Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

* Comrades in Dead Valley By CHARLES E. BAXTER (?, 1922, Western Newspaper Union.) Mike Maloney had traversed many wild places during his sixty years of life, but Dead Valley seemed likely to De the last of them. For five days he had set his face steadily westward over the burning, barren alkali lands, toward the myth ical mine, in spite of warnings that no man had ever crossed Dead Valley from end to end. And now Mike saw his own end approaching. He had trusted to luck and to his own dogged will power. The will burned as unquenchably as ever, but the luck was out-dead* out It wa9 twenty-four hours since he had tasted water. Twenty-four hours under a Dead Valley sun ! If he could go on twenty four hours longer, he could reach safety. But the blood ls his veins had turned to sirup and cinders, and he had staggered to the thin shade of a cactus and fallen there. "I guess this"s all, Bill," he said. The great wolfhound Stood beside bim, panting,- its tongue hanging from its mouth. In its appealing eyes old Mike, too, read the presentiment of death. Mike stretched out his hand. "We been good friends these four or five years, Bill," he said. "It's kinder bard." Suddenly a thought flashed through bis mind that made him wince with shame and humiliation. But it re turned unbidden. As if sensing it, the great hound leaped back with a whine and laid Its ears foi-ward. ; Old Mike had one bullet left In his revolver. He had planned that for himself, in case he failed to win out In his fight with Dead Valley. Now another use for it had occurred to him. Aftei* all, if death for both was cer tain, was it not more merciful to end the hound's sufferings quickly-and to restore his own life by the sacrifice of the animal's? In lonely places thoughts become al . most as things. As Old Mike drew the loaded revolver from its holster and called the animal, Bill snarled and be gan running in circles round and round him, just out of revolver range. He might' suddenly have gone mad, for he was snapping and snarling, and - showing a marked Inclination to dash to upon his.master. "He's gone mad," thought Mike. "That fixes that." He drew aim and fired. A few hairs flew from the hound's tail. Mike Maloney bad missed. And, like an , arrow, Bill darted at his throat. . Mike was just In time to spring to his feet and greet the anlme.l with a vicious kick that hurled It, snarling and whimpering, a dozen feet away. And then Mike knew that the same awful thought that had come to him had come tp the dog too. And like primitive man" he had to face his ca nine foe unarmed, trusting in his wits against Its superior speed and the grip of its fangs. Hours must have gone by, while the two circled about each other, watch tog each other. Mike still had his jackknife. If lt came to close quar ters he felt confident that he could plunge thmugh the shaggy hide into the heart-provided his strength held out. But already the first coma of unconsciousness was overcoming him, and the brilliant alkali desert swam before his eyes. The dog seemed to have become a pack of six. ever circling round and round him, sometimes uttering a feeble yelp from the parched throat, out of which the tongue, swollen to a frightful size, protruded. Mike lay down at last, his jack knife in his hand, waiting. Slowly the hound came nearer. Its bloodshot eyes gleamed wickedly. It showed an almost human cunning in the way it appreached, fawning, whimpering Mike thrust. He missed. The hound leaped back with a yelp. But it had been almost too cunning for him. Mike had been half unconscious without knowing it. Another instant and those fangs would have been in his throat. The hound was lying in the distance, panting, looking at him. Mike stole cautiously toward it. He must make an end before unconsciousness super vened. Then he would be refreshed, to take up his terrible journey. He walked with hand outstretched. "Good ole Bill !" he said thickly. The animal watched him; then, see tog the knife, it suddenly turned tall and disappeared into the, distance. And Mike fell prone and uncon scious upon the alkali. . ***?.