s.. i..'!--C - L .. "-, incroasintr Circulation; NDEX Tho O nly W o o U I v PAPER Published in the Territory ADVERTISIHO 31 E D I U SI Rate Reasonable. JOHN V. HICKS, Editor and Proprietor. DEVOTED TO THE INTEREST OP -HERTFORD AND AD JOINTNQ COUNTIES. S 1 .50 Per Annum Lying between the Roanoke and Motu rnn rivers, embracing the three counties cf Hertford, Northampton and Rcrtic. VOL. II. MURFREESBORO, N. C, -FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1887. NO. 52. MURFREESBORO C3-OOID COMPENSATION. If Joy and Perfectness have crowned a day, Alas! we say, this gracious day is done, The gods will never send us such an one Again, however we may strive and pray. But if in woe that knowth no allay Full 6low the anguish -harrowed hours have run Our hearts grow lighter with the setting sun, For then wo feel that all hours pass away. 'Now some are bound to Life with golden bands And Life to these is passing sweet arid dear; They fain would linger in each lovely year And shun the pilgrimage to unknown lands. But souls that sorrow know not any fear "When Death draws nigh with healing in his hands. Graham 12. Tomson, in Scribner. OTL BARTON'S CLAIM. Phil Barton was a big, raw-boned man. lle had a sloop to his shoulders and a sort of chronic scowl on his face. He was middle-aged and unmarried, with no very good prospect of changing lib latter condition. He was not a harfd- . f ome man and far from an even-tempered man. In fact he sometimes played the well-known part of the exceedingly dis agreeable man from Bitter Creek though to do him justice he had only occasionally indulged in those little cc-'t-entricities of character which were so marked in the gentleman from the Creek. Only when somebody jumped Ins claim thru yir. Barton was reluctantly forced to admit that he hailed from Bitter "Crock. Not' from Bitter Creek as it is known to ordinary people the Bitter Creek of thw geographer but far up at the very head-waters where the bhek alkali water of Great Bitter Spring gushed out of the volcanic soil where .Bitter Creek was born that wa3 the humble birth-place and subsequent point of residence of the speaker, Mr Phil Jhirton. And of c'ourse it was wholly un cessary for him to say anything about the fact that the residents of Bitter Creek grew worse the higher up the ( reek you travel this remarkable pecu liarity of the residents was too well known. But to. return to Mr. Barton's claim it was a lamentable fact it was always being "jumped. " ''Claim jumping" is a light and divert ing form'- of recreation always more or le.-s iridulirt d in bv Dakotians in such portions of the territory where there is (lovernment I arid op,'n to settlement and being settled. It consists of moving "on the claim of some other person who has not yet secured a title to his laud from the (Jovernment, and instituting a "con test" at the land office. If the law is allowed to take its course and the aggressive-party can prove that the other Has not complied with all the requirements of "the . department of the interior the right to live on the claim and finally ac quire a deed to it is given him ; if he can-' not he has the trouble and the costs, which pile up to the consternation of all except the lawyers and officials for noth ing and the original claimant remains in the possession of the land. But when the country is new, the land choice and the claim-hunters numerous, the law is not always allow:ed to take its course. In fact it frequently isn't. And the sur prising swittness with which the unfor tunate claim-jumper is sometimes re moved from the land and his few effects thrown after him is only equaled by the astonishing manner in which this aggres sive 'personage will sometimes secrete himself in his frail house aud welcome the original claimant With an old shot gun loaded with rirlc balls and ten-penny nails. . t As I said before, Phil Barton's claim was frequently jumped. Probably the - easiest way to account for this is on the supposition that it was jumpablc if I may be allowed the word. He didn't comply with the law. His improvements were not sufficient. He failed to live on it with that regularity and persistency which the law supposes. Not that scarcely any one did all the law is sup posed to expect, but the gentleman under consideration didn't even do all the eommuuity expected, and the result was invariably, as he expressed it, "more A. 1.1- 1 t . a. 1 - , , irouuie oout mat ciaim o- mine. "I thought I'd die a laughin'," said Judge Posey, of Buffalo City, as he sat in i.:. .'tK 11V T J. A - J his uma-. iuu miow a was out to-uay locatin' that Wisconsin man. Well, I . seen Phil Barton out on his claim, in 1 2U-G., a bavin' it with that 3Iinnesota man. Says Phil : 4 Look a-hear, ye l 4 i e i. i my claim!' 'Ye bet I have,' says the Minnesota man, 'an' ye'll find me what they call a stayer.' ' Now ye want 'o git!' says Phil. 'Git yerself!' says MLRta. .'I'll lick ye tm ye can't sagger alone I '' says Phil. 'Come on ! ' hp wis 3Iinnesota. 'One minute to leave a f take yer truck!' says Phil. 'Ye'll l'Hd me right here in this here identical St a hundred years from now!' says Minnesota. 'I see I've got 'o lift ye up an' h'ist yeoff'n the place!' says Phil. 