V
T h o O nly Wooklv
PAPER
Pabliohcd in tho
Territory
Lying between thcRoanokeand Mohcrnn
rivers, embracing the three counties of
Hertford, Northampton and Bertie.
BORO
A ) V ERTISING 31 ED IU1!
JOHN W.HI C ICS, Editor and Proprietor.
DEVOTED TO TIIE INTEREST OF HERTFORD AND ADJOINING COUNTIES.
0 1 .50 Per Annum
Rales Reasonable.
VOL. III.
MEFREESBORO, N. a, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1887.
NO. 7.
ncreasine: jizcuiation
MITRFREES
INDEX
KEEP THE UPPER HAND.
Tear your burdens manfully,
Whatsoe'er tb.3y bo;
Never let them over you
Gain ascendency. -
Never let them master yon,
Never for them wait:
ITands of labor strong to bear,
Ring the Bell of Fate.
Texxs Siftinjs.
ON SILVER MOUNTAIN.
BY F. L. STEALKYT
Heavy snows had fallen that season,
firt'iiiig to the nover-incltcd accumula
ti ns in 'the gulches that gashed tte
northern slope of Silver Mountain. Huge,
undulating drifts, too, projected along
the lofty crest, threatening to break away,
and start the annihilating avalanche.
From the dingy log-d ns .below, the
miners read these snow-signs with expe
rienced eyes. Stout hearts had those
seekers for silver, but apprehension of
the snow-slide could shake even them.
But from two log-?-Inn ties, placed one
above the other in a clump of giant
pines well up on the mountain side,
smoke still arose at the morning and
evening, and from the'ragged mouths of
two tunnels that were being driven in
the slope above, there still came daily
the silvery cliuk of hammer striking
drill,- intermitted by a muffled roar, as
giant-powder shattered the mountain's
; breast.
In the uprcr of these chanties lived
"Uncle Jimmy" Trout, with his son,
young Jimmy ; in the lower, "old man"
Trail, with his son Sam:
These were rival claimants to the same
lead, to which bid man Trail gave the
significant name of "The Last Chance,"
and which Uncle Jimmy, in more cheer
ful spirit, called "The Blue Bird," as a
harbinger of the spring of hope in the
winter of his life. ' H . '
Many were the complications involving
intricate points of miners' law about this
disputed claim, and which claimant had
the right thereof no man could tell. The
'listener to Uncle Jimmy's wrongs would
be firmly' convinced that he must be
right, until he heard old man Trail ex
patiate on the equity of "first diskivery,"
marking each "pint" with a hard fore
finger in a horny palm, to the utter con
tusion ot all previous convictions
Each indignantly rejected all attempts
at arbitration; and as, fortunately lor
themselves, both were too poor for the
expensive luxury of litigation, it only
remained, as Uncle Jimmy declared, "to
sit right thar until they'd sot it out, re
gyardlcss of expenses." And though
Uncle Jimmy, 'with his rotund body and
red face set in a casing of close-cut gray
whisker, was one of the easiest-going of
men, the energetic and determined air
with which he made this declaration was
indicative of a protracted "set" on the
,part of the Blue Bird.
As for old man Trail, one look in his
cavernous eyes, as he ran his hand slow
ly over the tangles of hisunkempt beard,
would suffice to show that there was as
little trlrdrl nbrmt libti rts olinnl- -inn if lio
ft.bl.w j V. . . . '. . I 11 li A utvuU 111 I 111.'
granite crags that guarded the entrance
to the Last Chance Tunnel.
Jimmy,-who was, to use his father's
own expression, "light complected,"
stood a clear ten inches above the head
of his house: stroner, too, of arm and
shoulder from
swmL'
of hammer, and
every ,whit as stout of heart.
- That stalwart son of the Sierras, Sam
Trail, though of leaner Lmild than Jim
my, was in size and strength his match,
"dark complected," and in other re
spects like the sombre and self-contained
christener of the Last Chance.
Often when at sundown the-two boys,
tin buckets in hand, met at the little
spring that served for the use of both
cabins, brows bent in wrath were re
flected in that crystal basin. For the
feud went loyally down from father to
son. 1
Even the two "jacks" one of these
Mexican donkeys being owned by each
claimant, and used for packing up sup
plies from the camp blow became .im
bued with partisan animosity. Each
grazed aloof on. the bunch-grass growing
on the breezy slopes; and, meeting by
the cabin doors, they bit and kicked over
the bacon rinds rlunsr therefrom with a
heartiness that partook of the spirit of
their respective masters.
It had been "skifting" snow oh the
mountain for a day or two. But the
morning was clear, and the sun, hanging
o.i the pines that crested the opposing
slope, shot his rays through glittering
particles' of flying frost .into the -open
door of the upper cabin. Within, the
two Trouts sat at their slab table before
a Spartan breakfast of slap-jacks and
salt pork. .
"Jimmy, that outfit down thar," said
fho elder Trout, indicating the cabin be
low with his hand as he spoke "they
scut to camp, yesterday, bupposc you
take the jack and go down to-day, fur
our grub pile is gettm low,, and git the
drills sharpened
I'll rustle round and
Ava-h up some
clothes while voa're
The air of the early morning was keen,
and Jimmy waited "until the sun was
well up before he put the pack-saddle on
the jack, and started down. Uncle
immy, meantime, set the camp-kettle
on the coals in the rough fireplace, and
prepared for washing.
Daily the two old men passed each,
other On the deep-worn paths leading
from cabins to tunnels, but without a
.word or look of recognition. But, rigid
as wa3 the silence maintained between
them, it could be broken by one thing
want of tobacco. After a few hours' un
satisfied craving for this universal solace
Jof the miner, "either would yield and ap
iply to the other, never to be refused.