* Water! It was trickling Into his throat, the sweetest drink that he had known In all his life. Mike opened his eyes. A tent was over him. And beside him Stood Jim Lavery, his old partner. "Lie still, ye durned old fool. Ye'll be all right now," said Jim. "You-where am I?" "Right In the middle of Dead Val ley. We got up a search party out in Larrabee. Guessed we'd find you party nigh finished. But we'd never have found you. if that hound of yours hadn't found us." A soft tongue caressed Mike's hand. Mike looked" Into the faithful eyes of th? watcher at his side and under stood. Roman Emperors Builded Well. The aqueduct of Applus Claudius Caecus dates from 312 B. C WOT AS SHE HAD PICTURED Girl Who Had Herself Paged in Hotel Unprepared for Meeting With Flippant Individual. The girl had never been paged In a hotel. Time after time she had heard the bellboys go by calling out names, and always she had envied the young women who got up and followed them to the telephone. It got to be a positive mania with her-this desire to be paged-and finally she persuaded one of her friends to telephone her at a hotel at a specified time. \ She waited in the lobby, sitting on the edge of her seat ixt excitement, un til the boy appeared. "Miss Brown! Misis Brown!" She rose excitedly. "I am Miss Brown," she said. "Gentleman waiting to see you out front" She looked rather surprised; that had not been in the scheme. But per haps he had changed his mind. She followed the boy obediently, and was led face to face with a perfect stranger. Her face grew pink with confusion as she gazed at him, and he, realizing the mistake, w?tched her in amuse ment. He was a rather loudly dressed young man with a great air of assur ance. For a moment they stared; then he spoke. "Not so good," he said slowly, and then, as an after thought, "but not so bad, either!" And the girl fled in embarrassment. OFFER MARK TWAIN REFUSED Nothing Sadder, He Is Reported to Have Said, Than Editorship of Humorous Periodical. About that time my wife helped me put another temptation behind me. This was an offer of sixteen thousand doliars a year, for five years, to let my name be used as editor of a hu morous periodical. I praise her for furnishing her help in resisting that temptation, for it is her due. There was; no temptation ? about it, in fact but she would have offered her help just the same if there had been one. I can conceive of many 1 wild abd extravagant things when my imagination is in gool repair, but I can conceive of nothir.g quite so wild j and extravagant as th? idea of my ac- J ceptlng the editorship of a humorous periodical. I should regard that as the saddest , of all occupations. If I should under take it I should have to add to it the occupation of undertaker, to relieve It in some degree of Its cheerlessness. -From "Unpublished Chapters from the Autobiography of Mark Twain" in . Harper's Magazine. Where Long Necks Are Stylish. In Burma, among the Karens, a long neck is the ambition of every woman. Her mother starts thinking about this when her daughter is a baby, and starts to accomplish this swan-like effect when the tots are scarcely able to walk. The method employed is a series of heavy brass rings, which are as thick as your little finger. These are put around the child's neck, and as she grows, more rings are added, thus forcing her neck to lengthen out More rings are added year after year as the girl grows into womanhood. Twenty-one of these coils is the aver age worn, although 25 have been achieved. The 21-ring-collared woman is thought beautiful, but the 25-ringed lady is considered a raving beauty under the Karens of Burma. Hidden Brine River. A thousand feet beneath the town of Midland, Mich., run rivers of brine charged with calcium, sodium, magne sium, strontium, bromine and chlorine. Forty pumping wells raise the brine, and separative processes release from lt the bases of photographic emulsions, medicines, cement, tanning materials, perfumes, preservatives and cold-stor age solutions. The magnesium was used for war flares, and now, com bined in a secret alloy, furnishes metal ? one-third the weight of aluminum, sustaining a pressure of 24,000 pounds per square Inch. In the form of gas- , engine pistons, after a test equivalent : to that of a motor car running 30 miles an hour continuously for 35,000 miles scarcely a sign of wear was discern- j Ible.-Scientific American. Of Course Not! A negro boarded a tramcar. After a word with the conductor, he shuf fled toward the door again. An inspector, who happened to be in the car, said to him, "surely you don't want to get off so soon-and you haven't paid." "Ah want ter go ter Whopple street," said the negro, "an* de con duc?an says dab's no sich place." "Well, there isn't," said the con ductor. "Den dah's sure no good In ma gwlne dah."-Edinburgh Scotsman. Baffin Land. Bafl?n Land, a barren insular tract in British North America, lies between latitude 61 degrees and 72 degrees north, with Lancaster sound on the north, Baffin bay and Davis strait on the east, the Gulf of Bothnia and Fox channel on the west ard Hudson bay on the south. The area is about 236, 000 square miles. It is Inhabited by a few Eskimos, but is vlidted occasion ally by whalers. RAISE BUGS TO F.