'Well, talk won't do it!' says Minnesota. Then they Avent at it. Phil banged him one in the eye and the Minnesota man brought him an under-cut. Then they clinched an' rolled, an' tore, an' pounded, an: pulled, an' got up an' pounded, but pretty soon Phil got him down an' set on him, an' says he: "Now, whose c!aim is this?! 'I guess it b'longs to a man "bout your size,' say sf the Minnesota man, an' so Phil lets him up an' he picks up his duds an' vamcoses, Phil keepin' the lumber in his house for hi trouble. It's 'bout the quickest way to settle a contest,"! ever seen," continued the Judge "no witnesses or postponements or appeals or waitin' or nothin', jes' pull yer coat an' wade in. But thunder," he added, "it u'd berough on us lawyers if they all done that way." The unfortunate Minncsotian was not the only man who rose and fell on Bar ton's claim in much the same way. "It's gittin, 'most so they move on ev'ry morn m' an' I move 'em off ev'ry night," said Barton himself, as he stood on a street corner of Buffalo City. "I tell ye that claim berlongs to mean' I'm goin' t'hold it. I'm a peace'ble law-abidin' American cit'zen, but when anybody tries t' beat me out o' my home there's goin' t' be trouble. There won't be no lawin' nothin' but jes' straight fight in' an' lots ov it. Them as hops ontcr that claim with the idee o' holdin' it, will find that I'm a fighter right from ' Thumper's Corners, A. i rra ri iiuiiTir -v m t r - - r i - Awn . - vui.j v xuai iuwu as move ou. kin look out the winder an' see old Phil Barton comin like & slycone, an they want o' git while they're able t' move about I I aint no spring chicken, an when it comes t', fightin' they'll find I was raised 'way back over Roaring Ridge! Ye hear me,! gentlemen !" , "But how about the widder Baxter," said Judge Posey, "I heered she moved on yer claim an' has put up a shack." "The widder blank!" sa'd the aston ished man from Roaring Ridge. "Yes, they say she's on yer place.' "That one with the black eyes?" "Yes." I "The one what teached the school down at Dead Lake an' licked the big boy an' shoved out the school pff'cers?" . "Same one." j "She's got a dog, too." "Yes big yeller an' white cuss." , "I seen him killin' cats down at BufTlo one day. .He had 'env stacked, up there like hay." j "Yes, I heered 'bout it. What d'ye think ye'll do 'bout thejwidder, Phil?" - "W'y w'y ye see, Jedge, I reckon the widder'll have t' go. I don't take none too much stock in these women no how,an' my 'sperience has been that wid ders air the wuss kind. I aint been out t' my place fer two or three weeks- I reckon I'll mosey out in themornin' an' see hqw the land lays." ! , t. Then this man, whose earliest recollec tions was of looking down into the dark waters of Bitter Creek and up at the pre cipitous sides of Roaring Ridge, walked away with a troubled vision of black-eyed widows and spotted, cat-killing dogs. The next day Burton went out to his place, but somehow j he didn't get any farther. Away down on the other corner he could see a small board shanty. He rightly coniectured that it was the widow's house. But he thought it would do just as well to go down after a day or two. He would think about it lor awhile. The SVidow Baxter was a lady of rather uncertain age though by no means old. She hgfd come out from Indiana a year be fore nnd in that space of time had workd up a reputation for being excep tionally able to take care of herself." Alfer a tew clays Mr. tsarton, late oi Bitter Creek, determined to go down and see if he could not induce the widow to move. He had serious doubts as to the success of) his mission, but it had to be done; so he started out. Before leaving he carefully washed his face and hands in the kettle in which he usually boiled his potatoes his possessions not including anything nearer to a washbowl brushed his clothes with the horse-brush and put on a clean shirt, all of which was rather remarkable when we consider his before-named nativity. He walked down across the quarter-section rather slowly, but arrived near the objectionable shack at last. As he did bo, to his horror he saw the white-and-yellow dog sitting in front of the door with his fore legs spread very far apart and a nervous, uneasy drooping of the lower lip. - As he went past the widow's cow,which was picketed near the house, she hooked at him. He ran a few yards to avoid her and when he looked at the dog he thought he detected a smile play ing around the mouth of that intelligent animal, while a calf near by uttered a low "bar-r-r!" and a pig squealed, a rooster flew up on the edge of the pen and crowed while the hen cackled. Evident ly the widow's whole family was against him they all seemed to be applauding the action of the cow to which animal must certainly be awarded first blood figuratively speaking. He pretended not to notice these taunts of the live stock and, walking up to the door, reached but to knock. . But he didn't know that! the dog had made a rule against it. j But he had and enforced it personally. The dog didn't say anything but made a vicious and Unwelcome spring at his throat. Our friend withdrew his throat from the immed'ate scene of hostilities. But the dog followed. He tried backing up and kicking at the brute part of the time with both feet but he never hit him and once the dog bit through the toe of his boot. So he concluded to