxrQra vemocnK,