Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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SI" Sooted to iflricutlurij, ?ortiruUuro, gjomptic tfronomg, folife literature, flolifics, and the Current JJeics of the Sag. VOL. XVII.?New Series. UNION C. II., SOUTH CAROLINA, MAY 28, 1886. NUMBER 21. REMINISCENCES. ol til k MACBETH LIGHT ARTILLERY iiy osr. or tiii:m. No. 4. The hill ot' the hichest altitude in the Ticinitj of Waterloo bridge furnished us parking grount for our guns on ihc niglit of 12."th Aug. 1 Ni'2 We eat our scanty breakfast that morning be fore sunrise, saw no ilinner, ami were now it camp late at night with no encouraging pros pcet of en; per. I'ut our commissary, S. M Dawkins, put in his appearance, with sonu hard tack and pickle pork, in time to proven us from going to bed hungry. 1 rcincinbei eating my liard tack and pickle-pork that nighi with more relish and satisfaction than I do anj parly, dinner or marriage supper it has cvei been -my privilege to enjoy. We were verj tired as well as very hungry that night; and ai soon as one of nature s demands was satisfied we laid down and dropped oil to sleep. !i satisfy the other. We rose from our heds ol mother earth next morning aud viewed out beautiful surroundings. Spread out within the sweep of the eyes, in endless variety, were hills and dales, forests and fields, corn and meadow, land and water: and in all this picture of beauty and repose "only man was Tile. Scattered here and there he could be seen in squads, companies, regimeuts, brigades, divisions and corps, watching each o'her and waitiug for the coming storm of battle. And deep down in the valley below, where the Rappahannock rushes seaward through the great gorge that nature cleft between the uplifted hills, could be eecu one of the anomalies of the war of secession. Facing each other, from the summits of these hills and in the valleys below, were the pickets of the two great opposing am ies disputing with leaden arguments for the possession of the Waterloo 1.*1*1.o li.on.l.rg ll.~ ............. MISU'V WIS bridge, xo as to keep the army they came South to destroy ou the opposite side of tiic river. The invaders were afraid of being invaded. Tope and Leo were equally vigilant, anxious and apprehensive, but from different motives, Lee was vigilant, trying to get over to the Northern side of the llnppahaunock : Tope was vigilant to keep him from crossing. Lee was anxious to bring otf the tight without delay; l'opc was anxioiiB to stave it off. Lee was apprehensive less ho could not drive l'ope from his strong positiou in time to beat him in detail before McClellnn reinforced him from tho peninsula ; l'opc was apprehensive less Lee should succeed in his daring plans before the ponineuia troops arrived. jL.ec "saw the (lllQculty ot crossing the river in the face of a strong enemy and strongly posted. lie decided that the easiest ami quickest way to dislodge l'ope was bv a llank ami rear movement- To Jackson was aligned I lie il utv of turning Tope s right flank. And when lie got into Tope a rear lie could not vesist the temptation of calling at M.masses Junction and issuing rations to his almost laniishcd soldiers, out of the supplies that the Federals had collected there in great abundance. To ' ougstreet was assigned the duty <>f holding I'ope to the Rappahannock till Jackson had lime to carry out the details of his part of the campaign. The success of the hold aud daring campaign hinged on unison of action, rapid marching and strategic maneuvering. There wa- no friction between Jackson and Longstrect. Kach acted his part nobly and well : and both were equally successful. Longstreet kept l'ope busy preparing to meet attacks, that were never designed to be made. l'ope soon learned thut be could not keep up with Lee without two sets of eyes : one to watch his commissary stores in his rear and the othet Longstreel in his front. When Jackson turned up at Manasses Junction, l'ope no longer remained in his strong-hold on the Rappahannock to dispute its crossing with Longstrcet, but abandoned it at once and hurried oft" aftei Jackson, with I lie hope of crushing him before hongstrect c??nl<I succor him. Thus f:ir I hc eucec-s of the campaign waa nil that the in-.sl sanguine rebel could wish ; and in older ilial the