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i V 1 Inscription 1.50 per year. WE MUST WORK FOR THE PEOPLE'S WELFARE. W. H. Kltcbin, Owner (VOL. 1. SCOTLAND NECK. N. C, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1885. NO. 42. r THIRTY YEARS AFTER. ,.ia;?ljtery in Fair Way crfiJei IJnr&velleu at iaki. .1 sinrleysburg (Pa.) telegram says : pearly thirty j-ears ago a young man rtamel John R. llicks, hailing from re-.rr.nk, came- to Shirleysburg, b?inir a potter by trade, lie soon I fomul employment in the pottery of Samuel Backus, in the upper end of town. He was a steady and indus trious young man, and readily won the esteem of the people of Shirlcys burg, and particularly of the family of 'Squire Backus, whose daughter m course oi time ne weaaeu. onort- iv after his marriage he engaged in business and prospered. He was seemingly happy and contented. He had become a leading and hon ored member of the Baptist Church, at that time the wealthiest and most influential denomination in the place. His seat in the house of worship was never vacant, and his du ties as super intendent and teacher in the Sabbath school were never neglected.. Sud denly, however, he dis appeared and was never more heard of, though his friends and the authorities exhausted every available means to learn some thing of his whereabouts or probable fate. Previous to his disappearance he was known to have received a considerable sum of money, and it was finally concluded that he had left the country for some unknown and unexplained reason. Now, after a lapse of almost thirty years, comes a startling revelation that may possibly be the means of clearing away the mystery. Mrs. Mary Beatty, an old lady who lives at Vineyard Mills, but who resided near blnrleysburg at the time of II ieks"s disappearance, has made a statement in the presence of Samuel lkiird and his family wherein she al leges that Joliu Hicks was murdered and that his body was concealed in a lonley spot among tlie rocks in a piece of woods in Germany Valley, this county,and that his bones remain there to this day. Mrs. Beatty states that previous to Hicks' s disappear ance two strangers stopped at her Ichors house in search of lodging. They purported to be drovers, and displayed large rolls of money. Both of the men spoke German flu ently. They remained in the neigh borhood for several days and suc ceeded in gaining the confidence of John llicks. When not scouring the country they could be seen in his so- ciety. Oa tho night preceding the disap poarance Ot Hicks one of the men took his departure. On the follow ing night the other one also left. After the lapse of several days the two strangers returned when the dis appearance of Hieks was still the general topic of conversation, and again secured lodging at Mrs. Beat ty's home. The flimsy partition separating her room from their sleep ing apartment enabled her to hear all that they said, and before they left finally she ' discovered that they had murdered Hicks and also where his body was hidden. Being of an exceedingly nervous tempera ment Mrs. Beatty refrained from speaking of her awful discovery lest she. too, might suffer the terrible fate of Hicks. For almost thirty years she has withheld the . secret of the murder, and now that she is nearing the grave she wishes by the tardy disclosure to relieve her mind of its unbearable weight. Steps are being taken to thoroughly investigate the matter and, if possible at this late day, to bring the perpetrators of the deed to justce. Dispatch. Far Sighted Oencrosliy "Say, Charles," said Mr. Bnysell to his clerk, "if you will buy a seal skin sacque for your wife I'll give .vou. $25 toward the purchase." "I will do it," replied the clerk, "but Mr. Buysell, why this borst of Jiberalty?" . . "No liberality about, my dear boy. 1 your wife comes out in a sealskin, fon't you see it will save me tho ex pense of having to buy one for Mrs. Uuysoll." "How se?" lly you don't suppose she'd e?