run. There wasn't a good prospect across the prairie with his own house the only one in sight, so he started around the widow's. It was ten feet"by twelve in size, and as he ran very close to it it necessitated some very short turns. He went around three or four times and the dog followed. He gained on the animal a little on the turns but lost along the sides. Occasion ally the white-and-yellow cur took a bite at his legs and once he leaped up on his back and knocked off his hat. About this time Mr. Barton executed a wild leap and scrampled up on the low, tar-paper-covered roof of the shack. The dog didn't seem to be able to follow though he acted as if he was going to be very gOQd on the watch. But that was an improvement. And though he was still subject to the taunts and jeers of the live stock and domestic fowls, he never theless felt much relieved. But the feel was short-lived. The door opened and the widow herself came out ! She wasn't very large but her eyes were blacker than ever. And she had a shotgun in - her hands. I "AVhat ye doin' up'n the roof o' my house?" she demanded with feaaful em phasis. I "Mis' Baxter," said the brave Mr. Bar ton, who had removed scores of objec tionable men from j his claim and had come down to see that the widow also went, "Mis' Baxter, I come over t' see how ye were gittin' 'long an' if there was any 'sistance I could (render ye. Haint ye got no chain fer that dog?" "Shut up 'bout that dog! Ye didn't come fer no such thing ye come to try to make me git. off 'n this place!" "Ye hain't goin' though, be ye?" he in quired Anxiously, and at the same time diplomatically and guardedly. "No, sir I hain't!! "I knowed ye wasn't I knowed itall the time ! Say, what ye goin' t' do 'bout thatdog?" j "Shut up' I say ! I Now ye ever goin' to mosey 'round here 'bout this claim 'gin?" I : "No marm." ! "If I let ye down air ye goin' to make tracks up 'cross the quarter to yer own ranch?" "Yes marm." j "Tige, come here! ! Now Mr. Barker, you slide down off'n that roof an' don't ye git into the rain bar'l either, an' then scoot fer home or this dog'll chew ye up till ye'll feel 'sif the Methodist Church had fell ontcr you !" "AH right, widder good by I" and as Mr. Phil Barton, professional bad man, late of etc., etc., took long stepi through the tall prairie grass it seemed to him as if the cow, and the calf, and the dog,and even the pigs and chickens were all involved in one immense, ; malicious, triumphant grin. After he arrived home he sat down tc think it over and count the wounds the dog had inflicted. : "I reckon when she says she's goin' t' stay that she means it,r he soliloquized. "Wall, blamed if I don't rather like her style! She's got the git up an' git, now I tell ye I" He remained very closely at home foi several days. A dozen times a day he would look around at his lonely room, sigh and then say: "Blamed if I don't like her style!" And at last his horse brush and the potato kettle "were again brought into service for other than theii regular uses and once more he started forth to. visit the widow Baxter this time on a much more decided mission. He approached her house from thereat and very cautiously. He had visions ol the dog. Thi3 guardian' was nowhere visible, however, and even the cow seemed to intuitively I understand the nature of his visit and only sniffed the air inquiringly, after the manner of the cow. Still he knew he was treading on a sleeping volcano. But he had a plan. He crept up through the long grass to the back of the house, stepped up on the water barrel and very quietly drew himself up on. the roof. Then he laid down and looked over the front edge and kicked on the roof with his toes. Low, harsh, ominous barks came from the house. The volcano was beginning to rumble. Then the firm tread of the widow was heard, the door opened, the dog shot out and the widow followed with the shotgun! ' 'Mis' Baxter, " said Barton with a grin, "how d'ye do!" She wheeled around quickly and saw him on the roof. " j "Hey ? You here again?" she said in a loud voice, while the dog made insane efforts to gain the roof. ; "Oh, don't be scart I jes' come down 'cause I had a little matter t' speak of." ' "Scart! Do I act scart? Did I act scart before?" "Oh no, no, course not I meant er- 5J "Ye don't know what ye did mean! Now you come down an' git or I'll help Tige up where ye air !" f "Don't do that, Mis' Baxter no need of it. I come down .on a very friendly matter." "Go 'head then don't lay! there like a bump on a log!" "Remark'bly friendly matter, Mis' Baxter." ' "Well, out with it, ye old fool!" "W'y yes I will. Y'esee I want 'o tell ye something." "Tell it then !" I "Well, ye see, Mis' Baxter, the fact is, blamed if I don't kinder like yer style!" "There, that's jes' it jes' zactly what I suspected all the time ! Ye can't en courage these men a bit 'thout some thing o' this kind I orter filled ye plum full o' shot the first time ye ', were here and then there wouldn't been none o' this kind o' talk!" "Mis' Baxter, don't ack so mean t' a feller ! I have a great likin' fer yer style I an' want 'o marry ye, if agree'ble !" "Lor sakes, I knowed it frum the first ! An' then some day ye'll throw it up to me that, I led ye on, Mr. Barker." "No I won't, never. 