Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lewis m. grist, proprietor. J gill .Independent |[amil{ Jtepaper: tin; |romo(ion of (hq ?olitical, jfaqrai, gii)i|iciil(urat and dfommfpiat Interests of thfj jloufh. | TERMS?$2.00 A YEAR IN ADVANCE. T7-rvr. R? YORKYILLB, S. C., WEDNESDAY, 1STOVEMBEB 23, 1892. NO. 47. T Vy -I * ^ v / THE GOLD! BY CHARLES B. L] Copyright, 1892, by Amerlc CHAPTER EVIL Prom the same direction taken by Taylor, but evidently coming out of a narrow valley bearing off to the left, ap- 1 peered a white man with a gun on Lis shoulder. He was in view when half a mile from camp, and long before he reached it all the men were watching his approach. He was one of the four renegades, and this was the visit Harkins had heard them plotting to make. The captain, JBarkins and Joe knew this, bat none of the others knew that the girl Lizzie was in camp, she having kept herself secreted in the wagon. The man continued to advance at a leisurely pace, and by and by he was near enough to the group to call out: " Who are yout" "Howdy, strangers! 1 reckon 1 kin come in. being as 1 ain't a hostile Indian." The captain returned his salutation, and the renegade came to a halt in the 1 camp, looked keenly around him and 1 continued: ' "Come after gold, 1 reckon, and from the looks o' things you've been fooling ' away your time fur a hull week. In course you was green and didn't know or you wouldn't hev stopped here two hours." "What's the matter of this placer queried the captain. ."Nuthin, so fur's grass and water goes, but. if you want gold you must go whar it is. Leastwise, the rest of us hev had to." "And where is that?" "A matter of twelve miles up the valley. Thar's plenty up thar to be had *? - ??i? ?j ?i? n rur W18 UlggUlg, ?uu viu/ a duuui |W IJ has got onto it yet Never saw such richness afore. I believe ye kin almost load one o' them wagons in a month." There were murmurs of admiration and exclamations of astonishment from the men. "1 belong to the party np thar," continued the stranger, "but 1 don't go much on digging out the stuff. Rather be moving around, you know. 1 kin ' guarantee that the boys will welcome ye ' If ye want to come. Thai's enough fur 1 alL" i "It is very generous indeed of you," ??'?replied the captain "We came for gold, and of course we must take advan- ] tage of your offer." < ."Aye! that we must," shouted the 1 men. "What brought me out this morning, 1 st least this way," observed the man as he carefully noted everything in camp, "was a calamity. One of the boys np I thar brought his gal oat with him. The 1 Injuns got arter us and skeart her clean crazy. Since that time she's bin tryin to ran away, imagining that the reds were arter her scalp. She got off last night and might hev com this way." "That's awfnir sighed Harkimt. 'Tve got a gal of my own down in the wagon there, and I'd rather see her dead than crazy." "The wolves wor.il be likely to pall her down last night," mnsed Joe. "Two or three big fellows were around camp just before daylight" "So ye*ve got a gal o' your own?" queried- the man of Harkins in tones which betrayed doubt - "Oh, Bess!" called the latter in reply, _ end the girl put her head out of the - Wagon and asked what was wanted. "Waal. IB iiev .to look further," said the renegade as he turned away. "Poor gall How 1 pity her! itnd when will ye be ready to move np the valley to the gold fields?' "Today perhaps,' answered the captain. "Better not lose any time, as thar will be a rash in yere from all directions. 80 long to ye." When he had cleared the camp Harkinw told his story and the man's object was made pl&in. Harkins did not keep back the secret of the cave, bnt told it jnst as he had received it and suggested that in case the contents could be found there should be an equal division. "They want us to move up the valley in order to let them oat," explained the captain. "Therefore our plan will be to 1 remain where we are until* we know What there is in the story. They haven't | found the cave yet and there is u chance of oar coming in first. We shall certainly do some looking for it Well let that chap get well ont of sight tuid then go on a still hunt" Two hours later the captain, Harkins and a man named Andrews set ont in company nnder the guidance of the seo-I ond to seek the canyon and the cave. While they are searching let us see what befell Taylor, who had made a temporary camp in the small valley. When he came to think it over he condemned himself for having acted so rashly. He. was now alone and outlawed. Should he succeed iu finding the gold how was he to bring it away? He was and would be in constant danger from the Indians, and if giyen a team and the gold loaded up for bim there wis not one chance in a hundred of his driving safely back to civilization. While he coveted all he realized that he must be content with a share in order to get any at alL "If I should go back and tell 'em of the cave it would make 'em feel all right," he soliloquized as he looked up at the rugged sides of the valley. *?FoolI fooir he exclaimed after a moment; "hasn't Harkins already told them of it as the reason why 1 sought his life? All know it and all will divide I and leave me out in the cold! I'm the .biggest fool on earth!" "I quite agree with ye!" said a voice not five feet away, and Taylor sprang up to find the renegade who had visited the camp below standing almost over him. "Saw yer hosses' tracks leadin in yere, .ye know," said the renegade in explanation. "Bather eurus to find a white man prowling around alone in this kentry. Ver scalp must be nailed on or ye wouldn't chance it this way." "Who are you?" asked Taylor as soon as be. had recovered from his surprise. . "The same question to ye, and what is it about a cave of gold and dividing upT . Here was help. If the man belonged to a party the gpld might yet be se.cured. He was a hard looking customer ?one who would not 6cruple at any. thing. ., "Sit down," said Taylor as he made himself comfortable. "I came here with a party camped two or three miles below. They came to prospect for gold, but 1 came to look for a cave already . filled with it. They sort o' suspected j me, and because I wouldn't divide they 1 m CAVES. - EWIS (M. QUAD.) an Press Association, drove me out of camp this morning." "Whar did ye hear of that cave?" "From an old hunter named Saun ders." "Who used to chum with a pard namec Bridgers?" "Exactly." "Waal, I'm yere fur the same pur pose. What I got was secondhand fron Did Bridgers, but it looks straight 'nuff rhere's four of us in the party anc we've got ridin horses and a team." "That's the checker!" exclaimed Tay lor as he brought his fist down on th( grass. "1 want to join you." "And ye know just whar that cave is?5 "1 believe I can walk to it in th< night." "Bimrwio ira ohonlri hpV a TOW \vitl kfU|;|/VWW ?