The Newberry herald. (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, October 14, 1874, Image 1
A Family Companion, Devoted to Literature, Miscellany, News, Agriculture, Markets, &c
Vol. X. WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 14, 1874. No. 41.
iS PU rLISRED
ITERY WEDNESDAY MOR.NIiGs
At Newberry C. H.,
WY HO& -, HGORKRt
Editor and Proprietor.
TerIM9, $2.50 per efnnuDfl,
Invariably in Advance.
C-- h ape ssopda the expiMUtMo Of
ti,z tf6r uwU~chisa id.
C17 The N mark denotes expiration Of Mub
6,6HE ALWAYS MIADE HOME
HAPPY."1
In anD old churchyard stood a stone,
NV;sther marked and stain ed,
Th-i band of time had crumbled it,
So only part rerjaained.
Upo~n ow s$rt, I could just trace
6tha memory of our mnother;"
Au cplopb whic!i spoke of "home"
NVas 6iseled on the other.
I'dcgaae on monuments of fame,
. Rgh towering to the skies;
r'd sten the sculptured marble-stoue
V;bere 4.jmt. bero lies;
Bri. by this epitaph I paused,
A.nd rend It o'er and o"er.
For Ubwad.ueyer seen inscribed
SiZe" ords ~tese before.
19slie e10 40fo borne happy." What
A nloble record left!
A 1e;*-C3 of memory sweet
*To these she loved, bereft.
.- tnL,w6t a testimony given
By those who knew her best,
Xn.;r3vT= on this plain, rude stone
Thatfarked their mother's rest.
lt1w'as an humble resting place,
I knew that they were poor.
Bn,, they had seen their mother sink,
A4dpatientfy.endure.
They had marked h,. -heerfal spirit,
-7Whea bearing, one by one,
Rei4me y burdens up the hbill.
'ill her work was done.
8o, vhenwas stilled her weary heart,
Folded her hands so white,
And sh was earried from the home
%he'&1*ays made so bright,
HeAr ion-Urnn v%iqAd a Monument
And herring's roe,
A nA h~a'.v At~nah...
A THRILLING NARRATIVE
-0
In the fail of 1856, 1 was trav
eling eastward in a stage coaci
from Pittsbnrgover the mountains.
My fellow-travelers were two gen
tlemen and a lady. The oldest
gentleman's appearance interested
me exceedingly. In years he seem
ed about fifty, in air and manner,
he was calm, dignified and polish
Dd, and the contour of his features
was singularly intellectual. He
onversed freely on different top
es, until the road became more
erupt and precipitous; but on
my directing his attention to the
ireat altitude of a precipice, oh
he verge of which our coach
wheels were leisurely rolling, there
,ame a marked change on his
-ountenance. His eyes, lately fill
)d with the light of intelligence,
)ecame wild. restless and anxious
-the mouth twitched spasmodi.
lally, and the forehead was head
,d with a cold perspiration. With
L sharp, convulsive shudder, be
urned his gaze from the giddy
ieight, and clutching my arm
ightly with both hands, he clung
,o me iike a drowning man.
"Use this cologne," said the Ia.
ly, with the instinctive goodness
)f her sex.
I sprinkled P little on his face,
Lad he became more composed;
)t it was not until we had entire
y traversed the mountain, and de
cended into. the country beyond,
hat his fine features relaxed from
heir perturbed look, and assumed
he placid, quiet dignity that I had
t first noticed.
"I owe an apology to that lady,"
aid he, with a bland smile and a
entle inclination of the head to
o our fair companion, "and some
xplanation, and to my fellow
raveler also; and perhaps I can
iot better acquit myself of the
louble debt than by recounting
he cause of my recert agitation."
"It may pain your feelings,"
lelicately urged the lady.
"On the contrary, it will re
ieve tnem," was the respectful re
>ly.
Having signified our several de
ires to hear more the traveler
~hus proceeded:
"At the age of 18, I was light
>f foot, and I fear (he smiled) light
>fbead.
A fine property on the banks of
~he Ohio acknowledged me sole
wner. I was bastening home to
njoy it, and delighted to get free
'rom college life. The month was
)ctober, the air bracing, and the
node of conveyance, a stage like
~his, only more cuamberous. The
ither passengers were few-only
bree in all, one old grayheaded
>anter of Louisiana, his daughter,
a bewitching creature about sev
nteen, and his son about ten years
>f acge.