future development of the campaign mtghl not be attended with any disaster, it was nec cssary that the two great eorp" conmianderi should still work in perfect accord and travc day and night. The Rappahannock llivcr an Pope, with an army more than double Jackson's were between him and bong-drcet. Pope h.vi live advantage, too, over bongatrcct in start and in that his line was shorter, more direc and unobstructed, while bungstrecf was drivei t<> the necessity of flanking the deep water? the Rappahannock nud inarching around Car tcr s Mountain out of the way, thus makinj hi" distance three times as far from Jackson ai Pope'". ^och was the status of the campaign on tin morning of the ->iih of August I Sib! : nud l.ong Btree's men were in possession of tlnsfacls am impressed with the importance of every mat doing his duty. And ihev proved equal to tlx demands made on them, for the very momcii that Jackson n'fdc I boiigMrect lie was there -bristling f^r a light i >n thai morning, the "J'-ili. wo out loose fron our dependence on comuiisMirv stores. ami put ting the great hill- llint skirt (lie southern vul le,\ of tlit* Happahanm-ck between us ami tin enemy, i" Conceal our move, we swept <-nwMr< ami Mill onward, X?rtliwnrl ami Knstw-ard fallowing in ilie wake of Jack->u s tnarcli < the lew previous day*. Ho ! !<.? I to coinlicl l tind apple trees for our rations ami l<--t but littl time in cooking, eating ami sleeping. hoc nrtny move 1 like w ell adjust e l ami w ell oili< inn liinery umler the loueli of a mnMe mechanic. He c< ntimicl our tniirchc late int nights ami started l-elbic day the next morn ing-. H hen the hour for bu-akfast came th nrtny was halted. <|Uick tires made, ration gathered from the adjacent cornfield, ha-tii, cooked, ouiekly eaten and into line and onwur we moved. '1 ho weather was very hot ami on hoist-, .10111 last driving, were almost famished But oll'icers were stationed on banks of streams to pi event any sloping to water thctn. I have seen our horses forced across rivers under whip * with their nostrils under water from one bank to the ether trying to quench their thirst as they moved along. I have seen men so exhausted from marching and overcome with sleep ^ drop on the ground when the army halted and j loso consciousness in a moment of time. 1 have seen them p> so last to sleep in a minutes time that tlie rumbling of the battery failed to wake them when the march was resumed, lint llwtv pnnnivni'in.J #!?*? - C ?1? ? 1 ...vj IIIU lillj' /l liltlVV "I ?uu IU1VCU march mid their grit and indurnncc were perfectly wonderful, i never before nor since t knew* our soldiers lo make better time or straggle less. Calvin Humphries, the wag of t the Macbeth, caiue trotting along one day and on being asked w hat was up. replied, "you sec I have the advantage over the other boys : , when I get tired walking 1 run, and when 1 ( get tired running I walk, and in that way I keep rested all the time." His hiinmr under trying circumstances was inuch better than his logic, j. (>n the evening of the 'JTth we left Jno. Watts . Galltnan at a house on the road, sick, and that , was the last we ever heard of him. Like many ( another soldier, 1 suppose he sleeps in an tinknown grave. As we were approaching Thoroughfare Gap that evening, musketry was heard in that direction, and presently Absalom Humphries, a member of Gadberry's old company passed to the rear with a bullet in his shoulder, reported the Gap in the possession of the enemy. They had beaten us to the Gap and 1 imagined Jackson s situation was a very perilous one. We went into camp that night with somo apprehension as to what the next twenty-four hours would bring about ; but to our surprise the next morniug we found that the enemy had abandoned the Gap. As wo marched through the Gap that morning, 1 looked up to the towering heights of mountains that ro-c up on either side of that rock bod stream, whose waters gurgled through the gap, and seeing inai 11 was n place ol groat natural strength L was atnazed and rejoiced that tlie Federals did n?