-f the same kind of clothes as my cerk's wife wears, do you?" Ex. There are many kinds of meanness, -'ut the man who steals a fan takes '1G pa'.ni. Noah sot off his ioke. and 11 18 rePeated here as an interesting P'ece of ancient history. Bait Subterranean Forests. "If you want to' see something curious," said a' friend who was a member of a government survey, "go down with me to Woodbine''. , Four miles beyond Woodbine, out on the sand stretch of old . sea bottom or beach, that is termed the Cape M!ay peninsula, we came, upon Dennis viJle, where all the Dennises ofjll time had evidently settled. :, , We're all in the loggin' business," said a tall, thin - Dennis, yet as far as the eye could reach not a tree could be seen standing "that would make even the ghost of a fair log. "They're underground. . ...We- dig for them, as you might say ..Here's the topV ' and stepping into a low i hut hebrought out a crowbar that, like everything elsc seemed attenuated, out into a long, slender pointed rodj "We wade along," continued the man, "and probe with this feeler and when we strike a Jog, we fee around, and if it's, a big one, we dig, j.t up, and if ain't we let it. soak: that's about the way of.it" , "So down in Jersey, you burrow for your logs ?" .. . . . ; . , , K "That's about it," replied tfie man. "You know we're obliged ,to' be a whit odd or so ; we've got the name of it anyhow." - ..:. "The secret of this business," said my friend, the geologist, "is that nges ago all this area: was covered with a fine growth of large trees, and the same are found growing in some parts of the swamp yet, but they have died out and fallen down and sunk into the soft mud, and so been covered up by mold and mud, until many other layers have grown over them ; but ia some remarkable way the wood is " preserved ; and these sunken ancient logs are just as good for shingles and other articles as they were when alive ; hence for many ye?rs there has been a steady hunt for them, and Dennisville is a result of the industry. To the bot anist the tree is the evergreen white cypress, and the numbers once grew over this swamp and that have been entombed are bej'ond conception. The trees upon or near the surface are the only ones available and for tunately are the best, but far below there are probably myriads of others turned to stone and representing the past geological ages of the earth. The logs.are worked out b' the men, who are nicknamed 'Swampoodles,' and who live in the midst of .the malarious district all their lives. When a log is found a ditch is made about it, into which the water soon flows. A great saw is then applied and the roots removed, and as a rule the log will rise to the surface and can be cut up and carried off, though in many localities the shingles' are made right on the spot and dragged oyer the swamp on roads .in. many cases made of boughs and.r'twigs. this curious business is not confined to New 'Jersey, but over in Delaware and Maryland., there are similar swamps, where the shingle business has been carried oh for years!. 1 One of the swamp? injDelaware extends over twenty-five . square miles, , and hardly a house in Sussex County but what is shingled from the ancient deposit.- PAi7 Press. - ; At'a negro baptizing in an Arkan- saw bayou, a rather ' small preacher conducted : a rather ! large ' brother down into the 'water, but only partly succeeded in immersing hint; " 'Look heah,' said the large broth er, drawing nimseii up, "is ms an de baptizin whut I'se gwin'e ter git P' "Ain'tdis' ernuff?" the preacher asked! lijLizJ:; 1 s-,:" n ":i s"No, it ain't." "Why so, sah?" "Case, wid dis little de debil will git me sho.' I'se prowled erroun' too much to hab my sins washed er way by dis little dip," "Come bn, "brudder, yer's been baptized ernuff. Ricolleck datit am de faith 'stead o' de water dat do de good." - i . , ' "Dat's all well ernuff. Come, souse me under heah erg'in.'' The preacher soused him again. Arising, he began to shout with a loud voice : ''Ob, I'se got tie ole de bil by de ho'ns dis time. G wine ' up yander whar " he suddenly stopped. The. preacher asked the cause. , "Oh, doan say nutfin'. Dar's er white manout vander whut am er go- in' ter cuze me er stealin' Ins coat. I neber seed him afore, but I jes' know dat he am er gwine ter do dat facie.' ArJcansaw Traveler. Old Judge Sanders is a great hmcr and has told about a dozen stories in regard to the ' weight of a certain big catfish that he canght. A friend, trying to entrap him, ask ed : , . . Judge, what iras the precise weight nf thai, hi or fish vou CaU2htf SPOILS AND MENTS. APPOINT- "That party is not worthy of exis tence if it depends on the spoils of office for vitality and" strength. Without those spoils, and . with the whjole power of the Government and ifs ten leg ions of office holders ex erted against it, the Democratic par ty elected.its candidate for President jn 1876 andl again in ljs8i."