rfl.
THE-
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i .icial Organ of Washington County.
FIRST OF ALL THE NEWS.
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VOL. IX.
PLYMOUTH. N. C, FRIDAY. FEBRUARY 18. 1898.
NO. 22.
. I j
In Honor of
F '
Land of tho West! though passing brief the record of thine age,
Thou hast a name that darkens all on history's wide page!
Let all the blasts of Fame ring out, thine shall be loudest far;
Let others boast their' satellites, thou hast the planet star.
Thou hast a name whose characters of light shall ne'er depart,
'Tis stamped upon tho dullest brain, and warms the coldest heart;
A war-ory fit for any land where freedom's to be won,
Land of the West! it stands alone, It is thy Washington!
Eliza Cook.
WASHINGTON'S
o
o
KINDLY WAY. 8
o o
O General Greene's Daughter and the Great O
President. g
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Martha Littlefield Phillips, who
was the granddaughter of General Na
thaniel Greene's youngest daughter,
contributes to the Century "Recollec
tions of Washington and His friends,"
taken down from the lips of her grand
mother. ' She quotes the following ac
count of her grandmother's first meet
ing with "Washington:
"The" second great event of my
early life," said she, "was my first in
terview with General Washington.
But a faint suggestion now survives of
the love and reverence for Washing
ton which inspired the children of the
Revolution. These sentiments were
exceptionally strong in my brothers
and sisters and myself, because in ad
dition to the sentiment of patriotism
was the personal regard we held for
?Vashington as our father's intimate
friend and immediate commander.
"My mother had deeply imbued me
with the honor in store, and had
drilled my behavior to meet all the
probable requirements of the occasion.
I was, for examble, to rise from my
seat for presentation to General Wash
ington, and after tendering him my
profoundest courtesy, stand at ease,
and modestly answer all his possible
questions but at the same time keep
religiously in the background, where
all the good little girls of that day
were socially referred.
"The eventful day came, and I was
taken by my mother to Mount Vernon
to make the longed-for visit. We were
graciously welcomed by Mrs. Wash
ington; but my heart was so thick with
fluttering, and my tongue so tied, that
I made but a stuttering semblance of
response to her kindly questions. At
length the door opened, and General
Washington entered the room. I felt
my mother's critical . eyes, and ad
vanced with the intention of making j
keourtesy and declaiming the little
alflress previously taught me; instead
of which I dropped on my knees at
Washington's feet, and burst into
tears. All the resources of dramatic
art could hardly have devised a more
effective coup. Washington Btooped
and tenderly raised me, saying with
a smile, 'Why, what is the matter
with this foolish child?' The words do
not have a tender sound, but language
may not convey the gentleness of his
manner and the winning softness of his
voice, as he wiped away my tears with
his own handkerchief, kissed my fore
head, and led me to a seat as he
might a young prisoner. He sat be
side me, and with laughing jests,
brought down to the plane of my ap
preciation, banished my sins from my
eyes, rescued me from humiliation,
and bnr '.fjje back to composure.
2Ip giv"" v -rn my mother's out-
' ;,th him while
' me placed
'V'le, and
" U the
Washington.
the happiness and charming the con"
fidence of a shy and frightened child.
And so proud and happy was tho little
girl thus made that, seventy-five years
afterward, she lives with tears of joy
in her eyes, to tell the story to her
granddaughter. "
"How about Mrs. Washington,
grandmother? How did she impress
you?" I asked.
"The fact is," she replied, "I was
so absorbed on that occasional with
General Washington, I paid very
little attention to his wife. She took
small note of children, and the only
recollection that comes to me of her in
that first interview is that she was
handsome, of dignified carriage, and
was dressed in a rich . figured silk,
with an embroidered apron around
her waist, and a dainty kerchief folded
about her neck and shoulders."
Washington's Ancestral Home.
Washington Hall, in Durham
County, 'England, which was lately
sold under the hammer, with the ad
joining grounds, for 2025 was the
early home of the ancestors of George
Washington. The building dates
from the early part of the seventeenth
home or Washington's ancestors. !
century, and it was erected by William
James, Bishop of Durham. .
It is of stone, having mullioned
windows and boldly projecting
porches. A large outstanding chim
ney is at one end of the house. The
building ia now fast falling into ruin.