>t put a few thousand soldiers there with instruction to u.akc it a veritable Theriuopyhe. Thcro is no v. ay of estimating the damages Leo might have sustained fr<>ni the heroic endeavors of a few thousand determined men on those hills. When we passed north of the gap signs of the coming storm of battle began to multiply. In two hnmlrcd yards of the Gap, lying by the roadside, was the first dead Federal I saw in that campaign. That evening, when we ncared Gainesville, the booming of cannon whs heard in the direction we were marching, and it. had tlin hnppv et'Vc.L of ilhrolt>?> ?ll Cum-a to the safety of Jackson's command : for we were now conscious that our Stonewall was still standing. .V little further on we passed some beeves the enemy had just killed partially skinned and abandoned. Those seemed to he Strong evidences, coining to us by the hearing of the car and by the seeing of the eye, that we were on a warm trail and a batllu eminent. We did not go much farther before the truth of these signs was verified. Mi top of the hill just north of the branch where we passed the beeves, I saw our troops filing through an open . tiold to the right of the turnpike and forming a liuc of battle. 1 could not understand the pro crusiiuaiion niai lumnvcn uie lormatiou of our line of l>:itik\ We had marched day and night to got up with l'opo ami expected a bit tie would be 5 recipitated without delay. Moth Hides reminded one of two game cocks, dubious of each other's strength picking around hunting for each other s blind side before delivering a blow, i*tit tlie blind side was not found, and ^ the two armies made a simultaneous forward move to test the strength of each other s position. It was nearly sundown when they met, and the shock ot battle was terrific and raged with increasing fury till at last it died away <>n llio midnight air. 'l'hc Macbeth did no more than follow up I.ongst reel's advancing line, passing over numerous dead yankees, some of ( Jackson s bloody work done on tlie previous day. when King interposed between bint ^ and l.ongstreet. During the night l.ongstreet , feel back to bis original line ot battle. <>itr guns were parked on the summit of the highest ( hill in the vicinity of the battlefield. 1 We arose next morning to find that we had a 1 magnificent view of all that surrounding country. We could trace our line of batllo I from the frowning bills on our extreme right, held by l.ongstreet s men, to where it entered i the woods in our front, and then, to the left of , the turnpiki, we could sec Jackson s heroes of f the I wo tlrcvious days battle still holding their position along the unfinished railroad, defiant, . ready and wailing for the command up and j at them. 1 insert here a parenthesis, to show that Dope ; lost his adviintago over bee find let his opportunity slip when he let Jackson slip. '< >u '-' ' III, I I I'opc ? comiiniiii, under Heno, was in nine i miles of .1 icksott who was ihen :ii Drifto sta5 lion. was between l'i?ri\ fife and t sixty mile* from Jackson, the route he lnd to ( mart h. t?n t lie "_'7th Jackson was a! VI an.is "as Junction an I Hooker near enough to him to j Wring on a bloody light in the atiern > ui of thai day. McDowell, l*igclt llcuo and Kcrney were all six mile- west of him nud directly Wetireon P him and l.ongstreet, who were still south of j Thoroughfare Hap. and at least twenty mile* . from .1 icksoti. <?u the 'JnIi Jack-on made a f : stand it (itovetou. Kerney on the day Wef>re > wo* about -ix miles we?t of Jackson, hut on the i* 'JX(h was about three miles north-east "f him. s Hooker and lleno wete about the -atnc distance 1 ilue eaM. Sigel wn- one mile south of Jackson r and lleyttobls i little * >uth of Sigel. King was ii on the |dke west of Jackson and between him - and l.ongsireei. \nd Kiekell was still farther e | west, at Thorough faro Hap : and l.ongstrect > nus Mm ~ 11?ii ?m ?\n mi- ^*1 ??*:i ur v | fifteen lulled from Jackson. .lurk-on was roil ! (renting towards hmigst reel. pursued l>y Honker r and lleno, wl.cn In* met King s corps, and a I- J bloody battle was precipitated. Tims it will be seen thai Jackson was all hut surrounded by the enemy for two days. So perilous was his position that l'ope was cucouragctl to say to bis officers there is no hope of escape for Jackson. Hut the ubiquitous Jackson kept slipping throuoh l'ope s command, turning on his pursuers, Hooker and Kerney, and hitting them some stunning blows, that made theui more cautious than daring. As soon as these were checkmated lie tlicit turned on King and swept him out of the way. ltickett thought discretion was tlie belter part of valor and lie, too, got out of the way, and our march from the gap to Manassas was unobstructed. (In the afternoon of that day, the li'Jth, Longstrcct firmed on Jacksou 8 right, and Hope's chances for marshal glory faded out of history. Longstreet s men went to sleep somo time during the night of U'dih, with an inward conviction that with the morning s dnwn the battle would be renewed. The confidence in Lee's ability to bent the Federal commander was shared by every soldier in the army. Some may have made up their minds to shirk, but they had faith in the staying ?