-Qharles-ton News and , Courier . J hot1 depend : on the ,. spoils of office for vitality-, and , strength'' may be true but has not been ( proved. , If it bad been announced in the Demo cratic platform at Chicago . in 1884 that the. 1U, 000 Republican office holders would all be retained in otfice, except a few known corrupt .officials or manifest incompetents, in case of Cleveland's i election, who. believes that Blaine would not have , been elected by a, large majority? We believe that New York would , have gone overwhelmingly for Blaine, and that the South would not have been ''solid," and by a great deal. . , . The spoils are not principles . but they, are looked for when one party turns another party . out. In South Carolina bow many .Republicans are in office under the State Government or in any place controlled oy tne State Democrats? The last man that was in office when. Hampton was elected we , suppose went out. Theoretically it is very magnani mous to keep in your political ene mies and to be above the enticements- of "spoils." But we doubt if any party can win that will give out in advance that the opposition will be retained although it may triumph. We are glad to know that Presi dent Cleveland has no fine-spun the ory about Civil Service. He is for maintaining the law that applies to some 15,000 officers. As to the remaining 96,000 he does not hesitate to supersede, decapitate or suspend. Thus far some 6,000 or more Repub licans have been asked to leave. If the "spoils" system is not right how is it that none but Democrats are put in control of the Departments or are sent abroad as Ministers or Consuls? The' President believes " enough in the "spoils" system to turn out "of fensive partisans" and put in men of his own party. Men may speculate and theorize about the baleful influ ence of the spoils but no party in this country is strong enough to dis pense with them. The life-time ten ure of office ' is not' adapted to the geriu3 and theory of our republican form of Government.- - It suits a mon archy and - an hereditary nobility. The doctrine of the fathers was fre quent elections. But if all officials are to Je .main, woj'iiste the elec tions? Turning out a President and electing another man will not' bring about any great results or changes as long as all other officials . are re tained. " ' The President is giving satisfac tion to most of the Democratic party. He is showing himself to be watch ful, laborious, painstaking, and anx ious to elevate the civil service, and, with some exceptions, his selections have been good. " He will carry on the good: work of reform and will re duce the expenditures as tar as is consistent with efficiency. J udge Thurman says ne is making changes in- the service as rapidly as possible with safety. Star. CUFFEES MATHEMATICS. A good story is told of a farmer in Schley, who rented some land last year to a colored man for a third of the crop. When the drought came on, his corn and cotton were affected by it. He gathered two, - bales . of. cotton and two wagon loads of corn. The lat ter he penned up for his own use and the cotton was sold. - When his land lord called for his share he was told that there was none for him. He was thunderstruck and asked : "Didn't I rent you the land for a third of the crop?'' "Yes, boss," said the dar key, "but you see dare was no third. Dere was only two bales of cotton and two loads of corn ; all mine and nuffin' for you by de contract.". And the landlord could not make cuffee believe any other way. Macon (Ga). Telegraph. - - - - A clergyman preached on the sin of attending to money matters on Sunday, -. and when the deacon passed the contribution plate not a person would put a cent in it. And some haw the preacher didn't feel flattered at the effect his sermon had - 1 produced; Texas Si f tings. THE What a Small Boy Could do. In one of our largest oil houses is employed a boy somewhat under size, whose duties are to keep the office clean and make himself useful. One day the senior member of the firm happened to chaff the little fel low about being so small, and said to him : . "You. will never amount to much, you are two small." The little fellow looked up from the work he was doing and said : ''Small as I am I can do some thing that no one else about this placecando." . . ,: "Oh, what is that?" asked his em ployer. t "I don't know us I ought to tell you,',' he replied. : But the employer being anxious to know urged him to tell what he could do that no one else about the place was able to do, j VI can keepfrom swearing," said the little fellow. -There' was a flush on more than one face present and no anxiety .for further information from the very small boy. Phil. Oil and Paint Re porter. I don't understand how the rail roads can afford to reduce the fare to one cent a mile. Oh it's very simple. They have to make up the loss in some, way. They do. How? They