They were just returning from
France, of .which country the
roung lady discoursed in terms so
sloquent as to absorb my entire
tttention.
The father was taciturn, but the
langhter was vivacious by nature,
Lnd we soon became so mutually
>leased with each other that it was
iot until a sudden flash of light
ing and a heavy dash of rain
Lgainst the windows excited an ex
lamation from my companion,
;hat I knew 'ow the night passed.
'resently there canie a low rum
ling sound, and then several tre
:nendous peals of thunder, accom
anied by successive flashes of
lightning. The rain descended in
torrents and an angry wind began
to howl and moan through the for
st trees.
I looked from the windowv of
yur vehicle. The night was dark as
abony, but the lightning showed
the danger of our road. We were
>n the edge of a frightful preci.
pice, I could seeat entervals bnge,
jutting rocks far away down its
side, and the sight made me soli
itous for my fair companion. I
thought of the mere hair breadths
that w ere between .us and eterni
ty ; a single little rock in the track
of our coach wheels, a tiny billet
of wood, a stray root of a tempest
or1 tree, restive horses or a care
less driver, any of these might
hurl us from our sublunary exist
ence with the speed of thought.
"Tsa perfect tempest," ob
served the lady as I withdrew my
head from the windor'. "How I
1ge a sudden storm! There is
something grand about the winds
when fairly loose among the hills.
I never encountered a night like
this, but Byron's magnificent de
scription of a thunder storm in
Jura, recurs to my mind. But
are we on the mcuntain yet?"
"Yes, we have begun the as.
cent."
"Is it not said to be danger
ous?"
"By no means," I replied, in as
easy a tone as I could assume.
C"I only wish it was daylight so
that we night enjoy the mountain
scenery. But what's that ?" and
I she covered her eyes from a sheet
of lightning that illustrated the
rugged mountain with brilliant in.
tensity.
Peal after peal of thunder in
stantly sncceeded; there was a
heavy volume of rain coming down
it each thunder burst, and with
the deeper agony, breaking upon
our ears, I found that the coach
had come to a dead halt.
Louise, my beautiful fellow trav
eller became pale as ashes. She
fixed her eyes on mine with a look
of anxious dread, and turning to
her father, she hurriedly remark
ed:
"We are on the mountains."
"I6 reckon we are," was the un
concerned reply.
With instinctive activity, I put
my head through the window and
called to the driver, but the only
answer was the moaning of an ani
mal, borne past me by the swift
winds of the tempest. I seized the
handle of the door and strained in
I vain-it would not yield. At that
I instant I felt a cold hand in mine,
and heard Louise faintly articulate
in my ear the following appalling
words:
"The coach is moving back
wards."
I Never shall I forget the fierce
agony with which I tugged at
I the coach door, and called on the
driver in ton-es that rivaled the
fierce blast of the tempest whilst
the conviction was ringing in my
brain that the coach was being
slowlV moved backward!
What followed was of such swift
occurrence, that it seems to me
like a frightful dream.
I ruthed against the door with
all my force, but it withstood my
utmost efforts. One side of our
vehicle was sensibly going down,
down, down. The moaning of the
agonized animal became deeper,
and 1 know from his desperate
plunges that it was one of our
horses. Crash upon crash of thun
der rolled over the mountain, and
vivid flashes of lightning played
over our heads. By its light I
could see for a moment the Qld
planter standing erect, with hands
on his son and daughter, his eyes
raised to heaven and his lips mov
ing as in prayer. I could see
Louise and her ashy che3ek toward
me as if imploring assistance; and
I could see the bold glance of the
boy flashing indignant defiance at
the war of elements and the awful
danger that awaited him. There
was a roll, a desperate plunge, a
harsh, grating jar, a sharp pierc
ing scream of mortal terror, and I
had but time to grasp Louise firm-.
ly with one hand around her waist,
and seized the fastenings-attached
to the coach roof with the other,
when we were precipitating over
the precipice.
I can distinctly recollect pre
serving consciousness for a few
seconds of time, how rapidly my
breath was being exhausted but of
that tremendous descent I soon lost
all further knowledge by a concus
sion so violent that I was instantly
deprived of sense and motion.
The traveller paused. His fea
tures worked for a moment or two
as tbey did when we were on the
mountain ; he passed his bands
across his forehead as if in pain,
and then resumed his thrillin'g nar
rative.