On this morning old man Trail, who
had sent Sam to camp the previous day,
had resisted this craving a whole day,
but at last he succumbed, and slowly
sauntered up to the Trout cabin. ;
"Iviu you spar' me a piece of terbacker
till my boy gits back?" he asked in his
deliberate speech, disdaining politer
forms of salutation, as he paused on the
doorstep.
Uncle Jimmy, in overalls and red
hi,-t with rolled up sleeves, wras vigors
asly soaping flannels. He pointed with
one suds-dripping hand to the rough
mantel.
"It s on the shelf. Come in and help
yourself," he saidr endeavoring vainly to
throw a hospitable heartiness into his
tone.
'ihe old man stepped in, drew his
sheath-knife, and Was about to part the
coveted plug, when the attention of both
wa3 caught by a sound, loud and strange
among the many noises of the mountain,
coming from above.
"The slide!" cried the old man.
Almost a? he spoke the topmo3t of the
I ine? snapped before the avalanche, and
then it struck the cabin. Stout a3 this
wa3 it shivered to the shock, the logs on
the upper side were driven party in, and
the centre roof-logs, already burdened by
the weight of the dirt roof, were sprung
(loan ana splintered with an ominous
cracking. I
But the spruce timbers wcregreen and
tough, and the cabin hung together. The
slide being partially broken by the trees,
tore over it, closed the stout .slab-door,
and passed on down with a roar. Then
followed darkness and silence.
All their tools were in the tunnels;
they had nothing wherewith to effect an
escape, even were escape possible. For
tunately the fire had gone out, so there
was no smoke to add to their torture.
But hidden thus from all the world, sud
denly shut away, from all its hopes,
hatreds and fears, those two were to
await, together, the inevitable.
For a time the suddenness of 1 the
catastrophe stunned both in silence. It
was broken at length by the old man
Trail, whose gruff tones were hardly
recognizable in this softened whisper:
"Uncle Jimmy, I'm mighty glad the
boys is both safe."i
"I'm with you thar, old man," Uncle
Jimmy replied, in a voice equally sub
dued. The minutes, as" they passed, might
have been years, so faint and far away
seemed their dispute over the lead
"I'm sorry, old man. We mought
'a'
settled this here business 'twixt me and
you long 'go ; but now, I reckon it's
goin' fur to settle us," and Uncle Jimmy's
voice gave faltering indications of break
ing down.
" Brace Hp, Uncle Jimmy I The boys
is both safe, and me and you was a-gittin'
old, and couldn't! in natur' 'a' he It on
much longer. And arter all, Uncle
Jimmy, this here hint a plum' playout ;
it's jest a slip in the paystreak, and we'll
strike it agin 'acrost the range.'"
The old man's voice was wonderfully
clear, as he paused and seated himself
composedly on the bunk. Uncle Jimmy
groped his way to him, and kneeling,
rested his head and shoulders on the
blankets. Then the hands of those an
cient enemies met, and clung in a firm
locked clap, reassuring each to each as
they "waited for the end.
To Jimmy, a visit to the camp was a
welcome break in the monotony of life on
Silver Mountain, and .his step was ac
cordingly light as he prodded the jack
down the drifted trail with the pointed
end of the scrub-oak stick that served him
alike for staff and goad.
4.a lit progf rosLCful rlnivn ward . ... -f maty
clouds passed between him and the sun,
giving the air a sudden chill as their
shadows darkened the sparkling surface
of the snow. The summit was lost to
view, and, driven by the wind, snow be
gan to fly, coming partly from fhe clouds
and partly from the drifts above. Jimmy,
however, wras tised to the ic mountain
" squalls," and knew that, as long as the
nimble-footed jack could keep the trail,
he was safe to follow.
A mile or less from the cabin the trail
made an abrupt bend around a granite
crag. Firm-bedded in the mountain,
this thrust its tapering pinnacle to the
tops of the surrounding pines. Where
the trail huir-red its base there had been
a "catch'
soft sand conglomerate
which, worn awayjby action of frost and
air, had gradually dropped out and been
washed down the slope, leaving a shelv
ing recess. 1
Just as Jimmy reached this recess he
encounteged Sam Trail, coming upward.
The two inimical jacks, brought sud
denly face to "face, alike laid long ears
back and breathed forth defiance in
trumpet notes that woke the echoes of
the mountain defiles. Behind each pug
nacious little beast his equally pugnacious
driver halted squarely in the middle of
the narrow trail, j
"Turn out!" cried Sam Trail, in such a
tone that Jimmy would have shot both
jacks head-fir.rt down the slope rather
than have complied. "Turn out, and
let my jack hug the rock."
"Turn out yo'self!" retorted Jimmy.
"My jack's got as good a right to the in
side as yourn. Everybody turns to the
right, and I'm a-goin' to."
"The pack '11 tip my jack over the
slope ef I take the outside," replied Sam,
"and I aint a-goin' to do it."
Both boys and beasts were by this
time half-blinded by the snow, which
was being sucked j around the crag and
whirled in their faces by the rising wind.
Their passions kept pace with its fury.
Each jack stood (ready to rush open
mouthed; each "driver got a firmer grasp
on his oak stick and made a forward
stride. j
Just then, halfbroken by the wind,
came the sound of muilied thunder from
the direction of the shanties.' Following
it, from immediately above them, came a
crunching noise that caused the uplifted
sticks to be held in air.
The snowr-caps above had given way,
and gathering momentum with increas
ing bulk and velocity, the slide, to which
the one at the cabin was but a plaything,
came tearing down, carrying along the
granite boulders scattered in its path.