make the sleeping car por ter divide with the company. Ex. An old negro wbose raiment bore evidences of a recent hand to hand encounter called on the Secretary of State. "Well," said the official, "what can I do for yout'' "Yer kin hab er mean man erres- teQ, dat'stwhut yer kin do." "This office has no police jurisdic tion, old man." "Er haw, haw," laughed the old fellow shaking his head, "er haw haw. Ju'isdiction er he he. W'y, sah, yer puts me in mine o' de fack dat I'se er skuller an' er genner nian. Now dat's de way ter talk ter er pusson. Iwukedfurer pus- son las' yeah, an' durin' de whole time he didn' say er word like dat didn' treat me wid de right sort o' 'spect, sah; but dat ain' de bti3' ness in han' dis mawnin'. Dis am it: "Er while er go er man named Lige King come ter my house, call ed me out on de commons, an' almos' whupped de life outen me." "Well, we haven't anything to do with hat.'' - "De debil yer ain't!" "Of course not." "Ain't dis heah de State-'ouse!" "Yes." ' ' . m. "Wall, doan I lib in de State!" "Oh well," the secretary pleasant ly replied, "you ought not to grum ble about a whipping. A great many men are killed, and I think that you have gotten off well." "Oh, it ain't de whuppin' dat I mines so much, sah." "What is it, then!" "W'y, de'fernel scoundrel called me outen my house an', den whup ped me. De whuppin' wuz all right, but whut make him want ter 'sturb er gennerman whut am at pra'r! Doan de law o' de lan' say dat de ligous worshup mus'n' be 'sturb edf "Yes." "Wall, den, dat pusson 'rupted me while I wuz at worshup. Oh, I'se able ter stan' de whuppin', but when er pusson comes er roun' an' 'noys me when l se 'munin wia 1'eter an' Paul an' Silas an' nigger Demus, w'v it flings me all outen j'int, sah. I bids yer good mawnin', sah." WILD BOAR HUNTING. Exciting: Sport in good Old Ok tibbeha County, Mississippi. Three of us were on a deer drive in good old Oktibbeha county, and bordering on Trimcane swamp. A few miles west and north of Stack ville lies a beautiful eggshaped prairie, about one mile across and two the longest diameter: perfectly level, and at the time one mass ot brilliant flowers and wild strawber ries. A gray horse in the company looked as though he had walked in blood fetlock deep, just from the strawberries crushed in riding over the prairie. As we rode through the center we met a hunter on horse back, carrying a wounded hound be fore him on a saddle and in his arms, and upon inquiry we learned that the monarch boar of all'that country had attacked and nearly killed his favorite dog, and he was hurrying home to have hin attended to at the same time, with a hearty oath, he wished we would go back with him and kill the brute. After attending to his bleeding hound, we mounted and rode back with him, calling in all the dogs (we had ten or twelve splendid ones) except one, a pup that we had lost an hour before, that was still be hind. An old boar, monarch of a gang of hogs, running wild all his life, as they do in the swamps, is a dangerous enemy to. meet, lor with his cimeter-shaped tusks and stub born courage he feels himself able to cope with the largest gray wolf, and never fails to attack on sight. The one we were in search of had ripped the shoulder and neck, of the poor hound open with a deep and fast-bleeding gap eight inches long. After riding a mile we found him backed into a clump of small pines, growing very thick, with his head just out of it and his body partially protected. He sat on his haunches champing his jaws and with the white foam gathered in great flecks over his breast and forelegs. The hounds gathered baying around him, of which he seemed wholly un mindful and gave no evidence of watchfulness, except from the vi cious look of his devilish eyes and an occasional swift movement of his head when an unwary hound came two near him. But while we sat on our horses and consulted whether we had better shoot him as he sat we heard far back of us and coming over the prairie the full mouthed cry of our pup we had lost some hours before, and now was on our track hunting us up.'" As became near enough to hear our dogs and our voices he raised his head while in full run, and see ing the boar facing out of the clump of pines, without an instant's hesi tation he charged directly upon him and leaped squarely upon his head. Instantly, and before we could thnik for a second, every dog was npon him, and he striking and cutting with all his fearful power. The whole scene was' one of wild confu sion and in a second of time Calvin, our stoutest and bravest, was off and on to him, and holding