'Sides, my name aint Barker it's Barton 'Mis' Barton, hey? Mis' Phil Barton? How does that strike ye ?" "I reckon ye low to marry me an' get the deed to this land yerself an' I don't have nothin'?" "W'y w'y I'd have to, ye know, if we was married:" ' 'Then we won't be married. I tell ye ; you move off'n it six months till I prove up, an' then I'm blamed if I won't have ye, Mr. Barton -though I reckon we'd better live in my house, 'cause I notice ye haint got no tar'-paper on yours." "Call off the dog, Mis' Mis' " "My name's Julia call me Jule." "Call off the dog, Jule." Mr . Barton descended, and the widow said, addressing the dog: "There now, Tige, don't bite him no more 'less yer told to. Come in an' sit down, Phil, an' rest awhile an' try a piece o' my wild strawberry pie." One day the next spring Judge Posey had just returned from a drive into the country. He put his feet up on the desk and leaned back to rest, saying: "I was past the place Phil Barton used tc have. The widder Baxter that was 'pears to have the place an' him too. He was talkin' to me an' says he: 'Jedge, I 'low to put taters on that tstrjp down by the pump.' 'What ye ; goin' to put on it?' asked the widder as she come out. 'Taters,' says Phil. 'Pertaters?' says she. ' Yes, taters,' says he 4I 'low ye won't do no such thing I nvant beans on that air strip," says the widder. 'Taters 'u'd be better,' says Phil 'Whose farm is this?' says the widder. Then Phil turns to me again, an says he : 'Jedge, I reckon it'll be beans on that air strip!"' Da lota Bell. Poor Pnssy's Pelt. It is estimated that not less than 9, 000,000 kittens are annually brought intc this sinful world. Of these the great ma jority are miserably drowned a practice which is destined shortly to be done away with by the recognition of the cat as a fur-bearing animal. Rugs i of selected maltese and tortoise shell are already quite expensive, and excellent imitations of va rious furs are made of this material. Tax idermists, too, are advertising for kittens by the thousand to stuff for ornamental purposes. At present the only purpose to which they are applied in this country, is the manufacture of carriage robes, but vast numbers of them are sent to Europe, where they are in great demand for coats and hats, dressing-gown linings and other garments. .-'-. The pelts come from all parts of the country. They are gathered, by profes sional collectors, who supply them by the quantity at regular rates. A common cat skid is worth five cents, a pure mal tese ten cents and a black one twenty five cents. The cheap kind must be dyed before making up, butMhe black and maltese are prettier with their color un altered. Acarriage robe of the best cat fur is worth from $40 to $50. 5 There are always plenty of stray cats in the rural districts. The Maine woods are full of them. They increase wonderfully fast, and it is good sport popping them off the fences and stone walls along the roadside. Boston Herald. BUDGET OF FUN. HUMOROUS SKETCHES . FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. An Infallible Slfrn-PeedInaTrrnps-Xo Occasion to be Afraid A Bad Standing Practising Economy. Etc., Etc. "That peddler must have very good bananas," remarked Merritt. j "I guess I'll go over and get some." j " What makes you think they are good?" asked Cobwigger. I "Because," returned Merritt; -I see the policeman samples them every time no passes. j uaqe. - Feeding Tramps. "I don't believe in feeding tramps at the door," said Mrs. Crimsonbeak. You feed them once and they are sure to come back.' "Well, I don't know," replied Mrs. Yeast; "I always give them bread when they come to my door, and I can't say that I ever knew a tramp to come the second time." "Oh, well. Mrs. Yeast, you make your own bread, do you not?" . This was all that was said, land yet Mrs. Yeast went down the street like a straw hat on a windy day. Statesman. No Occasion to Be Afraid. "Why don't you propose to her, Joe?" . "Well, I'm half afraid." "She loves you, don't she?" "Oh, awfully." "You agree with her father in politics ?' "Yes," "And with her mother in religion?" "Yes:' "And with her brother as to who is the best pitcher?" "Yes." "' J "Then blow me if I can see what you're afraid of Harper's Bazar. A Bad Standing: "Do you. know anything about the Jefendent's character," asked thecounsel of a colored witness. "I reckon he got one, boss." "You don't understand me. Do you know anything about his standing with the people among whom he moves." "His stan'in', sah?" "Werrybad, sah." "Bad!" "Yessah. YToh see he hab a wooden leg au' natirally takes ter settin' down." Merchant-Traveler. Practising Economy. Omaha Girl "My dear, now that we arc engaged, we should begin to take practical views of life. "Accepted Lover "So I have been thinking." "I feel very much like having some ice cream, but first I want " you to tell me frankly how much money you have in your pocket." , "Just twenty-five cents, and no more coming until pay day." "It's so nice to begin figuring on ex penses of living; seems as if we were married. Have you only twentyfive cents left, dear?" "That's all." ' 'Well, wre will get along with two p'ates to-night, and you save the other five cents for a nest egg, you know." Omaha World. A Fond Father. ! An over-indulgent and recklessly ex trvagant father was lately