|tuilities of those who would do the fighting, and was conscious that Lee would wiu. What a pity it was not renewed in time to reap the harvest after victory. It was not renewed until late in the day. During the morning hours before tlio fight Lee was busy with his plans of battle. He, Longstrect, .lackson. Stewart and others were squatted on the ground just in the rear of us busily examining a map of the country spread out on the ground before them. As they rose l.ce and Jackson stepped aside from the group of otliccrs, Lee looking at his wntoh. and after a few minutes whispered conversation J tckson mounted his old claybatik horse and made ofi to join his command to the left of the pike, as leisurely as if lie was going to church, and looking more like an ungainly farmer than the grent soldier he was. These mnueuverings were interpreted to mean fight, and I supposed Jackson was returning to bring it on. lie had scarcely reached his position before the hills were reverberating with otic continuous roar of musketry. All eyes, as well as the Federal soldiers, were conoonf ml o.l ro. In. t- co.. - l.o.-.l 1,... ? " " " 1"V=-V. U..I 4V-Ulute men. Tlic storm of battle was beating and raging about thetn in its fury, and in lull view of our position. It was the grandest and inost inspiricg exhibition of well ordered attack aud heroic defense 1 ever beheld. The Federal armies of the Potomac and Virginia had been united under the leadership of Pope and were now concentrated in overwhelming numbers to crush Jackson. His plau of battle eliminated Longstrcet, but that old soldier hud no thoughts of remaining passive while 1'ope was batteriug At AU* ika of the concentrated effort to crush him. Lee saw it and was anxious, and Lougstrect was in the right place to break its force. Longstreet says "so terrible was the onslaught that Jackcon sent to me and begged for reinforcements. About the same time 1 received an order from Genera! I.cc to the same effect. To retire from my i dvanccd position in front of tho Federals ami get to Jackson would have takou one hour and a linlf. 1 had discovered a prominent position that commanded a view of the great struggle, and roalizing the opportunity 1 quickiy ordered out three batteries, making twelve guns. They were placed in position to rake the Federal ranks that seemed to break through Jackson s line. In a few moments crash after cvash of shot and shell was being poured into the thick raaks of the Federals. In ten minutes (lie stubborn Federals began to waver and give back. For a moment the mass was chaos, tlicu order returned and they reformed, apparently to renew the attack. Again from the crest of my little bill the lire of the twelve guus cut them down. As the cannons thundered the ranks broke only to be formed agaiu with dogged determination. A third time the batteries tore the Federals to pieces, and as they fell back under this terrible lire 1 sprung everything to the charge." It was due to history, to posterity. and the batteries that saved Jackson's line, that their names should hare been given to the public. 