> V WMWkM.. . ...... the people camped below?" "I'll do my share of shooting. There'f two or three of 'em who will get a bul let the first time I have a chance to cov er 'em." "Come on. 1 guess the boys will take ye in under the sarcumstances. Haven't Been nuthin of a gal wanderin arounc yere, I suppose?" "No." "Waal, saddle up." An hour later Taylor was in the camp of the outlaws. When the men learnec that he had been driven out of the camp below and that he had received minute particulars regarding the locality of the cave of gold they extended him a warn welcome. "Whar do ye make it out to be?" asked Bob, the leader. "Five miles the other 6ide of the wagon train." "Nor "That's what the hunter said?fivf miles to the left of the peak." "And this isn't the canyon?" "It can't be. It's below that camp. Ill stake my life on it" "Then, doggone it, we've bin wronj; all the time. We located this as the place. If it's below the camp then w? ion't keer a button whether they movt er not, though they'll likely be going up the valley today. We'd better hitch up and be going." CHAPTER XVIIL "So you've got gold in the wagonf" The next three days were fnll oi strange events. The party which sot ont from the wagon train to hnnt fox the canyon were certain that the one near which the renegades had encamped was the place they were looking for. Taylor and one of the renegades prospected down the valley and found a canyon which Taylor was sure contained the cave and its treasure. Both parties were working in the dark, trat the wagonmen had the advantage, fhey knew the renegades for what they ocpro and also discovered that Tavloi bad joined them. Some of the men were for attacking them and wiping ont the whole five to revenge the murder of the emigrant and his wife, but this the captain would not approve. He would lose a. man or two at least, even if he won a jreat victory, and he did not forget that the Indians might make their presence known at any moment. At the seoond visit paid the canyon ibove the renegades the wagonmen penetrated far enough to be certain that this was the one described by Saunders, rhey would have investigated still closer but for the approach of a storm, which nade them anxious to reach the sheltei >f camp. Strangely enough, the other party was just as firmly convinced that the othei ;anyon was the right one, and on the forenoon of the third day it was decided :hat they should move. Bob had told a Dig story to get the other party off up :he valley, and as they bad not moved :he renegades did not know what to nake of it. He could not see why they jhould question his veracity, but Taylor nade the situation plain when he said: "Harkins has no doubt told them of :he cave, and they are making a still cunt for it Depend upon it, he Las jiven the secret away, and they'll divide ap the stuff if they find it" It was decided to hitch up and move * 11-*" "* r* ttAf lOWU U1U VttUC^ aw UUUU. " uuiu uv? lo for Taylor to be seen, and he was to lide away in the wagon. Bob cooked ip what he thought a very plausible parn, and about noon Joe, who happened to be looking up the valley, saw the wagon a mile away. The rescued girl was at once hidden from sight and the seven men in the camp quietly made ready to meet an attack. The wagon came on, three of the renegades riding their horses and the fourth iriving, while the horses of the la5-tei rod the one belonging to Taylor followed the wagon. The vehicle could have passed the camp by fifty yards, but it drove up and halted within ten, and Bob called out: "Hello! to all of ye again. 1 reckoned ye'd be np at the diggings by this time, but ye don't seem to keer foi gold. 1 come out to guide these boys, who hev made their pile and are now headed for Brule. Didn't see anything of the lost gal yet?" The captain being absent with a party, Joe took it upon himself to answer. "We shall probably move this afternoon. The wagons had to be overhauled and fixed. So you've got gold in the wagon?" "Gold 'nuff to buy half of Dakota, mj friend- Sorrv we can't let ve see it, but it's kivered up fur the journey. Meet any luck yet?" "Only so so. Where did you get thai bay horse?" "I was jist goin to ask ye if ye hac ever 6een him afore. We met a chaj named Taylor a couple of days ago who was headed for the mines. He al lowed he didn't need his hoss any long er, and 1 bought the beast for fifty dol lars." "Yes, that is Taylor's horse, and J was wondering how ,you came by him Was Taylor all right?" "Seemed to be as pert as a cat. S< ye are going away today?" "That's what we expect." "Waal, I'm goin on with the boy3 fui about twenty mile and 1 may see you as I cum back. Good luck and goodby." The little party moved off down th< valley, every renegade chuckling witl satisfaction, and they were soon out oi sight. Half an hour later the captair and his party returned and dinner was quickly dispatched and the teams har nessed for a move. By three o'clock r new camp had been formed in the moutl of the canyon. The wagons were rui in out of sight, a wall of rock was pilec up as a screen aud a defense, and in i little cave were found water and grass for the horses for the time being. It was well that they had moved witl promptness and made things secure Before sunset the rain descended in sucl torrents that the main valley was almos a river. A good sized stream nwep down the bed of the canyon and outjnt< [ the valley, and within an hour the foot- j S prints of the horses and the tracks of | the wagons had been obliterated. The ' storm lasted half the night, causing i great discomfort in the cainp, but' the ; next day was not three hours old when everybody was made to realize that