The Washington family occupied the
old manor for five centuries before
the hall was built.
William D. Wessington's name ap
pears as a witness to the charters of
the Bishop of Durham between 1260
and 1274, and Washington Irving
has traced to the Wessingtons, of
Durham, George Washington's an
cestry. Washington's Hand.
George Washington's hand was de
scribed as that of a giant. On the last
occasion of General Lafayette's visit to
this country he remarked to Mr. Cus
tis when referring to a former vkit.
"You were holding to a single finger
of the good general's remarkable hand
the greatest feat you could perform
at that time."
Washington was the champion jumper
of his day. In one match he covered
twenty-one feet three inches, easily
beating all competitors.
Aa Example of Virtuous Power.
To George Washington nearly alone
in modern times had it been given to
accomplish a wonderful revolution and
et to remain to all future time the
erne of a people's gratitude and an
unple'of virtuous and beneficent
UT. Lord John Eussell.
, Washington.
, ' Vbtest on history's page,
i V clime or age,
, v vrftoin, man and sage,
- ' Washington!
PEST OF FIERCE WOL VES.
NEBRASKA CATTLEMEN HUNTINC
FOR MEANS OF KILLING THEM.
The Destruction of Cattle by the Gray
Wolves a Serious Matter and Becoming
AVorse Ferocity of the Beasts liven
Men Are Sometimes Attacked
Owners ot great herds on the ranges
of northwestern Nebraska, writes
correspondent of the New York Sun,
have come to the conclusion that some
thing must be done to prevent the kill
ing of so much stock bv the wolves.
This subject has been attracting more
and more attention every year amon
stockmen. Some startling figures
have been gathered during the past
year by ranch owners in this part of
Nebraska. They show that the loss
from wolves is increasing in spite of
everything stockmen have done to ex
terminate the pests
An estimate of the losses of cattle
owned by members of the Northwest
Nebraska Stockmen's association has
just been completed by Secretary
Church. It snows that 15 per cent,
of the herds are lost from year to year,
and 90 per cent, of the loss is attrib
uted to the wolves. With the excep
tion of severe and sudden storms, the
wolves are about the only source of
serious loss to the producers of range
stock in this and adjacent states. The
reports to the secretary agree that the
damage is increasing at the rate of 5
per cent, a year, and various foremen
say that wolves are becoming as great
a menace to range stock producing as
jack rabbits are to agriculture in Aus
tralia. The reports estimate that about 10,-
000 wolves are destroyed annually iu
the territory. Most of them are killed
by poison administered by the em
ployes of various rauches. Some
counties pay a bounty of $5 a scalp,
but the bounty is declared to be
merely a source of profit to profes
sional wolf hnnters, who travel about
in the mountains, slaying the animals
where they are most plentiful, and
tLn shipping them to counties where
the bounty is largest. The stockmen
see no relief in this direction. In
view of the fact that ranchmen have
been trying poison without an mate
rial benefit, the reports agree that
other measures are necessary at once,
as the wolves are increasing in num
bers. They are as tough as pine knots
and as ferocious as tigers. They will fre
quently fight men alone and in packs,
and are dangerous to range riders.
They are as large asabloodhound.and
have fangs and tusks that are as sharp
as knives. Two can run down and
kill the strongest steer on the range.
They usually sneak up as close to the
bunches of cattle as possible, and then
rush down on the herd, scattering as
they approach. Frequently a steer is
killed for every wolf in a pack. They
are not content with plenty of. flesh to
eat, but seem to kill for the satisfac
tion of the warm blood they find to
drink, though w hen hungry the packs
clean the bones.
The cotnmon coyotes of the prairie,
which abound in great numbers all
over this part of the state.arenot dan
gerous to healthy cattle. They are
not large enough to drag down any
thing larger than a sheep, but if a
steer gets down from any cause the
coyotes will gather in such numbers
that he will be overpowered and eaten,
hide and all. These fellows are not
more than half as large as the gray or
mountain wolves, and are killed by
the score by the poison scattered by
the cowboys.