him down. It was a fearful fight for six of our dogs. The " poor pup, whose inconsiderate courage pre cipitated the fight, did not suffer so much as some others, having only been cut through the side about lour inches. But we had the boar down and were sitting on him. !Now what to do with him was the question. I measured his tusks and found them five inches and a half long, white as ivory and sharp as a knife. We broke the points off and concluded after a council of war that we would let him live, if none of the hounds bled to death right there. But we were tying up the wounds and stanching the blood in the mean time, and found that all would get well with care. So we let the mon ster go. Even then we were care ful to mount and call off the dogs out of his reach; but he simply rose and sullenly stood his ground, while we rode off and left him, the fight not all out of him yet. Forest and Stream. Civil Service. There is no use in mincing terms about this civil service reform. It must always be more or less a hum bug under republican institutions, unless political parties are divided upon great and vital issues, so as to array the voting classes zealously on one side or the other. Without some stirring question is to be de cided at the polls, the masses of M. t voters will not vote. You must have "workers" to bring them out, and this is too practical an age and the Americans are too practical a people for "workers'' to labor and spend their money without the hope of some return or recognition from the Administration in the event of success. Indeed, it is not reasonable to expect them to do so when there is no great issue at stake. It is well to prate about patriotic duty and the necessities of economic Government, and all that, but the burden of abuses is pretty well distributed in this coun try, and it is rarely more to the interest of one man to exert himself at the polls or in inducing others to come to them, than it is to another. If it is not absolutely unjust, there fore, to demand such service from men when they know they will get no credit whatever lor, their efforts and sacrifices from the Administra tion, but are likely to see the drones who either did not go to the polls at all, or did not induce any one else to go- appointed to the most important and lucrative positions under the Government, without having any superior claims to them whatever, it is certainly very fool ish to expect it. Whether justly or not, the fact must be admitted that the present Administration .appears to have a downright prejudice against demo crats who nave Deen Juiown as organizers and "workers," and has sought to make most appointments from a class of drawbacks and drones, upon the plea that they are "business men" and not polticians. We take it that this is unjust and ungrateful. Men who have spent their substance in a cause: who have labored for its triumph year after year through the dust and heat of the conflict; who have clung to the democratic party through evil and through good report, and who have never wavered in their loyalty or zeal during the darkest hours of its history, are certaiuly entitled to more consideration Irom a democratic administration than the time servers who constantly consulted their own selfish aims who deserted or straggled when thev were most needed, and who played fast and' loose with both sides, waitina: for others to decide a contest in wrhich they were too proudand too cowardly and two selfish to participate. commercial HAY. The season for hay-cutting is at hand, and the greatest efforts should be made everywhere to harvest a large amount. Time cannot be spent more nroQtablv than in cutting and cw L ing hay. The native grasses and especially crab grass, which abounds in everv section. make excellent , and nutritious forage, as docs Bei muda, which has spread over i large portion of the South. Of course the cultivated grasses ant clover will be made into hay, where they arenot pastured. The practice of stacking hay in an open lot anc leaving it t'aere exposed to the sun and rains is one that should in every instance be abandoned. The waste in quantity and nutrition amounts to fully one-third when it is thus expos ed. Ex.... . JIM ESCAPE. A-NARROW Army Officer (atWashington) Yes, I have been in the service nearly ten years. Young Lady I suppose you have had some very narrow escapes? Army Officer (tinning pale at the recollection) I had a mighty nar row escape only a short while ago. ; Young Lady (breathlessly) What was it? Army Officer I came near being ordered West. Ex. AMONG THE DERRICKS. "I say, conductor," remarked