Before its rush, the giant pine?, with sap
hard-frozen, snapped like reeds, each
making a sharp report above the duller
rumble of the mass.
Counted by the beating of their hearts,
it was long before it struck the crag.
Huge as was this, it tremb'.ed; but noth
ing less than an earthquake could have
tumbled that mighty cone from its im
bedded base, and: the slide broke over it
and pasied on. -"
Cowering in the
recess, the boys were
covered with snow
as the great avalanche j
thundered past, swept the pines from the i
slop:; below, and shot up on the opposite
side of the gulch; where at last it settled
with a sound and a shock that seemed to
shake the mountain. j
"O Sam, my ipa and yourn!" cried
Jimmy, in a voice quite different from
his former one. 'That first one sounded
likeit was at the shanties." , j
As he spoke, with one accord they drew
nearer together, j No longer they seemed
to be thetwo who had so lately met on
the trail. And the slide had wrought
other changes. Even the wind, no more
r.ocghiug through the broken pines,
whistled in altered, cadence about the
naked pinnacle of their bulwark.
--We mir.t git out and git to the
shanties somehow. Let's take the shovel
and cut jteps in the snow-bank," said
Sam. pointing to a new shovel with its
handle slipped through the many turns
of rope that held the pack oh the saddle
of his jack. : - ' ; : ' i
Both brightened at the prospect of
action. Sam, cutting the 6tcps, was out
first, and Jimmy clambering after, they
stood looking around.
The dark preen trees were gone. fSome.
torn up by the roots, had been carried
bodily down ; while here and there the
stump of some broken giant stuck up its
yellow splinters from the snow.
Both looked above, but the view was
limited by the snow, driven by the furious
wind, which, as they stepped from the
crag, struck them with lull power and
forced them back. - . :
"We can't go up agin it," said Sam
"It'll fall 7ore long, I reckon. It didn't
look like more'n a squall as I came up the
trail. And maybe, Jimmy, the slide
didn't strike the shanties; and ef it did,
our pa's "might ?a' been in the tunnels."
"My pa wasn't," said Jimmy, sinking
his head. "He was just going to wash
our clothes when I left." :
"Them shanties was both put there to
stay, and yourn was the stoutest built
even pa always 'lowed that." For Sam,
though silent enough generally, could
speak out on occasion.
"Now, Jimmy, I was bringing up a
coffee pot. 'Taint no use standin' doin'
nothin', and we'll melt some snow and
have some coffee I've got some already
ground in the pot." j ; ' j-
'I'll make the fire," said Jimmy, start
ing up as Sam unhooked the coffee pot
from the crosses of the i pack saddle.
"There's a big mountain rat's nest under
this rock. I've noticed it every time I,
passed, and the sticks are good and dry."
The fire was qnickly made, and coffee
was boiled. Then, cups being wanting,
the pot was set away in the snow to cool
sufficiently to permit of drinking from
it. Sam, meantime, ; cut slices of salt
pork from the piece in his ; pack; and
these, having been singed in the fire, tho
two ate, and drank alternately from the
same spout in loving fellowship.
In the background ,the jacks hung
over the feast with pleading eyes. Each
was rewarded now and then by a tid-bit
of rind from his master's hand. And
when the pork was finished Sam got out
a small sack of oatmeal, and pouring a
little into his hollowed hand, the two
jacks licked it up by brotherly turns.
Soon after the meal the wind began to
fail, and the clouds, breaking away, the
sun, now declining, struck into the
gulch. Then they widened the steps
sufficiently to permit Of the jacks clam
bering up, and set out forihe shanties.
The trail was obliterated, but the
snow was packed hard and they had lit
tle difficulty in gaining the site of the
cabins. Then their fears were confirmed. 1
Both had disappeared, and no human
sound tH'OKC tno Tsuiema miiiijes!r.----Trej -
had some difficulty, too, in locating the
exact spots where the cabin3 had stood.
This they at length did, however, by
the aid of the torn and twisted trees.
These, they saw, had broken the force of
the slide, and deflected it as well, so that
the main shoot had turned and passed
directly over the lower cabin. The upper
one, inhabited by the T routs, had been
covered but a few feet from the great
side-pressure oi the mass. :
After they had determined the loca
tion, Sam "paused, and leaning on the
shovel which he had brought up, said,
with generous self-restraint, "Now,
Jimmy, we aint got but one shovel.
Which shanty shall we go at first i"
"Let's draw straws," replied Jimmy,
after a moment's indecision.
"All right; you fix 'em." '
Jimmy stooped, and taking two nee
dles from a broken pine bough , at his
feet, turned his back.
"Short is our shanty, long is yourn.
Draw, Sam," he said, as ho fac?d about.
Each knew the minutes now were
fraught with life or death to their im
prisoned fathers. Jimmy's big hand
trembled as he held the fateful needles
pressed between thumb and finger. Sam's
lean, brown one never quivered as he
reached and drew the short one.
'Tour shanty," he said, with a long
breathy and flung off his coat. ' Til take
first shift. We'd better run in an in
cline, so as to strike the door, ef it's still
thar."
Taking short runs, after a couple of
hours' rapid work, they heard a muffled
cry from within. Then the door was
soon reached, forced open, and there, to
their great joy, each saw his father.
To the anxious boys the faces of the
fathers looked white and ghastly from
their confinement in the stifling place,
but the fresh air soon revived them. The
old man Trail, struggling to his feet, was
the first to speak. f
"We might er knowed, Uncle Jimmy,1"
he said, "that the boys was bound to git
us out."
"Old man," Uncle Jimmy replied, too
much impressed by recent events to think
of aught else, "this slide has settled, it fur
me. S'pose we cut the claim in the mid
dle and you take fust choice?"