1 propose to show the .Macbeth was one of them. Seeing tlmt the chances were us a thousand to one against giving Jackson the reinforcement he needed in time, and recog. nizing t i?c supreme necessity of promp action, Longstrcct acting on the impulse of the moment and with the discretion of an experienced officer hurried twelve trans into position and in less than ten minuter broke ihc furious onslaugli of tin- charging Federals. While we were standing on our gun and caisson carriages, watching with intense interest and great admiration the heroic effort of Jackson ? men to heat back the ever increasing numbers of the Federal s ildiers. a courier was seen emerging from a niece of wood-land to the right and well in front of Jacksoiis line, urging his ho;sc towards us willi r?il the speed that the cmo^t gency of the occasion could impel him. John I.ylcs. from t'aindcn, then in his teens, said I wouid rather see a shell coming. In answer to the summons we move 1 forward at a sweeping gallop and took our position on lite crest of a hill to left of the pike, and well in Jackson's right front. In three minutes after we received our order we were in position hurling shot nnd shell into the double columns of the Federal soldiers -weeping down in tremenduous odds against Jacksons struggling heroes. The enemy were approaching Jackson s position by a loft ..Id .ma nuifoli r. >? I lin ftm i* riAon . 4* I ? on i 1 n a ! son s right tlank. The move ex pi so J ilieir left Hank lo an infiludc fire from our guns. We rcachcil our position seemingly unnoticed, and were g'ad nt so favorable an opportuuily lo give expression to our feelings for tiie manner in which they received u? at tlraveynrd Hill. The men went to wmk with a will, end fought like Turk*. Not a musket was leveled at lie iind only an occasional ?-he11 and hall fell among us? iii< H (,f them passing over our heads. We tired therefore with deliberation, hut vapidly and with great accuracy. Luckily, the first *liell struck the head of the Federal column and bursted just light. The number of second* it was cat ran down tlic lino as a guage for 111? cutting of others, an.I thus it happened, from i the very begi nning, that we firc<l into the advau- I ciug columns of the enemy without guessing at distance or shooting at random. Wc cut theiu | tlown like grass. A soldier who had a com- i nianding Yiew from the woods said, "I never saw such splendid shooting. Kach fire seemed | to lift the Federals off the grouud. ' The firing was so accurate and deadly that no | courage could stand it. We saw that the enemy were weakening. The forward move w is grad uaiiy getting slower and slower. Then they came to a halt ; now they waver and break in sotno confusion. Again they rally and reform ; and again the deadly tire splits them asunder. Once more, with fearless courage, the Federals ate formed, but the inevitable was against them and shattered once more by the well aimed shots and shell, they beat a retreat. As we wero takiog our position. 1 saw a (Confederate battery going into position on our left and about midway between us and Jackson s line. If thore was a third battery as lien. Longstreet states, then it was out of my sight. It ma}* have been behind the woods from ns. and not far from Jacksou extreme right frout. When the enemy began to retreat one section of the | battery already alluded to, moved up and took ( position on our left next to Lieutenant Porter's ( section. When the Federal soldiers passed be yond the range of our pieces, Lieut. Porter saw ( that a four gun Federal battery was knocking | the section tiiat bad taken position oit?his left to pieces, wheeled his guns around and for a few minutes we had a spirited artillery combat four and four on each side. The Federal battery ( soon joined in the retreat with their lleeing iufantry. Of tho twelve guns that broke the furious onslaugh of the Federal charge half of them, six?belonged to the Macbeth Light Artillery, which leaves Longstreet's statement | to bo explained. Had ho said two batteries, twelve guns 1 could understand it. The Macbeth was the only battery that nai directly on tho Federal's tlank, and that had a direct intilade ftre. The other gnns were a little to the front of the enemy. So it is beyond nil question, that tho Macbeth indicted one-half of the damage to the Federals claimed by ticn. I.ongstrcet, to have been done by the twelve gnns front his little hill. W hile Jackson Httd Lmgstrcet will justly figure in history, as the great heroes of second Mauasscs, and while the immortal Lee will overshadow thctn both in the luster of marshal glory, the three batteries that turned what threatened to be a disaster into a glorious victory, and thus changed what might have been the history of that battle, will neither be known in t :---*rv nor to the remote pof'vrity of the | uicit w<t*o ^B-Too inuCu toward Mritaittug that j I victory from the jaws of defeat. As wo were going into action I saw no ?'