On a low conch in an bumble
room of a small country house, I
next opened my eyes in this world
of light and shade, my joy and
sorrow, mirth and madness. Gen
tie hands soothed my pillow, gen
tle feet glided across my chamber,
and a gentle voice for a time hush.
ed all my questionings. I was
kindly tended by a fair young girl
of about sixteen, whbo refused for a
while to hold any discourse with
me. At length, one morning,
finding myself sufficiently recover
ed to sit up, I insisted on knowing
the result of the accident.
"You were discovered," said
she, "sitting on a ledge of rocks
amidst the branches of a shattered
tree, clinging to the roof of your
broken coach with one hand and
the insensible form of a lady with
the other."
'And the lady I" I gasped, scan
ning the girl's face with an earn
etness that made her draw back
and blush.
"She was saved, sir, by the
means that saved you-a friendly
tree."
"And her father and brother!"
I impatiently demanded.
"We found both crushed to
death at the bottom of the preei
pice, and we buried them in one
grave by the clover path down in
om. meadow ."
"Poor Louise! poor orphan!
God pity you!" I muttered in
broken tones, utterly unconscious
that I had a listener.
"God pity her indeed, sir said
she, with gush of heart felt sympa
thy. "Would you like to see
her ?" she added.
I found her bathed in tears for
her kindred, and she received me
with sorrowful s, eetness of man
ner. I need detain you by de
scribing. the efforts I made to
soothe her grief, but briefly ac
quaint you that at last I succeed
ed, and twelve months after the
dreadful occurrence which I have
related, we stood at the al'er man
and wife. She still lives to bless
me with her smiles, but on the an
niversary of that terrible night she
secludes herself in her room, and
devotes the hours of darkness to
solitary praver.
"As for me," added the travel
ler, while a faint blush tinged his
noble brow, as for me, that acci
dent has reduced me to the condi
tion of a physical coward at the
sight of a mountain precipice"
"But the driver," asked the la
dy passenger who had listened with
much attention, "what became of
tLe driver, and did you ever learn
the reason of his deserting his
post ?"
"His body was found on the
road, within a f.w steps of the
place where the coach went over.
He had been struck dead by the
same flash of lightning that blind
ed the restive horses."
And thus ended this thrilling
and remarkable story of life.
SOMETHING FOR "YE SMO
KERS."
A meerschaum pipe is one of
the very best things a man can
have, and gives him more pleasure
for the amount of money expend
ed than anything else he can buy.
From the moment he makes up
his mind that he must have one,
the pleasure begins. He looks
in the shop windows, and critical
ly inspects the different styles and
sizes of the pipes he sees there,
an.d wonders whether his means
will allow him to buy one of the
more elaborate specimens. At
last he selects a shop and goes in,
and asks the prices of the pipes
he likes, and after many assur
ances from the dealer that the one
that he has chosen is a real carv
ed meerschaum, and that it will
color beautifully, he pays the bill
and goes off with his pipe snugly
reposing in its morocco case in
his pocket. Then he buys a pack
et of tobacco fromn his regular deal
er, and in the pride of his heart
produces-his pipe- case, and ten der
ly takes out his pipe and shows it
to him. The dealer takes it up
very gingerly, examines it careful-,
ly, and says it is 'a pretty piece of
meerschaum, and inquires how
much it cost, and where it was
bought. The price being told
him, he says it is cheap, and ad
vances the opinion that it will col
or prettily. The owner sagely
wags his head and concurs. He
then starts off for home, and on
his way stops to get his usual
glass of ale, and shows his new
acquisition to his friend tha bar
keeper, who admires it and calls
up whoever else may be in the
room to come and do likewise.
The owner of the pipe then treats
the crowd, and goes on his way
happy in the possession of an
excellent pipe, a fine piece of
real first quality cut meerchaum,
with an amber mouth piece, and
which will certainly color beauti
fully. When he gets home he
shows it to his wife, and callS on
her to admire it and rejoice with
him. Somec women have no soul
for pipes, nmeerschaum or other
wise, but in this instance she is a
woman of the right sort, and joins
heartily in his admiration, and sug
gests that it is a much prettier pipe
than the one he lost at the picnic,
and hints that it is far superior in
every way to Mr. Smith's new
pipe that he was boasting of the
other evening. She tells him that
he can now throw away that hor
rid wooden thing he had, which,
although she never said anything
about it, she always did think was
anything but nice. She winds up
by telling him he .must be very
careful to coloir it nicely, and not
spoil it in the smoking, for the
right sort of a woman under
stands something about pipes, as
well as everything else that her
husband i k e s. The important
question of coloring comes up
next. He must select one of two
ways in which to do it, and,
before be bigins, before even
one pipeful of tobaoco can be
smoked, he must make up his mind
a s to w hich he will take. The a se
is by the use of what is called the
"button," and the second by the
"plug." A wide differenceof opin
ion exists among amateurs and
experts in the art as to which
is the best. By the first method
a meerschaum button, made to fit
the lower part of the cavity of the
pipe, with four or five small holes
bored perpendicularly through it,
is placed in the bottom and upnn
it the tobacco. The smoke, pass.