heard to say to his son, a tender youth of twenty-five, six feet three in height: "Now, Bub, if you'll lick in like the smart youngster you kin be when yer a min' to, an' hoe them five acres o' taters, an' hill-up that ten acre lot o' corn, an' weed out that acre o' onions, an' grub out that back lotr an' cut yer ma her win ter's stove wood, an' split a thousand rails, an' weed the turnip patch, and do a few other little chores, I'm blamed if I won't give you fifty cents to go to the circus with ! Yes, I will I . An' if you'll hoe down the jimson weeds in that ten acre lot o' seed corn I'll throw in ten cents extry that you kin layout in lemmy-nade an' peanuts ! Blamed if I don't bleevein payrents lettin' their chil dren have some enjiyment in this world." Tid-Bits. She Was Ready to Lend. Borrowing Neighbor "Have you a drawing of tea to lend me this morning, Mrs. Greene?" Mrs. Greene "In deed I have not, Mrs. Maloney." ! Mrs. Maloney "Then have you a cup ful of sugar against next Saturday night, sure?" Mrs. Greene "Not a drop of sugar have I in me house, Mrs. Maloney." Mrs. Maloney "And could you spare the children two or three slices of bread till me old man gets his pay?" j Mrs. Greene "We haven't so much as a crust of bread in the house, ashamed am I to say it." ! Mrs. Maloney "Then in heaven's blessed name, what have you at all at all?" Mrs. Greene "Weve a house full of measles and mumps and scarlet fever and plenty to spare. Which will you have?" The borrowing neighbor quietly sub sided. Chicago National. X Stem Winder, j Stiggins was passing a watchmaker's establishment, and looking into the win dow he noticed a very pretty girl at the counter. "Ha!" he soliloquized, "I'll go in and take a look at her under some pretext or other." He entered, and was waited on by the young lady's father. "What can I do for you?" "I want to get a key for my watch," he stammered, feasting his eyes on the young lady. "Let me see your watch," said the watchmaker. ' . ; . As if in a dream he took out his watch. The watchmaker examined it, and said with surprise : "Why, your watch is a stem-winder." Stiggins don't remember how he got out, but he does remember that the young lady smiled audibly at his discomfiture. Jewelers' Weekly. " ! Driving Home the Crackers. It was an amusing sight, a few weeks since, to see one of those stiff, upright, imitation English coachmen sitting on his box in front of a grocery store, whip Well poised, reins properly grasped in white gloved hands, gaze directed straight forward between the ears of the well groomed horses. Anon out comes a clerk from the storo with a well fiilled paper bag, opens the carriage door, places the bag within up on the seat, and reclosea the door with a slam. Scarce had he turned away when the coachman started off his team with a stately trot, nor halted till he arrived at the mansion of a wealthy resident in an aristocratic quarter, before which he halted and solemnly waited. In a few minutes a maid servant rushed out. - "Why, what is the matter John? Where are the ladies?" "Eh? Hinside, I suppose. Cara't you hopen the door?' "Open the door! V Why, there no one in the carriage. Where did you drive from?" " Bless my 'art ! no one there? Why, I just drove from the grocery store and 'eard the coach door shut when they got in." "Got in! Why, they did not get in, and you have given a bag of soda crackers a ride home and left the ladies behind." Such was the case, and the solemn Jolm went back at a brisker pace, resolv ing to trust to eyes rather than ears for th; future. Boston Bulletin. How Stonewall Jackson Fell. After night fell, Stonewall Jackson rode out with his staff to reconnoitre in front of the line he had gained. It was his idea to stretch completely around the rear of Hooker and cut him off from the river. The night was dark and Jackson soon came upon the Union lines. Their in fantry drove him back, and as he re turned in the darkness his own soldiers began firing at their commander, of course mistaking his party for the enemy. Jackson was shot in the hand and wrist, and in the upper arm at the same time. His horse turned, and the General lost his hold of the bridle rein; his cap was brushed from his head by tie branches; lie reeled and was caught in the arms of an officer. After a moment" he was as sisted to dismount, his womd was ex amined," and a litter was brought. Just then the Union artillery opened again and a murderous fire came down upon the party through the wools and the darkness. One of tho litter bearers stumbled and fell, and the others were frightened; they laid the litter on the ground, the furious storm of shot and shell sweeping over them like hail. Jackson attempted to rise, but his aid-de-camp held him down till the tempest of fire was lulled. Then the wounded General was helped to rise and walked a few steps in the forest ; but he became faint and wa3 laid again in his litter. Once he rolled to the ground when an assistant was shot, and the litter fell. Just then General Pender, one of his subordinates passed. He stopped and said ; "I hope you are not seriously hurt, General. I fear I shall have to retire my troops they are so much broken. v But Jackson looked up at once and ex claimed: "You must hold your ground, General Pender, you must hold