<>u federate infantry nearer than Jackson s men, a quarter of a mile to our left. .Sonic lime during the light Gen. Laws' brigade was sent to our support, and was never lying on the ground under the cover of the hill, just in our rear. A boy in his teens seeing that we were needing a tuan to aid in manning one of our guns, sprang forward and fought like a hero until his brigade advanced. It would be a pleasure to know his name and what became of hint. Commencing at the stone house and running out in our frout almost at right angles to the pike, as & hill that commanded our position. While tho Federal infantry was .bet ng cut to pieces by our guns a battery charged up and tried time and again to take position ou that hill, llut we were already in position and had the drop on them. We tired quick and rapidly and with effect, and it heat a hasty retreat, llad Pope kuown Gen. Lee as well as McClcllan did, the Second Manassas would not have been precipitated as it was. Pope was following up what lie believed was a retreat and had not anticipated the fight just where it took place. Hence lie neglected to line the hill in our lYunt with batteries, llad l'opc posted a few gnus 011 that hill the Macbeth could never hare occupied the position or got the infilade fire it did. They did not occupy it wheu they could we refused to lei them when they tried. Towards the close of the battle I saw under the hill, in our rear, near the pike, Ueu. Lee and Longstreet. Lee looked mummed and sitting his horse us erect as a 3011th. Longstreet seemed to be carelessly picking his teeth, as though nothing ot mi exciting chaructcr was progressing in his front. When the enemy passed out of our iniige, ('apt. Loyce stepped tip to Longstreet and said, General they are out of range. "Can t you get in range f" was Longstreels laconic reply. Hut it was now nearly dark and the infantry hnl sprung to the charge and with a deafening rebel yell were pushing the enemy raj.idly towards Washington. We were ordered to pn?s f to the right of tho pike and bivouac f >r the night. As wc were going into camp a shot or or shell from some long range gun of the enemy passed down uncomfortably near my bead and iiiiijiiig JISUII ill uiu giuini'i JII ?* IUW 1 iic 11v" of Scrgeaut J. K. N oting. :?? I threw tho sxtid over him with slinging force. fortunately there was no exclusion. During the battle Lieut, l'orter'a tine mare was kilie l by a soli I ball. Six of our men were wounded?Joseph Carncr and John Hays severely. When 1 mention the name of Alexander Sims, the company will call to mind an unobtrusive, quiet, gentle manly little Scotchman, who cheerfully dis charged his duly, whether standing guar 1 in camp or fighting the enemy, on the battle field, lie had many good qualities, but I remember i the noble fellow most of till for bis disinterested courage..-lie was a stranger in Union, at the beginning t>f war. end personally bad no in i terest in the dispute between the sections, and i really made no difference with him as to which ; Won. During the becond Mantissas battle a ) shell exploded just in hit front and a piece ' struck him in the stomach, knocked him down in great agony, lie wifs snj posed to be mor[ tally wounded ami homo to the base of the i hill by two of his cornea ls . but ou cxamiuntoin he saw he had only received a severe bruise, and promptly returned and fought through the , battle, llow umnv to the niauor horn and with more interest to light for. would have been ^ glad of such an honorable excuse to have kept out of tho fight.? ' The Macbeth was in a poor trim for the hat- 1 tie that day. It is known that iu the rapid < march from Mulct loo bridge to Mrnassas that 1 the commissary wagons were things of tho past, both as to time and distance. For the most part we ha l subsisted during that march on grceu corn and green npples. We had seen but little suhsi tntial food on the day of the fight for thirty-eight hours and the green corn and apples had been exhausted for twenty four hours. The cornfields und apple trees on the plains of Manassas had been foraged, pillaged and plundered by soldiers of both armies who had passed and repassed until they were as barren of life giving food for present, emergencies