"I was jest thinkin'," said the old
man with due deliberation, "this here
thing of drivin' in two tunnels side
and side is kinder foolishness. If we'd
consolidate on one we'd strike pay rock
all the quicken" . . j
"That's a fact, pardner, and we can
call it the Last Chance." Uncle Jimmy
responded with self-denying alacrity, for
the christening of his find is a matter of
moment to the prospector's heart, and
that of the Blue Bird had been evolved
only after long and labored thought.
"I was thinkin'," the old man replied,
with the same thoughtful slowness "ef
it's all the same to you, pardner of eon
solidatin' the names -likewise into 'The
Blue Bird's Last Chance,' and so a-lettin7
of Silver Mouhtin know this here thing
betwixt me and you and Jimmy and Sam
is done settled, now and fur good."
As the old man concluded he extended
his hand to Uncle JinynyJ The "shake"
that sealed the compact then went round.
And so. despite the torn trees and drifted
devastation, the sun set in peace on Silver
Mountain.' Youth? Companion.
The velocipede is now universally used
by orderlies on" foot service in Alsace
Lorraine. At Strasburg one ; of the
military sights is the practice of the
riders. The tricycle is deemed prefer
able to the bicycle. i
Tne manufacture of rubies has reached
such perfection that the artificial product
is often as valuable as the natural stone."
TELEGRAPHIC SUMMARY,
Rasffrnand Middle States.
Seven persons were injured by a collision
on the Elevated Railroad in Brooklyn.
A great stringency in the money market
has created eonsideraole excitement in Wall
Street, followed by quite a drop in prices of
stocks. Appeals have been made by many
business inen to the Treasury Department to
adopt a more liberal policy in the purchase
of bonds, and thereby give relief.
The Massachusetts Democratic State Con
vention, Tield in Worcester, nominated the
following ticket: For Governor, Hon. H. B.
Loveiing: Lieutenant-Governor, Walter E.
Cutting; Secretary of Stat?, 5 John F. Mur
phy; Treasurer, Henry C. Thatcher; Attorney-General,
John W. Corcoran, and Audi
tor, Win. F. Cook. The platform adopted
endorses Presideat Clerelmd's administra
tion; urges judicious reduction of the tariff
in accordance with Mr. Cleveland's sugges
tion to Congress; expresses sympathy with
Ireland, and says alt "orfecsive partisans"
should be discharged. ; ' : .-.
T we XTT-For R coal boats ' belonging to the
Pitts-burg coal combination, and valued at
$ 3,000 each, sank at Willow Grove, Penn.
General, L. B. Faulkner was arrested
at Bu Cfalo, N. Y., on the charge of fraud in
connection with the susriensioa of the First
National Bank, of DansviUe, of which his
brother, now supposed to be in Canada, was
President.
E. S. Wheeler, the New Haven importer
who recently failed for $2,000,000, has been
arrested on tto charge of obtaining money
from a Hartford National Bank under false
pretences. He was taken to Hartford and
place 1 under 5,000 baiV
Word comes from Pittsburg, Penn., that
all tLe large salt companies of the Unitad
Srats are about to form a mammoth
company, to be known as the National Salt
Union. , The object is mutual protection and
to keep up price.?.
Governor Hill, in a speech at the Orange
County Fair, Newburg, N. Y., favored a
State law legalizing another holiday, to be
known as "Arbor Day," to be devoted to
tree planting, tree culture and education in
forestry.
Sonth and West.
Part of a freight? train broke loose near
Canton, Dakota, and ran dovn a grade until
it collided with a passenger train. Five per
sons were killed and eight cars completely
demolished.
Minneapolis is shocked at six sudden
deaths in a week, two of them suicides.
By the collapse of a grain loft in thestablea
of a Cincinnati street railroad, ten horses
were buried and suffocated.
Assembly 302, ivniglits of Labor, of Chi
cajo, has adopted a resolution declaring tho
Supreme Court's decision in the Anarchists'
trial unjust, and urging Governor Oglesby to
pardon the prisoners: Numerous other ap
peals for executive clemency have been sent
to the Governor.
General William Preston, Minister to
Spain under Buchanan's Administration,
and represejtfative of the Confederate istatej
in England, died a few days since at Louis
ville, in his seventy-second year.
" .Regulators" of Southern Indiana,
known as" White Caps" from their wearing
white masks, have again become very active,
snd one night recently whipped reven
men with hickories. About seventy Regula
tors were in the band.
A fire in the. Northwestern Ohio oil
fleids burned ovri- maiwPHi., . -
The Glenn bill, which passed the lower
House of the Georgia Legislature, has been
practically killed in the Senate by the adop
tion of a substitute It made it a penal offense
to teach whites and blacks in the same school.
An industrial parade ten miles long was
a feature of the Federal and Confederate
Reunion at Evansville, Ind. Thirty-fiva
thousand people attended. i
Emancipation Day ... was ; celebrated at
J ackson, Miss. , by a very large procession of
colored citizens. An ad Iressof welcome was
delivered by Mayor McGilL
Almost the entire business part of San
ford, Fla. , has been destroyed by fire. Total
estimated loss, $300,000.
Washington.
Governor Ross, of New Mexico, says in
his annual report to tho Secretary of the In
terior that the marked increase of residents
during the past few vears will result in a pop
ulation of 201,000 by 18). During the first
half of the fiscal year 1,141 entries of public
lands, aggregating 153,500 acres, were made.
The collections from Internal Revenua
during July and August aggregated 'i0,
950,036, an increase of ?1,007.230 as com
pared with the first two months of tho last
fiscal year.