your ground, sir!" This was the last order he ever gave. He was borne some distance to the near est house and examined by the surgeon, and after midnight his left arm was am putated at the shoulder. When Lee was told that his most trusted Lieutenant had been wounded, he was greatly distressed, for the rela tions between them were almost tender. "Jackson has lost his left arm," said Lee, "but I have loit my right arm." St. Nicholas. Life on the Moon. There is reason for thinking that the moon is not absolutely airless, and, while it has no visible bodies of water, its soil may, after all, not be entirely -arid and desiccated. There are observations which hint at visible changes in certain spots that could possibly be caused by vegeta tion, and there are other observations which suggest the display of electric iuminosity in a rarified atmosphere cov ering the moon. To declare that no pos sible form of life can exist under the con ditions prevailing upon the lunar surface would be saying too much, for human in telligence cannot set bounds to creative power. Yet, within the limits of life, such as we know them, it is probably safe to assert that the moon is a dead and de serted world. In other words, if a race of beings resembling ourselves, or resembling anv of our contemporaries in terrestrial life, ever existed upon the moon, they must long since have perished. That such beings may have existed-is possible, par ticularly if it is true, as generally be lieved, that the moon once had a com paratively dense atmosphere and water upon its surface, which have now, in the process of cooling of the lunar globe, been withdrawn into its interior. It certainly does not detract from the interest with which we study the rugged and beauti ful scenery of the moon to reflect that if we could visit those ancient sea-bottoms, or explore those glittering mountains, we might, perchance, find there some re mains or mementoes of a race that flour ished, and perhaps was all gathered again to its fathers, before man appeared upon the earth. Popular Science. Insect Wonders. Spiders have four paps for spinning their threads, each pap having 1,000 holes, and the fine web itself is the union of 4,000 threads. No spider spins more than four webs, and when the fourth is destroyed they seize on the web of oth ers. , A single female house fly produces in one season 20,080,320. A wasp's nest usually contains 15,000 or 16,000 cells. A queen bee will lay 2,000 eggs daily, for fifty days and the eggs are hatched in three days. A swarm of bees contains from 10,000 to 20,000 in a natural state; m a hive from 30,000 to 40,000 bees. Every pound of cochineal contains 70,000 insects boiled to death,, and from 000,000 to 700,000 pounds are annnally brought to Europe for scarlet and crim son dyes. , Two thousand nine hundred silkworms are required to produce one pound of silk ; but it takes 27,000 spiders to produce one pound of web. " SPLITLOG." AX INDIAN 1YIIO IS A MILLION AIRE IIAILHOAD nUlLDMIt. His Farly Love Tor Machinery and Adventures The Various Steps by which He Ac quired a Fortune. Mathias Splitlog is a full-blooded Wyandotte Iudian, aud was born in an Indian village in Canada, and shortlv'af tcrwards moved to Ohio. While a" boy he w.u apprenticed to a carpenter and millwright, and, although his wages were only $7 per month, young Splitlog thought he was getting rich. He im bibed a love for machinery and inven ventions, which has caused him to lend a helping hand to many a poor fellow who had a useful invention which onjj needed money to develop it and make it pay. SplitlogY first venture was to build a steamboat,whichhedid in company with his brother. Thev launchod the- lxat upon the St. Clair "River and started in the fishing trade. Uncle Sam soon le came jealous of the boys, and confiscated the boat on a charge of smuggling. In 1842 the Wyandottcs, who were tht last of the Indian tribe? then in Ohio, by the treaty of the Upper Sandusky, ceded to the United States their lands in that State, and received in exchange land in what is now Wyandotte county. ivansas. in 1843 Splitlog came est with some of his tribe and found, after his arrival at West Port Landing (now Kansas City), that he only had fifty cents in his pocket. He induced an ol.l Indian to go his security for the price of an axe. With this axe he cut cordwood for the steam!wats at the rate of twenty five cents per cord, and after paying foi. the axe, which cost $3, he soon saved enough to buy a pony, and shortly after ward we rind him with a herd of horses. About 1850 Splitlog was married to tht granddaughter of the old man who went his security for the price of the axe, and shortly afterward he began to build a mill. At this time he had no money to pay for labor, o th.t he did the work himself. He selected the timber, cut and hauled the logs, and then had a "raising," that is, had his neighbors come and help him raise the building. He finished the mill himself, with every thing but the burrs. Those would" cost at that time $150, and Split-log- had no money; still he was determined not "to give up the idea of running a mill." When in th:s di lemma a steamboat, which was unload ing a paif of burrs at the ''landing,'" ac cidentally let them fall overboard, aud they sank to the bottom of