the j storm was his salvation. Some of the j men were still eating their breakfast when Joe, who had been down to the mouth of the canyon for a look around, i returned and said: "Injuns till you can't restt" "Where? Where?" called half a dozen men. . "In the valley. A band of at least tif- j ty has just gone tearing by." The fire was burning clear and mak- j ing no smoke, although it had been built [ against the wall of the canyon, in a place where the smoke would go filter- j ing up among the trees. Every man .was ordered down to the wall, and they reached it in time to see the last of the i Indian band disappear up the valley. j "What's your opinion?" asked the cap- j tain of Joe as they stood together. "They are hunting for us. They've got word that we are in this valley and they are trying to locate us. They probably expected ,to find us at the other camp." . "Well, I hope they'll keep right on as they are going." j. "But they won't, captain. They know | I that we left that camp about noon yes- j terday. They picked up a dozen proofs , of it. They believe we went straight up the valley. They'll figure that we j couldn't have gone over ten c. twelve j j miles when the storm broke, i- lve miles j ' above this they will be lookibg for our I f-oil Tf thpv don't find it thev will ride ! j ?J ? ?* , j on five miles farther. Then they will j discover that we did not go that way at i ' all." "And then what?" "They will come back looking into all j , the hiding places, and we shall have a , fight with odds of five to one." "I'm afraid so," said the captain, "and ! , this time we cannot look for a rescue by ; the soldiers. The party which passed down yesterday has no doubt been j butchered." "1 think the reds struck into the val ley by a pass farther up," answered Joe. i | "There would have been fighting, and I , we should have heard the reports of j ( rifles. We must get ready." > The mouth of the canyon was about ' ( one hundred feet wide. Seventy-five i feet up it uarrowed to fifty feet and j made a bend. The wagons were in this , bend and a wall had already been thrown ! across a portion of the fifty feet Every j man now went to work to extend this ! wall to a distance of thirty-five feet and 1 to make it look like a landslide from the bank. Dirt was thrown in among the rocks, and bushes pulled up and set j among them, and two or three of the | men brought armfulsof vines and creepers and trailed them over the walL It would not do to close up the entire width of the canyon, as the Indians probably knew of its existence. The wall made a strong barricade, and as the men surveyed it from the other side they pronounced the deception perfect 1 The test was at hand. They were yet at work when the advance of the Indian party was seen rei tnrninc down the vallev. Thev knew that if the wagon had come up the val, ley they had dodged in somewhere. "Every man to cover and lie low until ^ 1 give the word," ordered the captain, ( and in a moment the gloomy month of the canyon was as quiet as a graveyard. ^ CHAPTER XIX. i "Qrcat heavens, but what is thatV The Indians were in truth looking ' for the wagons. Both parties had a t narrow escape. Their presence in the ' valley had been detected by scout or stroller ana uiiormanon cameu w aomw i point from which a war party of seventy , ' had been dispatched to surprise and an- I 1 nihilate them. This party had come in i L I by one of the narrow valleys and found j | the camp abandoned. The severe storm j 1 ; had obliterated &11 traces, and the In- j ? j dians had gone up the valley to pick up I ' ! the trail. As they returned they were i I riding at a slower pace, and were spread j ' I out the width of the valley. Would they look into the mouth of the canyon? The query was answered five minutes 1 later. Three warriors turned their ponies 1 I to the right and rode in to within ten j I feet of the stone wall. They rode its j entire length and halted in the gap and ; ; looked up the canyon. | The men were lying flat down on the I earth, each clutching his rifle, and borees j and wagons were just around the bend. ! j Could it escape the Indians that the * | wall was artificial? Must not their ^ sharp eyes detect the figures hugging , ' the earth? It did not seem that the gold j ' hunters had one show in a thousand to . escape detection, and yet they were not ! detected. After a halt of not more than j 1 I a minute, though it seemed a quarter of ' | an hour to each man, the trio of red- j ' ; skins passed on and the moment of peril 1 | was passed. 1 j A bit of natural philosophy stood between the gold hunters and discovery. The Indians had turned into the gloom \ and shadow from the bright sunshine, 1 and their vision was shortsighted and ' uncertain. Had they waited a little j i j longer they must have seen something ' | or other to arouse their suspicions, but j ' they seemed impatient to get on. "Thank God I" whispered more than one man as the horses were heard moving away. In half an hour the gold hunters dared I exult and plan. Two men were left at > the wall as lookouts, three or four others 1 were held as a reserve at the camp, and the captain, Harkins and Joe set out up . i the canvon to search for the cave of gold. When the darkness became so in- j I tense as to interfere with their progress ! t ; they lighted torches and a thorough in- j spection was made of both walls. I The canyon extended into the moun- j ) tain for a full mile, winding and turn, ing, and long enough before it ended - j the pine trees met above it and prevenfc j ed a single ray of light from descending. ! Nothing answering the description of j the dying hunter could be found. He j [ ' had said, as Harkins understood, "five j miles to the right of the peak." Here was the Bpot. He had described the | > mouth of the canyon and everything here bore out the description. He said that Bridger went up the canyon about r a mile and then turned into a smaller 3 one running to the left. There was no such canyon. The left i bank was solid rock and earth from the i wagons to the spot where the great rift f I stopped short at a flinty walla thousand i feet high. The mighty wrath had split 1 3 the mountain thus far, bnt it could go ! no farther. t Three times the men traveled