^HT BUGS French Scientists Breed Insects and Birds That Are Enemies of Fruit Destroying Pests. There is a quaint institution in Men tone, in the south of France, known as the Insectarium, where learned pro fessors are rearing various species of bugs and other insects. Mentone ls in the center of an im portant fruit-growing district, and the object is to discover the best means of fighting those insect pests that prey upon plants and ruin the fruit. The orchards have suffered severely through the ravages of the mealy bug, and the fruit growers were becoming quite alarmed. Then experts discov ered that three other species of bug are the natural enemies of the mealy. So these are being bred and reared and turned loose in the orchards as allies of the fruit growers. The institution ls also breeding cer tain species of ladybirds to destroy the cochineal, an insect that plays havoc with orange and lemon trees. These ladybirds have been brought from far Australia and California. The institution is nothing less than an up-to-date insect farm, consisting of a large private house and an acre of ground. In the laboratory are rows upon rows of phials and jars, the larvae of various Insects which are kept at a high temperature. In the gar den are cages full of all kinds o? creeping and flying pests. VAST WEALTH FROM SILVER Fortunate Spaniards Spent Millions M the Average Man Might Dis pense His Dollars. In the old Spanish days in Mexico, millionaires were often made over night In the rich silver-mining sections around Guadalajuata. A shrewd pros pector in the early days, named Zam brano, discovered a mine which brought him Immense wealth. He spent most of his time in the cap itals of Europe, living as extravagant ly as possible, squandering vast sums at the gaming table, but managing to leave a snug little fortune of $60,000, 000. One of his whims was to lay a silver pavement in front of his house, but this the authorities forbade. In these days sliver was on a parity with gold. The conde de Valenciana, who dis covered one of the richest mines In this section, derived so much wealth from lt that he is said to have gotten rid of $100,000,000 in a few years. Another silver king sent the king of Spain $2,000,000 as a Christmas pres ent, and asked to be allowed to build galleries and portals of silver around his mansion. This request was re fused, the authorities declaring that such magnificence was the privilege of royalty only. ? >, 3a,' Making Burglar's Tools. The "Black museum" at Scotland Yard has recently acquired a fine set of house-breaking tools .which had been abandoned by their owner after a burglary. These Instruments show wonderful workmanship. T?tere Is a collapsible jimmy that folds up In the pocket, a rope ladder of silk that fits into the palm of the hand, a num ber of keys and lock-picking instru ments, and a neat oxygen-acetylene blow-lamp. Where do burglars obtain these marvelous tools? They are ex perts at making skeleton keys and so on, but they are not capable of mak ing the other Implements. No respect able firm manufactures such articles, and, although a small quantity Is made secretly by employees of repu table firms, the majority come from special factories engaged In nothing else but making burglars' tools. Such factories are hidden away in back streets, and It is almost Impossible to locate them. Caribs' Flashing Thunder Bird. The Australian thick-headed shrike Is about six inches long, rich-yellow below, with a jet-black collar and a white throat, black head and partly black tall. It is sometimes called the black-breasted fly-catcher and lt has also a variety of French and New Latin names. In the mythology of some low tribes, such as the Caribs, Brazilians, Harvey islanders, Karens, Bechunas and Ba8Utos, there are legends of a flapping or flashing thunder bird, which seems to translate into myth the thought of thunder and lightning descending from the upper regions of the air, the home of the eagle and the vulture. Simple Life in India. In some parts of India, I discovered, clothes-or the lack of them-cause little concern f children up to six or eight years old wear absolutely noth ing. All the barbering is done^ in the open street. For the most part, houses are sim ply built of clay, with brush thrown over the top. The? better classes of native?f pile into tenement houses as people do In the congested districts of New York City, and their ambition seems to be to crowd as many persons into a room as possible, and to have as many Children as nature will per mit-World Traveler. Love of Nature. "Whut is .your favorite flower?" "WelJ," replied Farmer Corntos?el, "I guess an orchid is about as satis factory as any." "Orchids are beautiful but rare." "That's why I favor 'em. There's no chance of they're gettin' a start like daisies or dandelions an' havin' to be weeded out."