as the sand ot the great Sahara desert. Our commissary reached the company a few minutes in advance of the order hurrying us iuto the fight. Hawkins was as proud toseo the men as they were glad 10 sec him ; hut he was too late to do them much good. They ha l time lo get the tlour that had been issued to llieiu in the consistency of dough and ready for the oven when we were summoned into action, l'ho men held on to their dough and eat it ns tlicy ran on to the battle field 1 do not knowbut that soldiers will fight better when they are hungry. Vim. ? ? Cr.ovKii as a l- Kimi.i/.Eit.?The question as to the value of clover as a fertilizer, when aud how it is most valuable, &c., has had limited discussion in these columns, and is entitled to all the consideration it is likely to receive. Clover is a biennial plant, and lo do the laud the most good should bo allowed lull possession ol the ground until iuto the second year, l'robably the best results will follow ploughing in the first crop of the second year when in full bloom, but the crop is so valuable lor feed when cut aud cured that most farmers will prefer to do that and plough under the second crop, which is almost as good, and with the additional growth of roots is, in some eases, just as good. The value of the roots of clover is sometimes overlooked and scarcely ever appreciated. Proof 11-iherts, of Cornell University, N. 1., had a portion of a clover crop analyzed, roots an i all. after drying it IlillW tKo f>?tn ?nntn'noit 10 JH?r I'CIlt, of water and the stalks ll i per cent., the tops of stalks on an acre of ground were fouud to weigh 3,235 pounds, while the roots of an acre weighed -1,803 pounds. Thus it%iil be s.en that it is important to havo the crop remain on the ground for the second year's growth since they continue to grow from the start, while the tops arc cut oil or die down each year. Another object in letting the crop remain so long without ploughing up is, that as tho roots grow long they penetrate to a grea _ ...i i ? - iui mud ,i suosuu aim carry into it elements of nature which release and utilize plant loud in that stratum which would olh crwiso lie dormant. Still another advantage is the smothering of the weeds. A good heavy growth of clover will do this pretty effectually. It will also rot out old stumps by keepiug them almost constantly wet. Clover can hardly be dispensed with on clay land, and the man who undertakes to farm without it makes a great mistake. and he will be fortunate if lie discov ers it early. ? * . A btvK Smake js a llov s Stomach. ? Lewislou. .Me., May Id.?The almost incredible story recently printed about the death of a boy near Grand Falls from hemorrhage caused by pulling from his mouth a live snake which had grown to his flesh proves to be liteially true. The lad s name was George Murichson. and la is ago S years. Ue was a bright little fellow, and lived with his parents on a farm about four miles from the town. Jvirly lust winter the boy began to act strangely sick, lie had a most voracious appetite, and it was impossible for him to get enough to oat. His friends i'iiI. alarmed about, linn and siuit. lor tilivnl cians, who began dosing him for worms. As the winter wore on the boy grow worse and worse. < hie day lie felt something crawling Up from his stomach into his throatHe almost chunked to death, for the crawling creature tried ineffectually to come out by the nasal passage. In a short time the snake (Ibr such it was) forced his way up the hoy s throat and stuck itn head out of his mouth. Tho lad's sister, who was near by. saw the head of the serpent jnrt before it drew it hack into the liny s mouth. Very soon the snake stuck his head out a second time, and his littio sister made a grab at it and |>u 11 c*11 from the boy's mouth | a live snake fourteen inches long. It had a piece ol flesh attached to its tail nearly as largo as a lien's egg. The hoy lived a short time only after the snake was taken from him. dying of violent h -inorrhage. It is supposed that the hoy had gone to sleep in some field, and that the snake had craw lee down his throat. The reptile has been preserved in alcohol. on Thkuk ?A young man and woman of Wapella, 111 , appeared belbro i justice to get married. The young mnn banded the justice what ho thought was die license, and