ing through the button, soon sat
urates it with the essential oil, or
nicotine, and thence it is absorbed
into the body of the pipe, which
soon acquires that dark, cherry
brown color so much admired by
connoisseurs. The "plug" method
is very much on the same princi
ple. A wad of moist tobacco is
placed in the bottom of the pipe,
and the tobacco to be smoked is
put in loosely on the top. The
"plug" must not be taken out un
til the pipe is fairly colored. It
acts as the butt6n does in absorb
ing the nicotine and transmitting
it to the pipe. .He decides that
he will try the "plug" process,
and with great care moistens a
suffi_-ent quantity of tobacco, and
after fixing it in its place proceeds
to fill up his pipe very carefully.
He then gets a match, and taking
great pains not to allow the flame
to touch the- white edges of the
virgin meerschaum, begins t o
smoke. He knows what he is
about, evidently, for he smokes
his pipe tenderly and considerate
ly. He takes care not to heat it,
for lie kaows that if he does it will
never color properly. When the
tobacco has burned down to the
"ping" he gently scrapes out -the
ashes, and, giving it a parting
glance of affection, puts it back in
its case in order to let it cool off.
Half an hour later he smokes it
again, and when bedtime comes he
takes it up stairs with him and
puts it on his dressing table with
his watch, so that he can save it
in case of fire. And so he continues
smoking it a little while each even
ing, and at last is rewarded by see
iig a delicate straw color make its
appearance on the bowl on a line
with the "plug." Then. he. feels
happy. He polishes his pipe with
his handkerchief and ebows it to
his wife, and she expresses a due
amount of admiration. And so
he goes on until it is of a beautiful
cherry-brown from the top of the
stem to the middle of the bowl,
and he has something to be proud
of; and which does him credit as a
smoker and the man he bought it
of asa manufacturer. But there
are few alas, who know how to
color a meerschaum. The aver
age citizen takes his pipe home,
fills it with tobacco, and smokes
like a house afire all the evening ;
overheats it, or burns it, as it is
technically called, apd it never
colors properly. He then obju
rates the manufacturer for selling
him an imitation meerschaum or
wonders why it is that his pipe
will not color, for he knows that
it is genuine and cost him $20 and
was made to order. Of a good
meerschaum, it may be truly said
that it is a joy forever, for it will
last a man a lifetime, and changes
from volor to color like a chame
leon. When it grows old in the
service a man feels an affection for
his pipe. He has a new mouth
piece fitted to it, and a silver rim
put around the top of the bowl
He likes to talk about it. and ex
patiates on its merits. He shows
where it got bruised the time be
let it fall from the second story
window, when the only wonder
was how in the world it was not
broken into a thousand pieces.
He tells about when and where
he bough t it, and is as much pleased
with admiration and praise as if it
were one of his children that wvas be
ing talked about. Some people are,
to coin a word, pipomaniacs. They
abound in France and Germany,
and in many other parts of Europe,
and some are to be found in the
United States. One gentleman
a Captain Bragg, who formerly
resided in New York, and who nowi
lives in Birmingham, England
had,w hen here, a collection of'some
400 meerschaumfs, all beautifully
colored. This is rather an expen
sive taste, however, for besides
the first cost of the pipes, Captain
Bragg has to keep two men con
tinually employed, whose sole duty
is to smoke and keep the 400 pipes
in order. Mr. Northrop, of this
city, also has a taste in that di
retion ; he has a collection of
some forty pipes. Mr. McDonald,
of Brooklyn, has about thirty
meerschaums, three of which are
very. large, being at least three
inches in diameter. These are
worth $100 apiece. Chief Engi
neer W. W. Wood, of the United
States navy, is also a great con
noisseur, and owns abou.t twenty
le, of all shapes amn-izes. Other
gentlemen of this city have collec
tions also, but it is thought those
mentioned have the largest.