the Missouri River. Splitlog, learning ot this, con tracted With the owner to pay him $25 for the burrs and take them up himself, which he eventually did after much trouble and hard-work, and having got the burrs out of the river it took but a short time to get ready to start the mill. The machinery was rigged for horse- )ower, and the day that Splitlog started le hitched in eight unbroken horses from his herd and earned eighty-five cents in cash, aud in the evening he gave this money to his wife and told her to go to Northrup's (Splitlog's present bankers in Kansas City) and buy them something good to eat, as he now had that much money that he did not need. Splitlog's mill was a success, and in 1855 we find him one of the leading men of his tribe. liy the treaty of the Upper Sandusky the Wyandottcs were not al lowed to alienate their lands, but in the year 1855 a new treaty was ma;le between the Wyandottcs and the United States which severed the tribal relations of the Wyandottes. After the adoption of this, treaty Split log began to speculate in real cstate.and, although he can neither read nor write, he has been one of the most successful speculators in the neighborhood of Kansas City, and is to-day worth over a million dollars. About fourteen years ago Splitlog moved to Indian Territory and located on Elk River, near the Mis aouri line, and about four miles from Tiff City, and recently he became in terested in a silver mine in McDonald County, Missouri. With his charcter istic energy he began operations at once. He hired a mining expert named B. F. Requa, from Chicago, to superintend the operations at the mines, and becoming con vinced that to develop the mines and build up the town of Spliilog a railroad was necessary, he, together with his partner in the mines, Mosc3 W. Clay, commenced negotiating with the projectors of the New Orleans, Natchez and Fort Scott Railroad Company, and soon that com pany was formed for the purpose of building a railroad between the terminal points named in their title and running by way of Neosho and Splitlog City. This company being too slow to meet the vigorous ideas of Splitlog and Clay, they severed their connection with the same, and Mathias Splitlog, Moses W. Clay, George Hubbert and others organized the Kansas City, Fort Smith and Southern Railroad Company, with a capital of f 3,000,000, for the pur pose of building a railroad from Kansas City to Fort Smith, passing through Splitlog City and Neosho. This road U now graded for about thirty miles be tween Splitlog City and Joplin, and it is only a question of a few months when the cars will run southward from Joplin to Fort Smith, and Mathias Splitlog, the millionaire Indian, who is probably the richest man of his race, will be known all over the country as the only Indian railroad-man in the United States. Mr. Splitlog has five children four boys and one girl and now lives at Splitlog City, McDonald Count-, Mo. He is like most men' of his race, very taciturn in his habits, seldom speaking in more than monosyllables, still he is far from being disagreeable, because he can make himself clearly understood in very few words, and is a good listener and quick to catch a point in the discun sion of any question; and when he de termines what course to pursue, he be gins at once in the execution of his plans and never ceases until he has ac complished his ends. St. Louis Kejmb Ikan. - ' -' " The title of Generalissimo is used by the Spanish and Italians. It has been used bv the French, Cardinal Richelieu being the first to take it. It is applied to a general in chief who has under him two or more grand division under gener als. The English hare uever used it. KILLED AT A LAUNCH. A Peculia-i Act'hlent n't Milwaukee Many IVrsnns Injured. By a iovuliar ace:. Knit nt th- Luhk hiiu tho hue s.Umier Wm. H. Wolf, at !f it Davidson' ship yar 1 Milw.uik Wk. Thrve pi-ron- won? ki 11 o-.xtriht, .v,-r! others fatnllr injur.-1, alut twenty vri "1: . hurt, an.l a number of others l-v-i - -ri -.:-! v iajumL AK?it 1.0 X) h i l .rsth.-r-l to witness thelaunoh. mI- -ks w J rv I. vossls were cmw.I si a:l ewrv v.v an 1 lum!r j'il was hla k with surU!, l'i rectly oppmit th-; era.lit-l v.-s-sol was t! . lary c-il oSx-k of tht N-r;hu, s . rn Fu I Couuviny. It is a n.f(-.I il k with kv. derru-ks for unUva.lin coal l"i.n tla-r f of this coil hil a nuiiitr if j., - ;.. hi.l ass mt.lil. The viow fnm th.it j. In: was a tine one, as the ve,-l din - tl v toward the ilwk. A tin! wi.lf siru k ti - water, her p.irt tle was Luried innhe 1 :. k water -of tie tdip; then she reeovred n i rolled heavily to jnrt, Th wau r di;.i.v -I by her hull rs liKe a tidal wave an I .w.- t over th3 eoal dn k and up towards ltsr-'. cauin a cloud of coaldiK and -pr-iv. i :. supjorts of the d.x ks were inuri:. i,nt t.. stan I the foree of the wave, and alut f.: t v feet of the shed went down w ith its living freight. I:is nntly the shed went down tl.. r--was wild exeiteisV-nt i the devfc of t!... steimer. A scene of ind.-rila!Me i-i ui-!i ensu.vl, but a few eool-head.sl jn-ople at on , set to .work to rescue the jwoplo thrown into th ? river an I res u tho - l;ried in the d ' brisof tiii platform, l'.itro: wans were sunimon-M, un i th- express wagons were turned into ambulances, and the' deal and injured carriet nw.iv. tvin to the ( i i that mmy eas.sof injuries were no r, t. -1, tha unfor.un it vs b -in hurriel ho:U .. lll t ;li riajjes, it is i:njKssib- to ;u-m-;-i tam tie- full extent of the accident. TAR AND FEATHERS. A Minister Cet.