Land Commissioner Sparks has prepared
a statement of the disposition of public and
Indian lands during the past fiscal year. It
appears that the saies, entries and selections
of public land under the various acts of Con
gress embraced 25,111,403 acreSj and of In
dian lands 745,637 acres, making a total of
25,858,037 acres. The receipts f rom the dis
posals of lands aggregate $10,7S 3,022; from
sales of Indian lands 1,434,302, making a
total of $12,269,224. f-'. ;
A forthcoming statement by Internal
Revenuo Commissioner Miller will show that
internal revenue receipts are steadily de
creasing, because the people of this country
drink less whisky and more beer. The
internal revenue receipts for distilled spirits
the past fiscal year were $65,82J,31, a de
reas3 of 3,302,04-4 over the previous year.
The receipts from boer during the past fiscal
year were 21,022,1S7, an increass of $2,24 ,
450 over the previous year.
Fred. Douglas, the noted colored orator,
was given a reception and banquet by two
thousand people cf his race in the largest
colored church cf Washington. The occasion
of the demonstration was the return of Mr.
Douglas from his recent trip to Europe.
Foreigrn. j
Kino William has opened the States
General, or Parliament of Holland.
1 An advertised foot-race at Diilie Bridge
London, did not come off. and the thousand!
of spectators took revenge in partly demol
ishing two grand stands, a large assembly
hall and ,a dancing pavilion, s tting fire to
the debris. . Foar constables were injured
while quelling the riot. I
Antonio Gayon, chief of one of the bu
ureacs of the Mexican War Department, was
tally wounded by General Rocha in a due!
in the city of Mexico.
SEWING GIRLS' TROUBLES.
How German Seamtresses Saffer from
Great Competition.
Consul Jos. Falkenbach of Bremen, has
transmitted to tho Department of State, a
translation of an ofilcial report to the Impe
rial Diet of Germany upon the conditions of
sewing girls in Germany. From tins it
appears that the average earnings of the
sewing girl in many parts of Germany is
barely sufficient to pay for subsistenea ani
lodging, leaving all necessiry incidental
expenses, including clothing, to be provided
either by her family or through independent
efforts of her own. f -
In the larger cities this condition leads to
r-: 1 ','aTrn il i nnr immoraHtV
and ruin. The investigation seems to have
been instigated in part by a requirement on
thn Tin rt. ctf omnlnvors that the GfirlS should
purchase thread and other supplies of the
employers "and at employers' prices. Tae
wages of tha sawing girl were fo inl to have
been much reduced by competition with the
daughters of the comparatively well-to-do,
Who, though not compelled to labor for sup
port, fin I thereby tho means of purchasing
luxuries and fineries of which they would
otherwise be depriyed.
PAYING PENSIONS.
THE METHODS ADOPTED BY SOME
FOREIUN COUNTRIES.
Points of Interest From Commissioner
Stack's Annual Report.
The most original feature in tha current
annual report of Commissioner Black isit
description of the pension systems of f or
eign countries. The facts for this purpose,
says a Washington special to the New York
Sun. were obtained ii response to re
quests made by him to American Ministers
and Consuls-General in various lands, and
General Black says that 4the most courteous
consideration has been paid to the requests in
e very instance ,save in tho one addressed to
the Minister at the Ccurt of St. James."
Turning to the individual foreign systems,
in the French each pension for any grade is
observed to contain what is called a maxi
mum and a minimum figure:
"For instance, that of a private soldier has
a minimum of 6iX) and a maximum of 750
francs. Tho minimum pension is gained by
the length of service above stated, and for
each additional year of . service the pen
sioner is entitled to an addition of one
twentieth of the - difference between the
minimum and maximum until the maximum
is attained. An applicant who is entitled to
less than the maximum service pension is al
lowed an addition for active campaign ser
vice, graded according to the nature of his
service in the campaigns in which he served. "
This is practically only analogous to our
longevity pay system, which accrues to the
benefit of those who goJon tbe retired list.
The German system is founded on the law
of 171, and its general basis is laid down at
tin outset of that law:
"Every officer and military surgeon hold
ing the rank of ohicer who draws his pay
from the army appropriations, receives a life
pension if, after a period of service of at
least ten years, he has become incapacitated
for active service, and is discharged for that
reason.
'If the incapacity is caused by a wound or
othor injury received in the service, without
the fau't of the person thus injured, he will
be entitle 1 to a pension even after a shorter
term of servica than ten years."
The length of service becomes a ground for
a higher rate of pens on, as in the French
system. -
Somo of th3 rate3 of pension in Spain are
furnished by Commissioner Black:
"If by reason of wound or other accident
of war a soldier loses his sight or the entire
use of a limb he receives, if Colonel, 33,000
reals (1,000); if Lieutenaut-Colonel, 25,000
($1,250); if a Major, 22,003 -($1,100); if a Cap
tain, 15,000 (5750) ; if a Lieutenant, 8,000
($400) ; if a sub-Lieutenant, 6,000 ($300). The
real in our money is worth about five cents.
After twenty years of service a Sergeant re
ceives per month $tf; after twenty
five years of service $7.50; after
thirty-live years of service, $8. A Ser
geant entirely disabled by accidental in
juries received in the service shall receivo the
regular retired rate of pension per month,
from S3.25 to $0.75: corporals and privates
of ail branches of the service receive as ser
vice pensions after twenty years of service,
or in cases of total disability, from $2.25 to
$7.50 per month."