After having said so much about
meerschanm pipes, it may not be
out of place to say sometbing
about where the material comes
from, and how it is manufactured.
Meerschaum is a kind of clay, coin
posed of hydrate of magnesia and
silex, or, more properly, hydrous
silicate of magnesia. Itis found
in beds in various parts of Europe,
but particularly in Anatolia, in
Asia Minor. When first. taken
from the earth it is soft, but har
dens upon exposure to the air. It
is imported into this country in
lumps of various sizes. The best
is called spiegel, or mirror ineer
schaum, which is of a bluish tinge,
and its surface is covered with
star-shaped flecke. There are six
teen different qualities of meer
schauin, the first six of which
only are imported into this coun
try. The first, second and third
qualities are used by the manu
facturers in naking pipes, and the
fou:th. fifth and sixth in repairs or
additions t0 imported pipes of a
corresponding class. The process
of manufacture is very simple.
The block of meerschaum is first
soaked in water until it arrives at
a proper degree of softness, it is
then taken by the workman, who
shapes it with a knife, and the
bowl, if intended to be round, is
bored and turned on a lathe. The
hole in the stem is then made, and
the pipe is turned over to a girl,
who smooths it first with sand
paper and afterward with a kind
of grass brought from Massachu
setts, which is called "shave grass,"
possibly on account of cutting
properties. The pipe is then boil
ed in a preparation of wax, and pol
ished with a soft cloth. Carved
pipes are made somewhat differ
ently., The carving is first done
roughly, only shaped, as it were,
and the meerschaum is boiled, and
the carving is afterward complet
ed. It is then boiled again, or left
white at the option of the smoker.
The parings of the meerschaum,
called "chips," are not used in this
country, but are shipped back to
Germany, where they are made
into imitation meerschaum. They
are also used to remove grease
spots from silk, being ground into
powder, which, mixed with water
to the consistency of cream, is
used, for the purpose in the same
manner as fuller's earth.
The meerschaum pipe trade in
New York is a flourishing institu
tion, and all the manufacturers do
a good business. One of them
sent specimens of his workman
ship to Paris to the exhibition of
1867, and received a bronze medal
and a diploma. It may be proper
to say that a bronze medal is the
highest prize awarded to this class
of goods, gold medals being given
only for inventions and devices of
benefit to humanity, and not to
articl'es of ornament or luxury.
This gentlemfan, before he was
given the prize he .had earned,
was obliged to furnish affidavits
from responsible gentlemen in this
city to prove that the work had
been done here. IHe exhibited
some thirty pieces in all, one of
which, a superb pipe, with a groip
representing Macbeth's encounter
with the witches on the heath,
composed of five figures, two of
which, Macbeth and B3anquo, are
mounted, excited universal admira
tion. It also has a figure of Shak
speare, seated in an arm-chair, on
the lid or cover. Ten thousand
francs were offered for this pipe
in Paris, but were refused by the
exhibitor, as he wanted to exhibit
it in this country, having had no
opportunity to do so previously,
as it had been completed only a
few days before the sailing of the
United States steamer which car
ried the goods of the American ex
hibitors.
Oiie of the greatest pipe-fanciers
in the world-Major-General Raf
falovich, of the Russian' army, is
now in this country. He has a
collection of more than 600 pipes.
Since he has been in this country
be has purchased a number of meer
chaumus, and there is now in the
hands of the most prominent man
ufactures in this city-the same
who took the bronze medal at
Paris-a magnificent meerschaum
pipe made to his order. The bowl
forms the bust of a very beautiful
woman, and is a correct likeness
of the General's wife, taken from
life. The stem and mouth-piece
are of amber, fifteen inches long.
The whole costs $150. This pipe
will be taken to Europe as a curios
ity, for it seems that Gen. Raffa
lovich had an idea that such
things could not be made in this
country. He is now traveling in
the West, and will doabtless en
rich his coileetioni byfdding to it
same of the celebra~d cal~iiaots2
niade of the famous red-pipe-stone
by the Indians.
The manufacturer of the amber
stems and mouth-pieces forms an
important part of the business,
and many beautiful and graceful
designs are produced. None but
the best amber can be employed
for this purpose, and much skill is
needed on the part of the woik
man, owing to its e:treme brit
tleness.