-Washington Star. Paladins of South Carolins John Hampden Brooks. Capt. "Ham" Brookes, as he wi known throughout the length ai breadth of the up country, althouf he became lieutenant colonel d?rir the Confederate war, was born ; Edgefield, educated at Cokesbur Mount Zion institute, Winnsboro, ar the South Carolina college, class < 1854. His grandmother was a Butler, h grandfather, Zachariah Brooks, ser' ed with distinction in the Revolutic and his father, Col. Whitefie] Brooks, one of the most prominei men of his day and time in the u country. The Butlers and the Brool were Whigs on whom the war lai heavy toll. Many were killed, som bein massacred at Cloud's creek. Owing to th? ill health of his fatl er, Col. Whitefield Brooks, the mai agement of the plantation fell on h wife, a woman of discernmen shrewd business tact and of larg sympathies. Traditions of her lingi yet in the community more than 5 years after her death. Capt. "Ham Brooks always told me that he owe everything to his mother's training "Roselands," eight or nine mile below old Ninety Six, was one of th large estates of the up country. Eve so late as 40 years ago it had r? fained features of colonial times. Th large plantation house faced a flowe garden, once tenderly cared for an exquisitely kept. The road wound b the dwelling in a crescent, tumin from the highway. From end to en it was shaded by oaks. Onet cou) "hear through their umbrage anees tral the wind prophesy as of yore. In open spaces Bermuda and blu grass grew; back of the grove of bi] trees behind the house, the land fe! away to a spring, pure and sweel whose flow was carried off in branch into the wilds of Half Wa; swamp. To the southwest . anothe branch issued from a hillside, cours ing over rocks and through gravell; soil toward what was known as "th territory," where it joined Ninet; ?Six creek. To the worthwest rosi from the crown of a hill a patch o stately pines, visible ten or twelvi mils away in that region of hills am marking the site of "Roselands" as ? lighthouse marks port. The upper and lower veranda were festooned with vines. In seasoi the whole place was glorified witl roses, but many flowers blew then down to the "primrose and the viole and earliest roses blown." The grove was always alive witl squirrels, many albinos among them for Captain Ham followed the exam pie set by his wise mother and wai a conservator. The family chapel wa; just off the highway, to the right a: you went toward Edgefield. These things are after all, merelj by the way. When you stopped ir front of the door, a negro took youl horse and the host greeted you. Froir the moment of arrival you were one with the family. There was neithei shade nor shadow of turning in youi welcome. The wide hall had the draw ing room on the right, its walls or namented with ancestral portraits, and the dining . room on the left, where the wide sideboard knew and did its duty. Over it all presided Mrs. Brooks, whose charm greeted you and grew steadily; for each day and hour re vealed some phase, new and unexpec ted, in her girted character. A lovely woman, a lovable woman, with a dig nity never ruffled, and a grace equal to exacting demands at home and abroad. Her influence was visible. It represented not only law, but the force behind law, love. It was just as unthinkable that any man, woman or child should transgress her gracious demands, as would be the attempt to extinguish the sunlight. Rarely en dowed by nature and moving all her youth in the highest circles of South Carolina society-she was a daughter of Gov. James H. Adams-she had been educated at the famous Bar hamville School for Girls, just out side Columbia, and later in Faris. The Adams home below Columbia, "Live Oak," was a x*endezvouH before the war for wit, beauty and fashion. Beautiful women are not uncom mon in the world, nor are women of intellect and culture. At least they were not in days of yore. To beauty, grace, charm, breeding and culture Mrs. Brooke added an individuality, defying analysis, yet as palpable and invigorating as sun shine. The lot of a cultured woman, ac customed to society, who was shut off by force of circumstances in the depth of the country, with no near congenial neighbors' and in sadly re duced circumstances after the war, was a particularly trying one. In ad dition^ there was the care of a large family. How grandly she rose to meet it and how superbly she was mistress of the situation was a continual de light to me, and tb every one permit ted within the sacred precincts of "Roselands." When such women cease te exist, there will be nothing worth living for, working for or dying for, Civili zation will be in ruins. On the outbreak of war Captain Brooks organized a company, his mother uniformed the men and he en tered the army, making a record of service, distinguished from the be ginning unto the end. At General Ha good's suggestion and by