The Turkish and Italian systems present
no great elements of novelty, but the Rus-
"The pension system in Russia seems to be
rather in tho nature of a mutual insurance
company operation. The fund was established
in lsov by a donation from the imperial
treasury of 7,500,000 mbles. All the bene
ficiaries legal and possible of this fund were
from thenceforth assessed 6 per cent,
par annum on the amounts of their
salaries until the date of the first pay
ment of pension, which began about the year
18:35. Tho fund had then increased to 18,
000,0 X) rubles. In 188 ) tho principle of the
fund reached the sum of 68,000,000 rubles.
The number of beneficiaries is very small. "
China's system of pensions, like it3 other
Government institutions, is seen to be inter
esting, although it may not invite imitation.
It dates back several centuries. The service
age is sixty years:
" The forces of the empire are composed,
first, of the Eighth and Manchu Banner
Corps; second, the Army of the Green
Standard or Chinese provincial forces; and,
third, the irregulars, or Braves. All de
scendants of the Mongolian and Chinese
soldiery of the conquest are enrolled in the
Eighth and Manchu Banner Corps.
"The amount of pension depends not only
upon the service, but upon the quality of the
service and the character and degrea of peril
to which exposed .during service. Divisions
are made of wounded soldiers into classes ac
cording to the length of time assigned for re
covery. Five such classes have been cre
ated. For a considerable time differences
were made in the amount of pensions to be
allowed for wounds made by spent cannon
balls. Thosa who served and were killed or
disabled in the front ranks are regarded with
distinguished-consideration. Those who suf
fered disablement in what may be called
the "subordinate services," such as guard
duty or train-guard duty, who were in
the rear of an army and in positions
less exposed to the actual danger of war, re
ceive correspondingly less, and the pension
system is made a prolongation and continu
ance of tha rewards offered for valor and
honorable service in battle."
It is noticeable, also, that under certain
circumstances China makes provision for the
support of the widow and for the son of the
soldier killed in service. There is a differ
ence in the compensation for marine and
coast guard service in the outer and the in
ner seas, just as between service in the front
or the rear of an army.
ABOUT NOTED PEOPLE.
Claus Speckels, the San Francisco sugar
king, is said to be worth over thirty millions.
JohnRcssell YouxG is collecting mate
rial for a history of the civil life of General
Grant. ' 1
The aged Baroness Burdott-Coutts and her
young American husband are - coming to
America.
The mad King of Bavaria is learning to
make himself useful. He passes his days in
paring potatoes.
King Humbert, of Italy, is only forty
three years old, yet his hair, long since gray,
is now nearly white
General Longstreet says he expects
"both sides to pitch in to him" when his book
on the war is published.
Henry George, the land and labor agita
tor, was fined $103 in New York recently for
disregarding the notice to serve as a jury-
man.
Torrof B!r inn's sons. Walker and Emmons.
are citizens of Chicago. Both live at the
Union Club in that city. Onei3 a lawei and
the other is a railroader.
The richest man in Vermont is Colonel
Estey, of Brattieboro. He is worth at the
present moment $2,500,OJO, all made in trade.
He never speculated a dollar in any of the
pet stocks or bonds.
The oldest man in Indiana is Samuel Mor
rison of IndianapoMs. Ho was bora in 1788
in that State, and his faculties are clear and
strong. He is chiefly occupied with reading
and writing in the field of local history.
SnfCE the recent death of ex-Senator Cil
ley, of New Hampshire, the oldest surviving
Senator is Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania,
who was born in 1790. After him come Jef
ferson Davis, born in 1808, and Hannibal
Hamlin, born in 1809.
Mrs. Rachel Still w ago 5, of Flushing,
claims to be the oldest woman on Long Isl
and. ,She has just celebrated her 02d birth
day surrounded by descendants to even the
fifth generatioo. Three-quirters of a century
agothefamaof Mrs. Still wagon's beauty ex
tended as far South as Baltimore.
RAILROAD DISASTERS. !
Four Accident With Fatal Result
In One Day.
Four railroad accidents, with fatal result
in each instance, occurred on Monday. Two
miles north of Dubuque, la., two passenger
trains collided on tho curve, an i th3 two en
gineers and one fireman wero instantly ki'Jed,
the other fireman and a brakemsn dying
during the forenoon. Charles Fales, on oi
the oldest engineers on tho roid, wes on the
engine of tn s mth-boun i train, and Kimer
Winchester on the north bound train. Win
Richmond and Edward Cumminga were the
twonremen. an i all lived in Dubuque. John
Pernity, of Milwaukee, brakeman on tha
1 1 A. " ... ... . w.
. iwim-imuim w arn, was among toe tiiicti. lie
I was riding on the t-nghie so ai to oja tho
j switch at Peru, three miles b?yonJ, and the
regular meetmg p'jico of the two train t J.
J. O Brien, express messenger, and one of tho
postal clerks were baily shaken up, but
not seriously hurt. Nons of tho passengers
were injured, beyond a few bruises,'
except Richard Wright, of Holy Cro&i, who
was coming to Dubuque. He was injured in
the back but not dangerously. Tho two en
gines were badly wrecked and were thrown
into a shapeless miss.
A terrible accident occurred on the Penn
sylvania Railroal, near Mocanaqua, the
f ame evening. Tlie train despatcher at Hav
port gave orders for a freight trail to pr
ceed south. He had forgotten that n freight
train coming north was about doe." Tho train
proceeded south, and when nearing a long
curve at Retieatthe tvro engines came in
collision. The engineers and firemen jumped
and escaped unhurt. The train coming north
pulled, besides other freight, four cars of
giant powder. The cobision caused the
powder to explode with terrific force,
setting fire to the cai-s. The farmers for
miles around hastened to tho scene and
fought the flames with earth and what
water, they could procure. The cars were
shattered into kindling wooJ. The force of
the explosion can be imagined since some
of the rolling stock was found a quarter of a
mile distant from the scene of the explosion.