The mountain wolves are more cun
ning and cannot be induced to touch a
carcass handled by the cowboys. They
appear to detect the presence of the
human being, though days may have
elapsed since the bait was touched by
human hands. Ordinarily the cow
boys put in the best part of the win
ter poisoning' the pests. They take
the carcass of an old cow, cut it in
half, and fill the pieces with strych
nine. Then the poisoned meat is
dragged to some isolated point on the
range. The meat is greedily devoured
by the coyotes and every one that par
takes of it dies. But this simple meth
od will not work with the mountain
wolves. These ferocious animals ap
proach a carcass carefully. If it has
not been touched by human hands for
days their keen scent warns them, and
they have to be hungry indeed to
touch it. So the cowboys have to
wear heavy gloves in handling the
carcass. If the cow man does not
touch the carcass with his hands, but
inserts the, strychnine with gloved
hands, he may catch a few gray wolves,
but these strong beasts find it nearly
as easy to spring into a bunch of steers
and kill several fine animals as to tear
a dead carcass to pieces. They love the
warm blood so much that it affords an
additional reason why they pass
the poisoned carcass when the live
herds are browsing in the immediate
vicinity. When spring approaches
the packs of mountain wolves retire to
the fastnesses of the mountains where
forage is plentiful, only to return to
the ranges as soon as cold weather sets
iu.
Foreman Henderson Clark of Three
Bar ranch, in the extreme northwest
ern part of Nebraska, fays iu his re
port on the damages from the wolf
evil:
"As au evidence of 'fie streugth and
I
daring of mountain wolves I recit
the following experience I had with
two gray wolves of great size late last
spring. I was searching for a small
bunch of my cattle that had wandered
into an isolated section near the South
Dakota line. I had seen a number of
big, gaunt wolves in the foothills
which slunk away snapping their ugly
jaws as I rode by. I had a six shootei
with me, but did not anticipate trouble.
"Suddenly as 1 was riding through
a small draw where the grass was un
usually rank and underbrush thick,
my horse gave a snort and a bound,
and two enormous gray wolves sprang
from the cover at me. One actually
grasped my horse by the leg, while
the other fastened his fangs in the thick
leggings I wore. The horse neighed
with fright and pain and attempted to
escape. 1 beat one of the wolves ovei
the head with my whip, forgetting my
pistol for a moment. He released the
grip on my leg and again sprang at
me, this time getting a better hold
with his teeth in my horse's shoulder.
By this time I regained my presence
of mind, drew my six-shooter, and shot
the brute hanging on to the horse's
shoulder. At the report of the pistol
the other wolf, which had been very
industriously gnawing my horse's hind
leg, ran away. The dead wolf, I
should say, wtighed fully 150 pounds.
He was six feet long from nose to tip
of tail, and looked as dangerous as a
panther. My horse was so badly lac
erated that he could not carry me
home, and I was later forced to shoot
him. This damage was accomplished
in less than three minutes.
"This year the big gray fellows are
so numerous and dangerous that all
the range riders in my territory carry
their Winchesters on all trips of any
distance. I believe if something is
not done to solve this problem the
range of the great Northwest, in
cluding Nebraska, will have to be
wholly abandoned by stockmen, and
the cattle industry will have to be con
fined to narrow limits where each
bunch of steers can be carefully
watched by riders."
DISLIKE RESTRAINT.
Metal-Cutting Beetles and How They
Work -A Yucatan Production.
F. W. Devoe presented an interest
ing subject for the consideration of
the New York Microscopical society.
As a result of long study of beetle
habits he brought before the society
specimens of the metal-cutting beetles
and of their wonderful work.
The first metal-cutting beetle which
Mr. Devoe became possessed of was
one sent to him from Yucatan. He
inclosed the specimen in a cardboard
box. The next morning the beetle
was found enjoying his ease about the
room, and a hole in the side of the
box showed the manner of his exit.
He was then placed in a glass jar with
a black walnut cover. That he cut
through the next night. He Avns re
placed in the jar, and a metal eover,per-
f orated with a few airholes, was placed
over it. The bet tie did not begin
work on this cover for about a week,
but at the end of that time, within the
space of forty-eight hours, he had cut
an opening between two of the holes
large enough to get part of his body
through. With more tune he would
have enlarged the opening sufficiently
to admit of his escape.