permission of General Beauregard, he took a lot of federal prisoners, who wished to change sides and formed them into a command, having been himself commissioned a lieutenant colonel. These men proved to be traitors and formed a plot to murder their officers between Charleston and Savannah, where the surroundings were conge nial for dark deeds. While awaiting reinforcements, With, a lot of men around, whom he knew were oath bound to murder him, John Hampten Brooks displayed the cool courage in which he abounded. I never have known a man who more acutely real ized danger or more thoroughly de spised .it. The tense and awful situation, which lasted two hours, was relieved by Lieutenant Colonel Brooks bring ing in Georgia volunteers, who dis armed the mutineers, and five of the ring leaders were shot. At the close of the war Captain Brooks retired to Roselands and was not "a successful planter," as the newspapers said; for it is profanation to lie in the case of so perfect an embodiment of truth and knightly virtue. His health militated ?gainst that; moreover, owing to his mother's having always managed the planta tion he had no practical experience. However, he was a good manager, careful, prudent, holding the planta tion together and providing for his own. What is much better than a suc cessful planter, he was a man imper vious to temptation. Reduced in cir cumstances, suffering for lack of things he craved, he was none the less far above sordid consideration. He never bent a finger nor crooked a knee for financial gain. As he graced the station wherein he was born, he would have equally graced court or camp anywhere, in the age, for he was compounded of the old heroic virtues which have compelled the admiration of men and the devotion of women since Greek and Trojan battled around the walls of Ilium. He had served a term in the legis lature before the war from Edgefield district. After the war he was elect ed to the general assembly from Greenwood and later to the senate, and in all relations he was the same plain, unpretentious, high minded man, to whom loyalty and truth out weighed jewels and gold. There is more to tell than can here be told. My last visit to Roselands We Can Give Yoi on Mill Work an< Large stock of Rough and D Immediate Woodward QUALITY Corner Roberts and Du ARRINGTON Wholesale Grocer Corn, Oats, .1 Kinds o Gloria Flour and Dai Our Le Corner Cumming ar On Georgia 1 August YOUR PATR?N^ ?W See our representativi was in late summer. The world was swathed in green, covering red hills; and he shade trees were in glory. Af ter a delghtful hour, when leaving, I looked back. Captain Ham and his lovely wife sat side by side on the veranda as I had seen them a gene ration hef ore. That was my last sight of them, but memory keeps them near and dear. Nowhere in the world of men have I met two examples bet ter fitting Milton's description: "For contemplation he and valor formed; For softness she, and sweet attrac tive grace." "The strength of the hills is His also," saith the psalmist, and these were His evidences of strength and beauty, set amid the hills for a sea son, and now withdrawn to Him. All the material prosperity of the up country may shrivel up and fade like a garment "when the moth frest the fibers." There has recently been an unpleasant reminder of how frail material possessions are and how quickly the vanish. But men and women, endowed with character, living lives of up rightness, clean of heart and strong of arm for What duty requires, are eternal possessions. They pass; but their influence lives. As Dr. Alexander McLaren of Liv erpool once said: "We know not how far-the water of life may percolate from its accustomed channels to re fresh the roots of distant trees." \ Verily, the up country'does not it self know how much it owes to its forbears, "who kept the faith of men and saints, sublime and pure and bright. No sweeter reminder of a glorious past can be called up than that of John Hampden Brooks and the wo man he called wife.-The State. GUNS, PISTOLS, FISHING TACKLE, SAFES AND VAULT DOORS HEMSTREET & ALEXANDER 617 Broad St FIRST-CLASS REPAIRING Telephone 679 Augusta, Ga. Trespass Notice. I hereby give notice that all hunt ing, fishing and trespassing in every form whatsoever is prohibited on my land. This means everybody and- the law will be enforced against those who fail to heed this notice. Keep off of my premises. A. G. OUZTS. FOR SALE: About 20 tons of baled peavine hay f. o. b. Ridge Spring. Apply to Frank Boatwright, Ridge Spring, S. C. LI Prompt Service i Interior Finish reseed Lumber on hand for Deliverv. Lumber Co. -SERVICE gas Sits., Augusta, Ga, BROS. & CO. s and Dealers in Bay and ail f Feeds i Patch Horse Feed . aders id Fenwick Streets R. R, Tracks a, Ga. ?GE SOLICITED e, C. E. May.