Louis Metz, Ell wood Snark and James
Keene, all trakemen, wero buried in tho
wreck. They were all fatally injured. Bothr
engines rolled down the embankment and are
totally wrecked.
A collision occurred at four o'clock in the
morning near Forest, Ohio, on the Pittsburg,
Fort ayne & Chicago Raih oa L The first
section of a freight train broke down, and
the second section collided with it, killing
J ohn Bouch, . fireman of the second
section. There were several cars of oil in the
second section and they caught firs, and
soon the entire fore part of the train was
wrapped in flames. While the trainmen
were endeavoring to subdue the fire a car
loaded with dynamite exploded, destroying
several cars, tearing up the track, and injur
ing the engineer of the second section and
one tramp.
The fast day express over the Indianapolis
and St. Louis Railway was .wrecked near
Fern station, about forty-five miles west of
Indianapolis. The wreck was caused by the
breaking of a wheel under the roar truck of the
locomotive. The entire train, except the
sleeping car, left the track, and the engineer
and fireman, named Reddington, father and
son, were killed. The elder Reddington, en
gineer, was found with his hand upon the
throttle. The passengers escaped.
A PLUCKY WOAS.
" Hancf TnVIiaa lSiT '
Dr. Theodore Hornblower, of New Jersey,
came within an ace of making a martyr of
himself and his wife certainly did make a
creditable name for herself. While Mr. and
Mrs. Hornblower were in bed a mysterious
noice attracted their attention. As their
eyes slowly opened they saw that a revolver
was leveled at them. About tho same time
shadows were brought out distinctly on tho
walls. The shapes, the sounds and the re
volver satisfied Dr. Hornblo er that burglars
were arouiid.
Instead of lying quietly in boi and allow
ing the burglars to penetrate his safes, the
doctor jumped to the front and faced the big
revolver. It was possibly the best jump the
doctor ever made in his life for two reasons.
The doctor was merely scratched in the neck
by a big bullet and he managed t) hit his
would-be slayer with a bulbt from his re
volver. The doctor thinks the ballet hit the
man's head. The police think that it must
haveenterel the burglar somewhere near the
knee. At any rate stains of blood, were
traced for some distance. , '
Mrs. Hornblower either forgot, or did not
know how, to scream and thereby create a
panrc in her husband's mind. She, too,
jum.ied from her bed, while the pistols were
being discharged. Then, as the bullets flew,
and three are recorde J, one of which struck
the mantle, she held on to a coat and tn-d
to seize a soft f It hat attached to the top of
an undersized, thick-set man, but, finding
herself physically weak, she made it up
p.irtly by striking the interloper over the
lnad with a chair.
BEHEADED BY A WHEEL.
The Singular Death of a Pennsylvania
Farmer.
An extraordinary accident occur
red near West Nanticoke, Pa. George
Davis, a farmer, who owned a tract of land
about four miles from Nanticoke, drove to
Nanticoke with'a lumber wagon and double
team. He started back with his load
about dark,
Near midnight his wife was arouse 1 by
hearing the wagon coming up in front of
the house. She waite !, but her husband did
not come; so she got up, took a lantern and
went out. She found the wagon standing i n
front of the door, and lying on the lumber
was the lifeless body of her husband. He
had evidently gone to sleep and fallen down
on the lumber, with hi3 head over the side.
The horses had swerved, bringing the wheel
in contact with his head and neck, and com
pletely severed the head from the body.
The horrible sight sent the poor wife into
convulsions. Her children came out and
gave the alarm, .... ,
Some of the neighbors started back along
the road and found the mutilated head
about two miles from tho hous2.
A BRUTAL ASSAULT.
Saloon Keepers Attempt toMnrdera
Prohibitionist.
as soon as it was known in Sutton's Bay,
Mich., that William A. Taylor, of Lansing,
Prohibition StAte organizer, would speak in
the schoo.-house on prohibition, IL and J.
Doustcrand other saloon sympathizers an
nounced their determination to prevent tho
meeting if possiblo. This they were unible
to do, but during tha lecture they paraded
the streets with guns and tin pan3 and then
gathered about the hall door as the meeting
b. oke up to attack the speaker. Tavlor left
the hall in company with John .Gadham,
Levi Cozart and others. The attack began
as soon as the party reached the front steps
and was fierce and bloody. Cadham received
the first blow and was knocked down and
kicked, while the two Dousters, not recog
nizing Taylor, their special object of attack,
in the dark, cut and slashed at Cozart in
stead. His life i3 despaired of. Taylor
under cover of darkness succeeded in getting
nwav unharmed. Several roughs chasad
him e-rizx, "K.il him P. No arrests have
been mido. - .
TEX1S TRAIN ROBBERS.
AX EXriiESS TRAIN STOPPED II Y
FOUR 31 EX.
The Express and Mail Cars Rifled
of their Valuable-.
The east-bound Texas and Pa ilie train was
robtxHl the other night near lVnhrook, Texas,
afc the trestle over Mary' Crwk, whore th
same train was robbed in June. The circum
stance are similar to ths, of "th la-t
robbery. Just as tho train pull.-l out
from tho station two men g'U into
the tab of the locomotive and coven 1 luii
nwr Baki r with six-shooters, lie was ilirtvUv!
to stop when ordered, and when the Wnmiv
tive had cjossM tht trvstlo the ordvr wm
given and Bak-r stopped the train. To
men were waiting here and the engineer and
firemen v.cre ordered out of tho e.a!iml
marched toward the express var under guard.