a passenger as he boarded a train on a narrow-gauge railroad in the oil country, "which is the shady side of this car!" '-Thar hain't no shady side,"re plied the conductor, who was born in that region and knows how to speak the language. "ijj'o shady side?" "No, sir. Thar's so many curves and twists on this road an' the train runs so fast that the sun shines on both sides at the same time. Ex. Judge Sanders (to colored waiter.) I say, Bob, what did I say yesterday that catfish weighed? What time yesterday, boss in de mawnin, at dinner time, or after sup per? Christian at W orTc. Summer resorts and hotels are putting on big adjectives and other wise keeping apace with the season: Mosenbaum, who keeps the "Bou doir," was taken to task for stretch ing his advertisment too much. Hi there, Mose, said a friend, I see you advertise that your rooms have been enlarged. So dey haf. But there have been no carpenters at work on your place ! No ! Wait till I tole you. I haf scrape der paper oft dose walls. See? Hartford Post. A WOMAN'S QUESTION. Do you know you have aski;J for the costliest thing Ever made by the Hand above A woman's heart and a woman's life, And a woman's wonderful love? Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing As a child might ask for a toy. Demanding what others have died to win, With the reckless dash oi a boy.'' You have written my lesson of duty out, Manlike you have questioned me; Now stand at the bar of my woman's soul Until I shall question thee. You require your mutton shall always be hot, , Your socks and your shirts shall be whole; , , . , require your heart shall be. true as God's stars, And pure as heaven your soul. ' You require a cook for your mutton avid ' beet; ' 1 require a far better thin?; A seamstress you're wantim; for stock ings and shirts I look for a man and a king. A king for a beautiful realm called home, And a man that the maker, bod, Shall look upon as lie did the first, And say, '"It is very good." I am fair and young, but the roses will lade From my soft young cheek one day; Will you love me then, ?mid the falling . leaves, As you did 'mid the bloom of May ? Is your heart an ocean, so strong and deep I may launch my all on its tide? A loving woman finds heaven or hell On the day she is made a bride. 1 require all things that are grand and true, All things that a man should be; If you give this all I would stake my lifo lo be all you demand ot me. If you cannot do this, a laundress and cook You can hire with little to'pay; But a woman's heart and a woman's .life Are not to be won that way. iVT. O. Times' -Democrat. EASILY FLEAS ED. "I must congratulate you On your marriage,. Mr. Pugsby. . Your wife is a charming woman." "She is, indeed; loving, amiable, and accomplished, and so easily pleased." "Oh, I knew that when I heard that she was about to marry you. Phil. Call. THE DISH OP'S - VISIT. "Well, my little man," Bishop to Bobby, "do you said the remen.. bermel" . "Oh, yes, sir," replied Bobby. "You stopped with us when yn were here before. I'a thinks it can't cost you much for hotel bills." Ex. Fred. Douglas, the champion of the colored race, yet who married a white woman, in a speech made in the Lincoln Memorial Church on April 15th. Emancipation Day. used the following language : . Mr. Douglas eulogized Col. Bob Ingersoll and said, "that the negro love was a better test of Christianity than the love of Jesus. Hereafter all the con verted sin ners should be asked : . Do you desire to enter the church? Yes. ,'. , Do you love the negro better than Christ? Yes. Then enter into the congregation of the Lord. U. S. Democrat The Catcher's again, paddy? vVell, wife "Home what hick?" The Catcher "Immense ; wiped' em out. " J. ne score, x aauy me juio. "Six to nix." "And you, Paddy? you "Did I distinguish myself? Look at them, my love!" fLays three finger naib nnd one tooth on the table.) "The umpire." (anx iously.) (Solemely.) "tie sleeps. "Did you pluckily continue? "io, I pluckily retired. And now, darling, to hash. Phil. Call. Fifteen marriage licenses 12 for white and 3 for colored couples were issued from the Iiegisrer's office during the month of August, being an increase of one over the preceeding month Asheville Trib une. RpOne of the ugliest things that a gentleman can do is to receive a newspaper a whole year, and then deny that he ever ordered it, to keep from paying a dollar and a half . Methodist Advance. - o
The Commonwealth (Scotland Neck, N.C.)
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Sept. 10, 1885, edition 1
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