from i the camp to the end of the canyon, and i then all were certain that Harkins had I been mistaken. They sat down on a i bowlder in the bed of the canyon to rest 3 and discuss the matter, while the single torch, secured in a cleft, hardly allowed i i ht m to see each other's faces. "Well, we have no right to complain, l as we have lost nothing," said the cap- ! t tain. "Indeed, if we had not slipped in j t i hero not a man of us would now be > ' wearing his scalp." ' " Wasn't tEe" "old man flighty in his last hour?" asked Joo of Harkins, who seemed much cast down. "He gave no evidence of it; on the contrary, his mind seemed wonderfully clear to the last." 4 "Perhaps he said to the left instead of ..le right of Custer's peak," suggested the captain. "No, I am sure he said to the right, but he may have meant the left." "It's no use crying over spilt milk," laughed the captain. "If we have lost the cave we have saved our scalps. I'm inclined to think the old man misspoke himself. I believe those renegades gave this place a thorough looking over and are now in the canyon below, if there is a canyon there. If the cave is there they have got the gold ere this, and that ends it" Harkins sat with bowed head. He had felt so sure that old Saunders told the truth that he hated to give up the search. There was deep silence for a moment, broken by a whisper from Joe, "Great heavens, but what is that!" They were near the wall which formed the end of the canyon. All raised their heads and looked into the darkness and saw a faint light shining out like a star. At the same moment their ears caught the sound of many voices chanting in low tones, and a strange, weird music tilled the heavy air. "Hush?sit still!" whispered the captain as Harkins seemed about to spring up. Then from the face of the solid rock issued forth a strange procession of strange shadows?shadows which moved in double die right past the trio down into the blackness of the canyon toward the wagons. The one who led the procession carried what looked like a banner. Behind him was one who seemed to carry an urn. Then came four shadows which bore a bier, and those who came after had their faces upturned and were wailing and chanting. The men saw and heard and realized, but were chilled and powerless to move. Can the dead come back to earth? Do the ghosts of those who have gone before gather in the shadows and the darkness and hold reunions? Chant! Chant! Chant! Out from the solid wall?a wall in which the sharp eyes of the gold hunters had failed to detect a crevice large enough to conceal a squirrel?poured the strange, queer specters, and down into the darkness marched the procession. March! March! March! Their feet kept time to the wild, weird ?V.n<n + Knf nnt tVia BOmul nf M. fnotfll.ll came to the ears of the living. Each ghostly figure stood out separate and distinct, but not a face could be seen. "We are doomed men!" groaned Harkins, as he covered his face with his hands to shut out the sight. "Aye! We shall never leave this spot alive!" added Joe. "Hush, menl" whispered the captain as he raised his hand. "They are dead, true enough, but they are the dead of a thousand years ago?of the cave dwellers and the Aztecs. 1 have seen them twice before, and they brought no bad luck. Here they come on the other side!" The three were seated on a rock in the center of the rift The head of the spectral procession had gone down the canyon several hundred feet and then turned to come back on their left, passing fhem again within a few feet. March! March! March! Chant! Chant! Chant! Soft and low and sweet came the notes?like the murmur of the August breeze in a forest pine. The feeling of awe was crowded out of the hearts of the living, and a feeling of sadness and reverence crept in. It was the dead burying its dead! March! March! March! Never the echo of a footfall, never the touch of skeleton foot to the flinty rock. The ear caught no sound but that of the ?i xi guusuy vuiuea uuautui^ iu uuuvu* And of a sadden he who headed the spectral procession swerved to the left and disappeared into the solid wall and was followed by the long lines until the last had been swallowed np and lost sight of. And then, as silence and darkness reigned again, the captain said: "Men, we have a treasure here. Examine that wall and you will find an opening to a cave behind it." CHAPTER XX. The stone fell to the earth. TUara ma owalra nr oolppn?" aslrerl Joe, as he rubbed his eyes. "Very wide awake," answered the captain. "And was it a procession, and did we hear music?" asked Harkins. "Yes. I saw and heard the same thing once in the Rocky mountains, and once again in an old ruin in Arizona, i have met several men who have also seen and heard." "There is no opening in the cliff," said Joe as he held the torch aloft; "not a crevice where they came out?not a hole where they went in. We have been fooled by the darkness." "You and Harkins return to the wagon for crowbars, and while you are gone I will collect wood and build a tire to work by," answered the captain. His seeming confidence inspired them, and without waiting for a closer inspection of the cliff they headed down the canyon for the tools. Upon reaching the wagons all was quiet, and the queries of the men regarding the use the crowbars were to be put to were made light of, as it was deemed Dest not to raise hopes which might bo disappointed. The captain had a bright fire blazing against the cliff as the men returned, and in response to their looks of inquiry he put his hands on the rocks and said: "See this line running here, and up this way, and to the right, and down and back? A great stone has been set in here and cemented in its place. The work was done so long ago that the cement is as hard as the rock and almost the color of it. One of you begin at that side, while I take a hand here." Ten jiinute^^vork proved what he had asserted?that a large stone had been fitted to an opening?but the work of drilling out the cement was like drilling into the stone itself. When noon came they had made a considerble impression, but fully realized that they had undertaken a laborious task. . The forenoon had passed with those at camp without alarm. The sentinels thought they heard the reports of