Tho doors of th- car were closed and one f
the men, a tali, slim, sandy-haired fellow,
yelled out: "Oin up that ear." Kx
pre Messenger ' Maloney paid no attention
to the orders, whn, after waiting a few
seconds, a hammer of some kind was brought
and the dKr was vigorously jtounded
About this time borne ten shots wore fire I
into the Pacific Express car and then pound
ing began again. At last the door wasosxned
and one of tho robbers jumpvd in
with drawn pistol and demanded tl.
money. Maloney had hidden a con
siderable number of packages and the re
mainder were taken from the safe. Order
ing Maloney to keep nuiet, the robUr
jumped out and the mail ear Was entered,
but without any shots Iteing fired. Mad
Agent Griffin was com; k led to give
up tho registered packages, and is it ;-aid
that nearly all the regit ii-l matter" was
taken. There Ma no effort made to ro!
the passengers, many cf whom were con
siderably frightened. There were one or
two armed men in tho coaches w ho wen
prepared to defend the passengers if the lob
f ers had attempted to enter.
After finishing their work in the mail ear'
the robbers escorted the engineer and fireman
back to the locomotive and ordered the train
to be -pulled out. The four men moved o:r
some distance, watched tho train for
a short time, and walked away.
The train reached Fort "Worth at
and the officers wero at once notified, and
two posses, one headed by the' Sheriff, the
other by the City Marshal, were soon on th.
road to the s -ene of the roblery.
The amount stolen is variously estimated
from 12,00Uto n)o, but none'of thmail
men or the Pacific officers will say anything
about the matter. The theory of the odieers
is that the same men who committed the
robbery in June were engaged in that of the
other night, but this is tho purest con
jecture. PAINFUL SCENE IN COURT.
A Young Husband Confesses to Ihn
bczzlcmcnt and is Sentenced.
Palo as death and trembling in every fibre,
John J. Love, the confidential manager of
the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company,
from his employers. Seated by his side and
struggling hard to control her emotion was
his young and handsome wife. The stern
expression upon the julge's face relaxed as
he looked upon tho pleiding face of th
woman,, and then, without a word of com
ment, ho announced the scnten o of to
years and a half at hard labor in the Juliet
Ienitentiary. Love turned still paler and
murmured, "My God," while his wife fell to
the floor and sobbed convulsively. Finally
both were removed, the one by officers and
the other by her friends.
Love is just entering his li?,rd year, lie
went to Chicago in 1S4 from Erie, Pa.,
where he was born and where he had held
responsible positions. He is well connected
there, and a large number of witnesses made
the journey to testify to his previous char
acter. At the time of his arrest in May la.-t
he was dock sujeriutendent, bookkeeier and
confidential manager generally for the com-
Sany. He began in its employ as a clerk
an. 1, 1S4, at ?50 per mont , and was
advanced until he had the principal conduct
of the business. He was an honest man
until some time during the fall of when
he fell into loos3 habits, associ.at-.tl with tho
most dissolute people and spent npon th' tn
$11,000-which ho retained in sunn of from
f 100 to $1,300 in bills collected from tho cus
tomers of the company. Not a dollar of this
turn was recovered, but it was all taken and
spent between October 1, 1, and May 1
last, about $,000 being spent during thy la.-t
three months of the time.
THE NATIONAL GAME.
O.VLY $15,000 is asked for the release of
Ramsey and Kerins, the Louisville battery.
O.vly fourteen out of the twenty-four
League pitchers have won more games than
they have lost.
It is nit a sottled thing y.it as to whether
the St. lixiis Club will or will not go into Urn
League Sext season.
Clarion, of Chicago, leads the strike-out
cord ofitha League pitchers. He has ma io
re
190 batsnien fan the air thi twasoa.
ManacJer Gakfney corroborate the ru
mor concerning tho reported . wile of the
Washington Club. The team, is for sale.
The Metropolitans have beaten the record
by scoring only two runs in four su'-c-es--ive
games. Three of the games resulted in rv.
runs. i
There will 1 a large number of good ball
players from the East in California during
the coming winter, aud some interestir;y
games may be expecte 1.
THE Detroits have not been driven from
the head of the league column since the first
week of the season, w hen they occupied third
and second places successively for two days.
President John Ward is reported to Lavo
said that thei Ix ague must recognize the Base
ball Brotherhood. If not, an association may
be formed of its members in opposition to
the League.
Umpire McLean, Of the International
League, mulcted ten of the players at To
ronto recently. He fined Faats fclO, McCor
mack $" and eight of tho Syracuse players "
each for finding fault with his decisions.
The series between the St. Louis Club and
the Detroits fof the world's championship
will probably clonsist of nine game. Two
game will probably be played in New York,
two in Detroit ahd two in Chicago, and ono
each in St. Lduis, Philadelphia and Balti
more, j
In a recent garhe at Philadelphia between
the Athletics and St. Louis, Latham, not
liking McQuade's umpiring, insultingly
asked tho umpire if he "was KinS to do tt o
right thing in the game." McQuade rt-jliel
that lie was, and immediately clapped a heavy
fine on Latham.
According to the records of the National
League, Boutherf, of Detroit, leads all bats
men, with a percentage of .41-. He Las
played in ICO games, scored 14 runs and
made 212 tasg hits. Connor lead3 the New
York Club; Darling, Chicago; Nash, Boston;
Hines, Washington; Ferguson, Philadelphia;
Carroll, Pittsburg, and Seery, Indianapolis.
"I nAjVE umpired for both organizations,
and let me tell you the League is away ah'-a i
of the Association," said Umpiro Dank-R
"To begin with, the League ha better bat
ters, and its players See and play much finer
points. The fSt. Louis Browns? Ye, they
ara a wonderful team, but the Detroits can
win from them by virtue o superior batting."