The prices of pipes range from
$1.50 to $500, and even more. A
good, plain, serviceable pipe may
be bovght at from $10 to $15.
Cavved pipes are higber, and bring
more in proportion, but a great
deal depends on the style of carv
ing. Some carved pipes are really
works of art, and, of course are
paid for as such. The modelers
are constantly on the lookout for
new designs, and beautiful studies
are continually being produced.
There is hardly anything in nature
that cannot be copied in meer
schaam, and in New York a man
may have his own head repro
duced in the shape of a pipe-bowl
it he should fancy it. The cigar
holders are also very pretty, and
bring high prices-sometimes as
much as 875-but, as with the
pipes, the price depends altogeth
er upon the style of carving.
When a pipe is injured in the
smoking, or burned, as it is tech
nically called, it can be much im
proved by being reboiled, which
restores to the meerschaum its
power of absorption. The word
"improved" is used advisedly, for
nothing will ever make a burned
meerschaum as good as new.
This need never happen, however,
if proper care is taken not to heat
the pipe when first smoked.
It is very possible that the ladies
of New York will soon come to
regard meorschaum as indispensa
ble to their comfort, not in the
shape of pipes and cigar-holders,
but as a beautifier of tbe*complex
ion, for it is proposed to grind
the chips ot an impalpable powder
to be used ai a cosmetic.
A NEGLECTED SOURCE OF
FOOD.
Ages a go when our forefathers.
were worshippers of Odin and the
rest of the dead divinities of North
ern Europe, horse flesh was ac
counted a delicacy fit for the gods.
~W hen a warrior died, the "funeral
baked meats" were carved from
his slain charger ; and in all re
ligious celebrations the horse fig
ured, as the bullock did in the sac
rificial feasts of other nations.
Thus horse flesh and paganism
were found to be inseparable when
the Germanic and Scandinavian
tribes were christianized by royal
proclamation. The 'new m a d e
chriqtain could not begin a dinner
at which his favorite meat appear
ed without relapsing to his ances
tral religion and going through the
entire round of pagan rites with
which horse flesh had been so long
associated.' As a natural conse
quence, horse fLsh became not
only synonymous with paganism
but one of its defenses-we shoulP
have said bulwarks if the sound
had permitted. Against it the
bulls of the church were hurled,
and its use was prohibited un
der pain of eternal damnation.
Gradually. as christianity gained
ascendency, the obnoxious meat
passed out of use, and in process
of time it came to be regarded
by Europeans as "long pig" was
by the christianized descendants of
man-eatingt Fiji islanders, with an
abhorrence as intense as the origi
nal liking had been.
Subsequent generations have in
herited the prejudice and forget
its origin. To this day the multi
tude stand ready "to cry unclean"
the moment horse flesh is men tion
ed as an article of food, though it
would puzzle them to give one
[substantial reason for so regarding
it.
The truth is that no meat can
be cleaner. The horse is one of
the nicest of feeders, and as choice
in his drinking as in his diet ; and;
as has been abundantly proved by
the experience of modern Europe,
where horse flesh has lately be
come an important element in the
food sdpply, the meat which we
reject is at once wholesome, nutri
cious, and nearly if not quite as
savory as beef. As we are no long
er in danger of relapsing into pagan
ism with the tas',e of it, the only,
sanitary rei.son, moral or other
with, for avoiding it~ one away
There remains the economical
reason for its disuae arising from
the fact that good horses are
worth more for other purposes.
But the time comes when the best
of horses. ceases. to be profitable
fqr servie.: - hat then?
Qccasionally a. favorite, animal
is provided for in his old age and
allowed to end his days in all the
comfort that nature will permit.
The majority, however, are turn
ed over to the tender mercies of
the cruel to be used up, more or
less speedily, in rough and ill re
quited labor. To guard their fa
vorites from this unhappy end,
it is becoming a common practice
among considerate people to shoot
their horses when no longer fit for
the carriage, though they - may
still be far from worn out. Of
the nine million horses in the Uni
ted States, a million might fitly
be disposed of in that way every
year, to make room for younger
and more serviceable animals. In
other words, our food supply
might be augmented by something
like a thousand million 'pounds of
good meat annually. We throw it
away-for a prejudice I
That this prejudice will be over
come in time, we have not the
slightest doubt. The tendency of
our civilization is to multiply food
consumers while lessening the rela
tive number of producers. - As a
natural consequence we must be
more and more careful to avoid
unnecessary waste. Every avail
able source of wholesome food
must be husbanded, and this
among them. Unfortunately
those who would be most directly
benefited by the addition of horsez
flesh to our list of meats are just
those whose prejudice against it is
most intense. Here, as in Europe,
it must first gain a place on the
tables of the well-to-do.