-s II iniself I ilikcl by Preaeliint: l're- Iiove D(K liins T. e Rev CO. Rhodes a Methodi-t pna. S.-r of I-jvcr, Mich., swore out warrant-, for the arrest of lr; VY illiam F. Harrison mil Dr. Wils n, the latter a veterinary sur'-on, ami for twenty eiht others v, Iimm-n.i:n- an not given, for grievous"! odily assault. Mr. llhd"s says that a few davs n; . while die was holding divine erviee at a private house in Kc!i Township, thirty up ;i dis.uisM wit'i fals l-ards an l Mark-;i--d faces, entered the house of Harris n, and Wilson, he says, led the arty. KLdes was seized and struck on the head with a lu!. He was then taken out, his clothes removed, and his body ledauhcd with tar. A feather bed was then cut ojh n and the fvntL.-rs ap plied. He was nexfridden on a rail Hut terriidy maltreated. They dragged him. hi claims, to ards a mill pond on the farm ai: I threat lied to throw him in. but d.-s-st.-d when he said he cou!d not sim. Th-y, however, gave him jx severe well pumping and then another -o it of tar and a cmt ot tine grass, the feathers having given out. lie was finally liberate l more d- ad than alive. Rhodes claims not t know the motive of the jarty, but from another sourc corn-s the statement that the preacher has given great oSTeneo in the community by his fret love doctrines, which he has mixed with free Methodism. Rhodes is an o!d man and a harmless looking creature.. H- sa s th t s m? f the iarty to the outrage f,t l r. atlv stirred up against him localise he has fv pi ed the evil isoings in the township. Hi"' soa and Wilson have U-en arrested, an I their examination is set for Wednes :av. STAGE SPARKS. A -Vif.nnesk statistician compute- that IJszt's eonijositions mimlx-r 1,1'Ji. Veroi will cele!.rate next jear his fifty years' jubilee as an opera comjoser. MRS, Lanctiiv's season opens at, th F.flh Avenue Teeatre, New York, SeptemU r 1 Gilrekt and Sullivan, it is reported, a i thinking of writing a comic opera louri lit on tlic Wild Wdst show. Thomas Keene has fully recovered froi:i his ill health, and will resume his professional labors next season in the l."nited States. MAUD I'oweli the young American vio linist, has closed a three-year's contract to up pear in the principal American an 1 Kuropeau cities. Joseph Hoffman", the infant phenomenon, who plays the piano as no child has don -since the time of Mozart, is coming to Am 1 1 i under the Abloy" management in Novem!-;-. The iersyinnel of the Imperial Theatre in Ht. Petersburg, includes !," emj !oi-s, f whom W ) are musicians, lo choristers. :o,d 400 Russian. Cerrnan, and 1 "n n-h a-.-tor-, actresses and sir.gers. Two new plays by Frank II. How e. a n? ! -niaa who lately gave up the p: aetj,-e of la v to divote himself to play writing, have- h-u accepted by A. L. Palmar for early pri i tion at the Madison Sjuare Tu-atre, New York. Bkonsox Howard's new play for Ie t Bon and Crane, is call.-d "The Henrietta.' and is Slid to have lieeu inspire I by the fol lowing text of Thackeray's: "Thes" ino:i-y transactions: the.se rrpeeutations in Lfo and death r A JUBILEE TURNED TO GRIEF. "While Celebrating, Two Anti-I'rrdiib -t ionists nr." KillcI Saturday night a numler of men and Loy m era collected on the public sjuare at Fort Worth, Texxs, engaged in firing anvils arid discharging fireworks in honor ofjthe victory won in thefctate by the Anti-Prohibitionists-when ai accident occurred that has already resulted in two deaths, and in all probabili ty another will follow. A k'g of jKwd r had been secured for the (x-i-a-ion, and one of the boys seated himself tle n-on, when someone from the other side of the so,iar,. fired a rocket, which struck the keg of jov der. causing a terrible explosion. James Lazenhy, seventeen years, old. was blown several f-et ia th air. IF; was burn ed on every part of his lody, arid expired Sunday morning. Wave Hatchell, aged ix j'ears, was burn e 1 nearly a. ba 1 as Laze nby. H- died Sun dav afternoon. (i us Hatchell, aged eleven vears, was strip of his clothing from his hips dow n. 11 canuot recover. Two other boys, KamJohn-on and William Saskalierry, were terrible, but not nece-.sart-ly fatally burned. KILLED BY LIGHTNING. A Bolt Comes Iown a Chimney. "What a Stage Driver Saw. A spec'al from I tourney, W. v"a., says: tco. Rodgey, eighteen years oi l, who re sided near Williamsport, in ('rant counts-, was struck by lightning and instantly ki'IM. He was sitting near the fire-place in his fa thers house, when the bolt cam down the chimney through a stovepij? hole. Th-j on! v mark left by t.oe suptile fluid was a snuil blue spot on the young man's right fch ul ler. The stag -driver just returned from Peters burg, in the sani! county, says that just as h passed IioJg y's house, a large Thall of lire, about two feet in diameter, fell from t!e clouds, and when about six feet from tin ground burst with a terrific rert, scatter ing streaks of flame in every direction, a , 1 so frightening his horses as to render thera almost unmanageable. This was a few min utes after ItoJgey was killed.