Mr. Devoe has had several speci
mens ot the metal-cutting oeetie
since. They measure m length from
four and a half to five centimeters, and
in breadth from one and a half to two
centimeters. Their backs are covered
with little knobs, in lines, and their
sides with yellowish scales. Their
antennie have from nine to eleven
joints. They are very slow, deliber
ate walkers, and are chiefly active in
the darkness.
Mr. Devoe had several specimens
on exhibition, with samples of their
cutting powers. He also exhibited
plates representing in magnified form
the beetle s dissected head and jaws
and the jar covers which had been
cut. New York Tribune.
The Household Treasure.
How widely opinions differ concern
ing the value aud qualifications of its
mother's joy, is proved by the follow
ing definitions of a baby: A tiny feath
er from the wing of love dropped into
the sacred lap of motherhood. The
bachelor's horror, the mother's treas
ure, and the despotic tyrant of the
most republican househeld. The
morning caller, noonday crawler, mid
night brawler. The only precious
possession tnat never excites envy.
The latest edition of humanity, of
which every couple think they possess
the finest copy. A native of all coun
tries who speaks the language of none.
About twenty-two inches of coo and
wriggle, writhe and scream, filled wi a
suction and testing apparatus for milk,
and automatic alarm to regulate sup
ply. A quaint little craft called In
nocence, laden with simplicity and
love. A thing we are expected to kiss
and look as if we enjoyed it. A little
stranger with a free pass to the heart's
best affections. That which makes
home happier, love stronger, patience
greater, hands busier, days shorter,
nights longer, clothes shabbier, the
past forgotten, the 'future brighter.
Waverly Magazine.
The annual poultry product of Mis
souri is estimated to be worth 1 0,000,-000.
CEORCE WASHINGTON'S SEAL. "
Valuable Relic
Owned
Alan.
by a Chicago
A Chicago house painter owns the
identical seal with which George
Washington signed Major Andre's
death warrant. The fortunate posses
sor of this valuable relic ia Bushrod
D. Washington, a direct descendant
from Augustine Washington, third
WASHINGTON S SEAL.
child of Augustine Washington, father
of the President, who inherited the
seal from his father, Bushrod Wash
ington, great-grand-nephew of the
General. History says that this seal
was used when George Washington
sent peremptory command to General
Lee to make the trip across the Del
aware. Not being able to lay his
hands at once upon the seal of the
office, General Washington tore hia
private seal from his watch chain,
dipped it in molten tallow and made
the impression on the order.
Where Martha Washington Hied.
The room in Mount Vernon where
Washington died is the chief point of
interest in the old mansion to all
visitors. It is a fair-sized apartment
on the second floor, with two wide
windows, thinly draped, between
which stands the bevl. The four rather
slender bedposts reach almost to the
ceiling, supporting the frame of a
canopy, not now in place. The bed,
the table, the hair-covered trunk, the
surveyor's tripod, cloak and chair in
this room are all originals, and have
suffered badly from the surreptitious
knives of relic hunters.
By the way, not even Washington's
biographer and namesake escapes this
fate. Washington Irving's gravestone
in the little Sleepy Hollow graveyard
of Tarrytown was so chipped and
broken by vandal hands that a few
years ago it had to be replaced by a
uew stone, a fac-simile of the old one.
Martha Washington did not die in
the same room as her husband, but in
a room in the garret, under whose
sloping roof the heat was insufferable
in summer and the cold not slight in
winter, lighted only by a dormer win
dow. The lower corner of the door of this
attic room is cut off. This was done
for the convenience of the cat which
was Mrs. Washington's sols companion
in her lonely vigil of eighteen months
after the General's death, a companion
... .. .. . .. - -
which tho old General himself had
often petted.
It was the custom of the family to
shut up for two years a room in which
a death had occurred, and this was
the reason why Martha and her cat
moved to the shabby and stuffy little
garret.
The Original Hackman.
"Why don't you branch out?" asked
little George of the cherry tree.
"I wood leave this place," answered
the cherry tree," if . I had some way to
move my trunk."
"If that's all that detains you," said
the embryo father of his country,
"I'll see that you get a hack." And
he went over to the woodshed in
search of his little hatchet. Chicago
News.
Naturally.
"George Washington's opinion al
ways carried great weight," remarked
the philosopher.
No one making any reply to this, he
went on as follows:
"That is not strange, however, see
ing that a single syllable of his name
was a whole ton."