Perhaps as simple a plan as
any for effecting this would be
the following: We have noticed
the growing custom of shooting
horses when their term of profit
able service has come to an end
by age or accident. Instead of
burying the carcasses or giving
them. to the renderer to be convert-.
ed into soap grease and fertilizers,
the flesh might be properly dress
ed and distributed among those
who, from curiosity or conviction
of its wholesomeness, might .de
sire to give it a trial. If. pains
were taken to announce this inten
tion before hand, and to prove to
intending eaters that the horses
were in good condition and free
from disease, there would be little
difficulty, we imagi ne, in disposing
of the choicer cuts. All that is
required is a beginning, and this
course would insure it with the
least amount of trouble and cost.
Who will make the experiment
and report the result ?
.[(Sientfice American.
A NOVEL RACE.
Some forty years ago, the man
agersofa race course nearBrowns
ville, on the Monongahela, in the
old Keystone State, published the
notice of a race, one-mile heats,
on a particular day for a purse of
$100, free for anything with four
legs and hair on. A man in tbe
neighborhood named Rays, had a
.bull that he was in the habit of
riding to the mill with his bag of
corn, and he determined to enter
him for tbe race. He said nothing
about it to any one, but he rode
him around the track a number
of times on several bright nights,
and the bull had the hang of the
grQund pretty well, and would
keep the right course. He rode
him with spurs, which the ball
considered particularly disagreea
ble, so much so that he always
bellowed when they were applied
to his sides.
On the morning of the race Hays
came upon the ground "on horse
back" on his bull. Instead of a
sadidle he had a dried os-hide, the
head part of which, with the horns
still on, he had placed on his rump.
He carried a short tin horn in his
hand. He rode up to the judges'
stand and offered to enter the bull
for the race, but the owners of the
horses objected. '
Hays appealed to the terms of
the notice. insisted that his bull
had "four legs and hair on," and,
that therefore,. he had a right to
enter him. After a good deal of
"cussin' and discussin'" the judges
declared themselves compelled to
decide that the bull had a right to
run, and he was entered according
ly. When the time for starting
arrived, the bull and the horses
took their places. The horse
racers were out of humor at being
bothered by the bull, and at the
burlesque . which was intended,
but thought it would be over as
soon as the horses started. The
signal was given, and they did
start. Hays gave a blast with his
born and sank his spars into the
bull's side, which bounded forward
with a terrible bellow, at no tri
fling-speed, the dried ox-hide flop
ping up and down rattling at ev
ery jump, making a combinationl
of noi'ses that had never been Ia
on a race coursO before.
-~
Adverdisemerns InjerWe t t~ 1&
75c. for each subsequent insert.Do
column adveriseents tenperCSflIOAbam:lE
of respect, same rats per sqzi!m wArdbi" '-'
advertisements. -
Special notices in local columil 20'at~
per line.
Advertdsementsviot ma*ked W11"ha-X0m M'
ber of insertions will lie' "CIt I w.
and charged accordiVgy.
Speia coublW2t Made li**large
tisers, with lberdWauc sn r.2
Dewith Nuden' de
tak he soresioo# Ci.:'
the Redstone ;eonar,~a
one of them could-.
back in) timeto save eivdW~
The purse was gifen t6:,
der a great deal of bird
on the part of teo n &
horses. A- gePeralj,_rW
but the fun of the h~'
crowd all on th si'de
The horsemea~con-tend"
were swindled- out
and if it had not ee~
orn and ox-hide, Wb&1I
not to have bbee 'pe
bring upon the,gm ,~
would not -havoe e4~
Upon this' _I
his bull icould bt; aas
horses and th'iif~4
up $100 -againsth
take -off hi. 4hi& _0
horn'and rdo,iffir
His- offer ,,wa
money tk4~~
their P140".4Atlh~
and the uina-.e
Hays gOvs hi'bil
with his'spum.
anothier iremend
horses remem
thongl(Oaul ihe
before. Awa hy:
The pounding- of~he -.
for the cure of dyspepelar-was
eanse of a good jeke .th~;
day. Two men