the ceremony was proeceJed with. Arriving at homo, the justieo iiscoverod what he supposed to boa licemo whs simply a pedigree of a bull. As fast us his legs could carry him, the justice ran to the home of the newly-married couple. The yOuiig lady had already retired, and the young man was in the act of disrobing. The justice broke in upen them, exclaiming : 'Hold on there ! Tut on ,'your clouthcs! You are not inaaried ! You gave me the wrong license ! When the matter was explained, the young man diws ed himself aga'u, and, cursing his stupidity for presenting a registered bull eerti ftcale instead of a marriage license, he bade his prospective bride good-night a id went sorrowfully away. The nexc day the proper license was found, the ceremony was performed again, and now happiuess reigns supreme about the uew family hearthstone. A Criminal Lawvkk.?Major llassaway, a prominent San Antonio lawyer, seemed tired ami worn out on returning to his residenec. 'You look tired, dear. I suppose you have had a hard day's work again in Court, said Mrs. Cassaway. 'Yes, I'm very tired. Iv o bad a difficult case, but 1 've won it.' 'You had better drink a cup of tea, and then go to bed early and get a good night s rest.' 'No rest for uie to-night. I'll have to sit up and watch the stable with a shot-gun to sec that the carriage horse is not stolen. Why, who is going to steal i'. '{' 'Vim see, I was defending one of the worst horse thieves in Western Texas, this afternoon, and I cleared him. lie is footloose now, and I am afraid he will come around to-night and steal my horses. Nobody s horses will he safe until that doubledyed scoundrel is out of town.'?'JY.ras Sit'tuuj*. - Tiik Danuuaur ok run Hand.?Dimple bones and wriukles mark tho tlivoe stages of 1-fc's progress. NVlth the wrinkled stapes tho steuniucss of youth often remains in resolute chatactcr. When tho Duke of Wellington was a very old man. lie could still lill a glass of water to the last possible drop, and hold it up steadily, brimful. Tho helpful heads keep their youthful activity, too, for into the withering age. And in nobly loving natures there is a sort of immortality of youth ; tbo warmth of alfeclioti has given more than a royal prerogative ; the hand is beautiful always to the eyes that l ...... ;? rwi... i. .. i~ *v iiiiiiiiiui ij . i iiu miici jrcarn uuiy stamp it with (lie i 111 (>r<rs.s of a lunger past of tenderness, faithfulness and bounty, it is not the ''old hand, but the "dear hand, and it never grows older, but only uioro dear. 1 lo who doubts the truth of this, lust mystery has not yet found out that hands as well as hearts, have a peculiar place in our knowledge and love of one another. e (.Jut Moiik.n 11k \V.\.vii:i?.?A woman about forty years old, having a peculiar glint in her tye and a lighting jaw, Came into the counting room < 1 the 1'rtr l*rcs? the other day. and brusquely said : 'I want to stop an advertisement.' 'Yes m, Which one is it '! Its on the sixth page, and reads that fifty good looking gills are wanted to canvas lor orders for a fast selling article. Yes in. (Jot all the girls you vvuutcd 1" 'Oh. it was my husband who put it in, and lie got niore'n be wanted, 1 guess. [ went into bis office yesterd iy afternoon, ami found sixteen of them there tit once, and when 1 got through with the crowd there was just a barrel of hair-pins, nets, paper cull's, and paper rags. If you ever want any testimony as to how advertising in the I'm /*,rstt pays, just call on me for a certificate.'? iJrtt'Hif. /*!rcr / r'ss. - ? . v .i...fir.- i . I.; scholar* tho story of Ananias ami Sappbira, .iskcd t Item why tioddhl not, strike every body dead who told a lie'/ Alter a lo?j^ silence, one iiltle fellow ^ot to Id- feet and exclaimed: ' llecause, sir, there wudna bo onyhody left - What lack did yon have fishing yesterday, I'cnnybucker / asked an Austin gentieinan of a well-known impecunious character, who owes nearly everybody. 'Splendid! While 1 was out on the w harf twiuty men with b'lls Called at my hou.-e to collect money. Mamma,'' .said .Juliana', 'cant anybody hoar vviib their mouth?' '.\o child. I don't I think they can. replied his mother. Then, ! mania, what made Mr. Jones tell his sister | lie wanted to (ell her something, and put his hps to her mouth instead of her ear?.