Washington's Book Plate.
THE "NECATIVI" EAR.
Strange Inability of Somn People to Un
derstand II timuu Language.
Mrs. Lounsbury of Chicago, who
for ten years has been training pupils
of a deaf-mute asylum, has decided to
devote herself to the education of the
"negative" ear. While at the asylum
she d sojvered that one of.her pupils
could hear, but could not ajjpreeiate
the different shades of tone. She
studied and experimented, with the
result that she found children classed
as deaf-mutes who were afflicted only
with a sort of "color blindness of the
ear," that prevented them from dis
tinguishing the different tones of the
sounds they heard. She called the
affliction "the negative ear." Says
the Chicago Tribune:
In a California institution for deaf
mutes Mrs. Lounsbury discovered nine
children possessed of the "negative"
ear. They could hear as well as any
one, hear even a whisper, but they
were utterly unable to discern shades
of tone, and so could not understand
language.
In an eastern school she once found
a young woman who had spent almost
her whole life in the institution, had
learned the sign language and lip
reading, and yet could hear perfectly.
Had this fact been discovered early
in life, six months' or a year's train
ing would have fitted her to enter the
public schools and obtain an education
with other children ;but she had never
made a sound, and her parents thought
her deaf and mute.
Among the pupils afflicted in this
way now receiving instruction in
speech there are two particularly in
teresting cases. One is that of a
small boy of twelve years, whose par
ents thought him an idiot, and whose
language is so twisted and filled with
substitutions of incorrect sounds that
no one who has not made a study of
his attempts can understand what he
ays.
Yet he is bright, active and talka.
tive, and thinks he can talk a com
mon delusion among persons so
troubled. He has been studying now
only two weeks, but already his speech
is becoming better, and one or two
words spoken in every sentence are
clearly spoken.
The other case is that of
man, who had grown to
a young
manhuod
speaking a language wholly unintelli
gible to others, but without finding
out what was the matter with him. In
a month he has learned to talk fairly
well, and in a few months more will
be in a position to enter upon active
business life.
The method of curing the "nega
tive" ear is no less strange than the
trouble itself. It is, of course, im
possible to teach the child through
wol ds spoken by others, or it would
have learned in the natural manner.
Instead, the process is reversed. The
child is taught to speak correctly by
instructing it in the positions of the
mouth and tongue, and the w ords
spoken are made to teach the ear.
The child's own tongue cultivates its
ear. No other tongue can do it.
The Postal Savings Bank.
For many years efforts have been
made to establish postal savings banks,
but the project has always been vio
lently opposed by the people who did
not wish banking business diverted
from its present channels. There is
1 iust now a possibility that the postal
! 1 1 i t 1 m
savings bank may materialize. This
will be of great benefit to small depos
itors and those who have no confidence
in the ordinary bank. A bill which is
to be introduced e U'ly in the next ses
sion of Congress, provides that the
amount deposited shall not exceed
three hundred dollars. There are
many localities where banks are not
convenient, and a very large contin
gent of the public have no real faith in
banks as a means of safety- for their
hard-earned dollars. No matter how
reliable these institutions may be,
they have heard so many stories about
"runs" and bank failures that they
have grown suspicious. If they can
put their treasures direct into the
hands ,of Uncle Sam they will feel
much more confident as to their safety,
aud very much more money will be
saved by this means. As an encour
ager to thrift and prudence the postal
savings bank will be one of the most
valuable auxiliaries in the community.
German Army's Colored Bandmaster.
Sabac el Cher is the only colored
bandmaster in the German army. He
is at the head of the music corps of
the Boyal Prussian regiment of gren
adiers, King Frederick III (No.l East
Prussian), which garrisons Koenigs
berg, Prussia. Sabac el Cher is said
to be remarkably handsome. His
father was born in lower Egypt.
Prince Albrecht cf Prussia found him
at the court of the kedive and brought
him to Berlin. He married a German .
woman, Sabac el Cher played the
violin when he was eight years old
and received an excellent musical edu
cation. The band is in great de
mand. Chicago Chronicle.
Jneer.Way of Making a Living.
A curious character in Paris is a
man who makes his living by strolling
along the boulevards and making wag
ers at the cafes that he can answer
correctly any question that relates to
the history of France. He always
wins the bet.
i