rifles down the valley, but were not certain. Not an Indian had shown himself, and it was hoped that they had been thrown off the scent and would leave the valley. From the first the two girls had been drawn to each other, and Lizzie found u deep sympathizer in Bess. When brought into camp by Harkins the poor girl was in a truly forlorn condition, as may be imagined. While she still labored with the grief which choked her every time she thought of the sad fate of her parents, she had been mado very presentable in appearance, and more than one of the wagonmen felt his heart beat'faster at sight of her sweet, sad face. As the trio returned to camp from their labors up the canyon, Bess beckoned her father aside and said: "Our friend is worrying and wants to talk with you." ' "Yes, 1 want to ask you about my j 1 mother," added Lizzie. "I am sure I saw father lying on the . i ; ground, and have no doubt the rene- j ' | gades killed him as the first part of ' their plan. Mother and I both got away, ' : and she was not overtaken. What j would be her fate?" j i "It is hard to say," replied Harkins j after reflecting on the matter. "If she i got through the night all right she may 1 have found the trail of the wagons in j ' the morning and overtaken the party. We must hope that she did. It may 1 also be that your father was only stun- 1 ned by the blow, and is ere this all right ' again and with his friends." j < "Do you think there is even the j faintest hope?" she tearfully asked, i "I do." j < "Thank God for thatl 1 shall almost , ; cease worrying under that hope. And : > 1 now what of myself?" j * i "You are to remain with us, of i 1 i course." "But for how long?" ! 1 i "We cannot even guess. We may j 1 head back for civilization in a week? J 1 ! perhaps not for-three months. It de- I | pendsonour luck as* gold hunters. It { ' is more than likely that some of the party to which you belonged will be en- j 1 countered soon, and who knows what | 1 good news we may receive. You are j | thrice welcome to all it may be in our I power to do for you." Meanwhile Bess had whisperingly in- 1 ! quired of Joe what chances the mother | had of escape. , 1 "God help her?none!" he answered. ; "She was wild with fear when she ran ; 1 from the wagon, and she would grow | ' | wilder. Before morning came she was I 1 ' a maniac, but I doubt if she lived to see . 1 1 another day." ! ' "Indians?" gasped Bess. ! j "No?wolves. At that distance from 1 ' a tnnn /Intim trifll I 1 tllO UiUUIiUllIlO a iuaa ivauwu uvum i firearms could hardly have kept them ! 1 | off all night. Encourage the girl all I you can, but don't hope in your own j 1 : heart that there is one chance in a mil- I lion that she will ever see her mother ! I again." As the pair 6tood together apart Har- i | kins observed them with a start and i 1 | whispered to himself: ' 1 "Well, well, but 1 do really believe i i that my Bess has taken a liking to that J ' j chapl How queer!" | He might more truthfully have said, ! ' | "How natural," and he might have used j I i the word "love" for "liking." And when i the man looked upon the sweet face of I ; the orphan he had so gallantly rescued j at the peril of his life, and felt his heart j beating faster, he might have discovered | ( another queer thing?that somebody else 1 had "taken a liking." ( The captain had given the men to un- j derstand that he was prospecting up the 1 canyon for gold, but had said nothing of 1 the discoveries made. When dinner was finished and the trio were ready to re- j turn he renewed his caution about keep- i ing a steady lookout- for danger, and ordered that no one was to leave camp on any pretext till his return. Then the three set out for the scene of their labors 1 and began work immediately upon their ' arrival. They had no fear of their fire being seen or their blows overheard, and men who work to solve a mystery do not tire. | A ft?r three hours of hard work the crowbars secured such a grip on the stone that it moved. One united effort would heave it out of the opening. It was then that the captain stepped back 1 and sat down and said: "Let us take a breathing spell now, and let us prepare ourselves to be disappointed." 1 "What do you think is behind the Btone?" asked Joe. "A cave of some sort." "And what shall we find in the cave?" asked Harkins. "The shriveled bodies of dead Aztecs. That lost race always buried their dead in caves, and when the place would hold no more it was walled up. 1 have helped to open three or four." "But why go to all this trouble to j open a cave of bone and dust?" petulantly queried Harkins. "As the Indian of today places the ! i property of the dead warrior beside him | ! that he may have an outfit in the happy | land beyond, so the Aztecs placed the j wealth of their dead beside them in I these caves. 1 have seen many ornaments of gold and silver which came ; from such caves." "Then let us to work!" exclaimed Joe as he seized a bar. "We Bhall find a cave of dead if not a ! cave of gold," added Harkins. The bars were inserted on the left ' hand side of the stone, each man drew a J [ long breath and at the word each threw ! ! his weight on his lever. The stone trem- j ; bled, moved forward, hung a moment ! and then fell to the earth with a heavy ; i thud, and an opening appeared into ; which a horse could almost have walked. rWAPTFR TT1 And how fared the renegades? j The girl Lizzie had been cut loose ' from the tree to which she was bound j within thirty feet of them so carefully | I that Harkins had her a quarter of a mile | away before she was missed. A rush j and a search was made, and no one 1 questioned that she had got off alone. They consoled themselves with the I thought that the wild beasts would have ; her life before morning, and when Bob j strolled down the valley it was with the j i expectation of finding some evidence of her death. . j Well it was for the girl and the wagon- j men that Taylor had been kept in igno- j ronce of her rescue and arrival. Had j the renegades known she was in camp j j they would have shed blood to recapture i j her. Having no suspicion that she had j j been seen or heard of, they had no par- ! ticular animosity against the gold hunt- ( i ers. When Taylor, burning for revenge, j ! wanted to head a raid to steal the horses j , or attack the camp, Bob met him with ' the reply: "They drove you out, and 1 reckon | i they did right, but we don't propose to j j burn our fingers to help you git back at : I 'em. We cum yere fur that gold, and . , the fust hard work we do will be to look j 1 for it. If we don't trouble that gang ! they won't trouble us." Taylor had to bo satisfied with that. His standing among them was not pleasj ant. His excuses and explanations did not go down. He was looked upon as a : I traitor who had received his just deserts, > : and he very soon realized that he was j i 1 tlia eolra r\f u'li Q f )lA I I ueillg UUUU1CU IU4 iiio Duau VI ?.v might know about the cave of gold. This knowledge imbittered him, and I the hour he rode by the camp hidden in the wagon he gritted his teeth and whispered to himself: "These outlaws want me to help find the gold, but what will happen then? They won't stickle to shoot me down j like a dog. They have no notion of dividing with ine. They own the team | and will have all to say." | And then he took an oath that if ho ! ' saw the first sign of treachery in his new found friends every man of them I should die by his hand. It was no idle oath. He had a terrible weapon in store for an emergency. The outlaw party reached the canyon , below the peak without incident and the wagon was pulled well out of sight of , any one passing up an'd down the valley, and the camp was pitched with a view j to defense. They were men who knew j the perils of the Indian country and were ! both bravo and cautious. On the morn- | ing after their arrival Bob and Taylor i Bet off up the canyon on an exploring j | expedition, and within an hour they had . ! discovered the cave. Indeed, Taylor scarcely hesitated in walking directly to the ledge nnd pulling himself up. The opening to the cave was large enough to admit the body of an ox. To \ | the left of it rested a large stone which j j had been cut to fit the opening, but I which had never been placed in position. Saunders had said to the right of Custer's peak. He had been mistaken. Here was the cave to the left. The men hesitated to enter the opening, although provided with torches to dispel something of the inky darkness. In spite of their wicked hearts, a feeling )f awe and reverence held them spellbound for a time. By and by Bob shook it off sufficiently to say: "This is the place. Thar can't be no ioubt of it, for it's the location we both jot from different men. I'm now a-wonlering what's inside." Taylor thought this a fitting opportunity to decide a matter which had worried him not a little, and he said: "In case the gold is here do we five share and share alike?" "Sartinly," was Bob's prompt reply. "You go first and let's see if we hev sum on a wild goose chase." Taylor knocked his torch against the rocks to make it burn up more brightly, and holding it ahead of him passed into the opening, slowly followed by Bob. They found themselves in a rock lined room about twelve by sixteen feet in svidth and length, while the incline was from six to eight feet in height Nature had made the cave, but man had em larged and improved it For a moment the men looked about them in wonder, and fearful that a grizzly or puma might be there to receive them. The place was untenanted, and Taylor moved to the right, thrust his torch into the darkness and hoarsely exclaimed: "We've hit it?we've hit it! Here is the gold!" Yes, the gold was there, and silver as well. It was in crude lumps and pigs, each a heavy weight for a man. And there were crosses and spearheads and anklets and bracelets, all rudely fashioned from the precious metals. Bob did not trust himself to say a word until he had lifted half a dozen of the pigs and cut away at some of the smaller articles with his knife. Then he said: ??A WAAVV1 Pn y* /^nnVlf I ff.'fl "" X Llttl O UU 4 UUUI IIU uvui/vt *v w treasure!" "And it is share and share alike, remember I" cautioned Taylor. "Of?of course," stammered Bob. Avarice, doubt, selfishness, thoughts of murder were creeping in before the discovery was ten minutes old. "The fool?to expect us to divide with him!" growled Bob to himself. "Let 'em lookout! 1 may take all!*' hissed Taylor as he held up a lump of gold. Who had placed that treasure there? Men of the race who peopled the west before Columbus landed! The ores had been reduced and metal turned out in crude form, but the wealth was there. When assayed at the Denver mint later on its purity was a source of wonder. WTiy should the treasure have been left? may be asked. Who can tell when and why the Atzecs went? The ruins of their cities are found all over the west, but the race disappeared off the face of the earth before the Pilgrim fathers touched these shores. "Bring along a chunk to show to the boys," said Bob, and each selected a specimen and made haste down the canyon. The discovery was hailed with delight by the three outlaws left on guard, and plans were immediately made and discussed for loading up the stuff and getting out of the valley. In the making of these plans Taylor seemed to be entirely ignored, and when he put in his boast of finding the cave Bob took occasion to remark: IITTTa ?no/1 rnr lialn in fVlA Ipflflf, If O U.1VIU V UWUU J w? MW?|T ?, 'cause we bad the bearings all 0. K., but it was white in yon to offer yer services, an we hain't the men to forget it." "But I'm to have my fifth of course!" hotly exclaimed Taylor. The men looked at each other without replying, but presently he was ordered to stand guard at the wagon while they went up together to bring down the first load of treasure. "They think they have caught a fool!" hissed Taylor as he looked after them, "but they are mistaken. They are playing with a tiger!" CHAPTER XXII. "Phew! But we have struck a cave of the dead!" exclaimed Joe, who was nearest the opening as the stone fell out. A rank, musty odor issued from the cave and drove the three men down the canyon a distance of a hundred feet and kept them sneezing and coughing for a quarter of an hour. During this time the captain prepared a couple of torches, and by and by they advanced to find the odor no longer perceptible. The captain pushed his torch into the dark opening for a look at the interior of the cave, and after a moment he drew back and said: "We have got a find here, but there " * " 11 1- ~ u~,,4. will D6 some aisagreeauio wum uuuut m. The cave is heaped with bodies of the dead." The others looked in to find that his words were true. It was a chamber sixteen or eighteen feet square and ten or twelve feet high, and it was solidly packed with a grayish mass. That mass was the shriveled and mummified bodies of the lost race?dead men, women and children who had been laid away for perhaps two or three centuries. "Well, we liavo had our labor for oui pains," said Harkins as he stepped back. "And we don't want to discover any more caves," added Joe with a tinge of bitterness. "If they followed the rule in burying these dead we shall find a fortune in here," said the captain as he braced his torch against a rock. "Let's see what 1 can discover." He entered the opening, thrust his hand into the mass of dust, worked it about for a moment, and then backed out holding in his fingers an anklet weighing at least four ounces. He rubbed the metal briskly on his sleeve, and lol the shine of gold caught every eyel "Worth at least seventy-five dollars," said the captain as he held it up, "and there ought to be bushels of them in there. Take it with you to camp and give 'em the news, and send up two of the men with shovels. Everything in there has got to be thrown out." So will it be a century hence. The dust of those who live today will bo treated as earthly clay in the search for wealth. At the end of the third day there was a council of the wagonmen. The cave had yielded an amount beyond the wildest guess. It had been cleared of the last shovel of dust, and every ornament and relic had been carried to the camp. Each member of the party would have thousands of dollars, and the council was called to determine what next step should be taken. Tho unanimous decision was that the party should make its way back to civilization as soon us possible. Since tho Indians passed down the valley not a redskin had been seen, aud it was hoped tho way out was safe and clear. It was a long and dangerous journey across tho plains, but if attacked the little band must make the best defense possible. It was a peril that must be encountered in any event, and there was just a chance that the train might be left unmolested. The men were feeling exultant over their good luck and the hope of a safe iourney when the lookout at the mouth of the canyon, whose services had never for a moment been dispensed with, sent an alarm into camp that something was wrong. In five minutes every man was at tho barricade or wall. Opposito the mouth of tho canyon, across tho narrow valley, was a fine spring. A single Indian had come galloping up to dismount, but five minutes later a band of at least forty arrived and prepared to camp. The ponies were unsaddled, two or three fires kindled, and it was evident the redskins had gone into camp for the night. " Worth at least seventy-five dollars." The captain, Joe ana two or three other plainsmen drew aside for consultation, but it was a brief one. "It's just one chance in a hundred that they may overlook us," said the captain. "The horses must be led as far up the canyon as we can get them, the fire put out and no man must close his eyes tonight." The horses were at once led away, the j fire smothered, and a quarter of an hour ; after the Indians arrived the canyon 1 was plunged in midnight darkness and : seemed to contain no living thing. The white covers had been removed from the wagons and carried up the rift, and one standing twenty feet away could not distinguish the vehicles. Joe and Harkins were ordered to remain with the wagons as protection to the girls, 1 while the others took places along tne J embankment, and thus the night ] came on. i The Indians were on the warpath, but t they seemed to have not the slightest snspicion of the- presence of the train. ] They could plainly be heard singing, | laughing and talking, and a few of them \ acted as if they were hilarious with whisky. ] "All we've got to do is to keep quiet," , whispered one of the men to the cap- ] tain. | j "1 don't know. Those Indians are j too much off their guard. They are , ! acting a part 1 think they have some ' | plan in their heads. If some of them ( j are not crawling this way before mid- , night I shall be greatly mistaken." At ten o'clock the camptires of the In- , dians had burned low and all was quiet , on that side of the valley. The men in the mouth of the canyon crouched behind rocks and logs, and the darkness J was so dense that the keenest pair of f eyes could not see a yard distant. One looking over the barrier into the valley could see a hundred feet quite distinctly, as the night was starlight and the trees cast no shadow there. Eleven o'clock found everything quiet, j A quarter of an hour later, as the cap- ; tain raised his head for a keen look j around him, it seemed to him that the darkness of earth was blackened at a spot not over fifty feet away. A spot of black paint or an inkstand stands out in relief. A human figure dressed in black will stand out in relief against the gloom I of midnight. Was he mistaken? Did the object \ move? Was there an object to begin with? He touched the man nearest him on the shoulder and whispered his suspicions. After a steady look the man returned the whisper with: "It's an infernal redskin creeping up to make sure that we are still here! It's a part of the same band we saw four days ago, and they suspect we are hidden away in some of the canyons! "Pars the word to every man to lie low for his life and make no move until he gets the word! That fellow will come right in among us." Lto be continued.] IHtsccUaneous Reading. STORY OF A LYNCHING. A FRONTIER SKETCH. For many years Ogalalla, on the line of the Union Pacific railroad, held the distinction of being considered by Western men the worst place between the oceans, until Rawlins came into prominence. I passed one night, said au old frontiersman, in Rawlins in the fall of 1878, and then I cume to the conclusion that life in any other town would be tame and without excitement in comparison with the pleasure that place could afford. No one alighting from the cars in , the quiet street in Rawlins would believe that the many stories of bloodshed told of it were true. On one side of the railroad track stood a big barnlike building called the United States hotel, and on the other a row of twenty or thirty one-story frame houses, almost every one of which was a barroom with a gambling house attached. Over the doors hung such ! signs as "The Cowboy's Retreat," ' "The Divan," and "The Frontiers- ! ' man's Delight." ....... * ? .u- .. r .. u:ii jsenina ine town uu me iup ui a um . j was situated the city graveyard ; an j immense cross, which could be seen ! from a great distance, stood at the top 1 of the hill, and served as a landmark i 1 for travelers for miles and miles across ! , the barren prairies. That graveyard | j was the pride of every man that lived j ' in Rawlins. The inhabitants watched i it grow, and pointed with pleasure to ! ; the fact that there was hardly a man 1 taking his final rest there who had not j 1 come to his death by violence. It was toward afternoon when I j halted my horse in front of the United ! States hotel after a forty-mile lide. Heavily armed men stood about in groups. The looks thrown at me were ' far from reassuring, but I pretended not to see them, and hastened into the hotel. Hardly had I taken my seat in the dining-room when four men, evi- I dently forming a delegation, approached me. They demanded my business, and what brought me to Rawlins, in a way which left me no i alternative but to answer. My an- j : swers seemed satisfactory, and one of [ i them informed me of the reason of their curiosity. They had some idea that I was a deputy sheriff, and j j frankly told me that if I had been I | should have been escorted out of town, as no government officers were wanted j about Rawlins that night. They furJ ther informed me that there was to be one of the prettiest lynching bees in ; , town that night that had ever taken place. Three men had come to Rawlins | ten weeks before, and had taken the ; town by storm. They had made their headquarters at a tavern almost opposite the hotel, and had levied a tax on every one who entered. Anybody who objected to paying or standing treat was beaten, and when resistance was shown pistols were used. Ten men had received their death wounds from these three men, and the town had determined to set an example to ; all such characters by hanging the three without further ceremony. It was not easv. however, to accomplish this, as they were intrenched in the barroom, and refused to come out or allow any one to enter. It had been determined to dislodge them that night, in spite of all resistance, and I was invited to take part in the affair. The three men were named Joseph Chambers, Jack Willis, and Wat Simmons, and were desperate outlaws with large sums upon their heads. Just at dark the citizens at Itawlins prepared for battle. The attacking parties were divided into two forces, i One approached the point of attack from the rear, while the larger number marched up to the front. All the citizens wore handkerchiefs over their faces. I was with the main body of | attackers, or rather behind it. We were brought to a sudden halt by a j rifleshot from one of the windows of j :he besieged house, and one of our 1 eaders fell. Every means was tried 1o dislodge the three men, but to no i purpose. Every time the slighest advance was made their rides rang out, 1 irid some one on our side dropped. < \t last a small man slipped up in the " shadow of the adjacent buildings, and < ihrew a lighted can of kerosene under i ;he building. Soon it began to burn, 1 )ut still the men would not come out. 1 tU last the house was enveloped in lames, and the three men were obliged < .0 make a rush for their lives. They i tvere half blinded by the heat and i smoke of the burning, so they were ] juickly captured. 1 Then all of Rawlins, not excepting 1 he women and children, formed in 1 ine and marched quietly down to the ;attle pens, where an old dead tree stood which had served several times is a gallows. A rope bad been brought ilong, and it was quickly thrown over j i branch, and everything was ready 'or the hanging. It was at first in- | ;ended to dispose of all three at the same time, but there was not enough rope, so it was decided to hang one at i time. Jack Willis was the first to be strung up; his end was hastened by a dozen bullets which were fired into the body tvhile it was still writhing. Wat Simmons was then disposed of, and then :ame the turn of Joseph Chambers, the leader of the gang. Just as he was led under the tree he made a sign that be had something to say. The gag tvas removed from his mouth, and he said: "If you will take this rope from round my neck and slightly loosen these bonds, I will tell you men something that will interest you all." There seemed no daneer with so many on guard, so bis request was complied with. When his fetters were loosened he rose, stretched himself, ind began his speech. "You are a set of d? villains," he yelled, "and you can all go to h?" He knocked down the two men nearest to him, and made a dash for the 3age brush on the open prairie. All the horses were left outside the barroom when the desperadoes were captured. Some few men, however, dashed into the sage after Chambers, which made it impossible for the men under the tree to use their guns lest they hit 3ome of the pursuers. After an hour's useless chase, the hunt was given up for the night. At daylight the next morning a j Mtiflhmnn rnd*? into Rawlins and elec- ! trified the town by saying he had seen : Chambers near Fort Fred Steed, six- I teen miles below. He said he had just finished his breakfast, after spending | the night at a small house on the ; banks of the Platte river, when a hatless man, whom hercognized as Chambers, came in and demanded shelter. The ranchman suspected that something was wrong from the man's manner, and at once started for Rawlins to give the alarm. Thirty men immediately saddled their horses, and started in pursuit of the man they had vowed to hang. As they approached the hut a man appeared in the door with a Winchester rifle in his hand. Without a word he opened fire on the advancing party. Two men dropped from their saddles, and as the rest of the party put spurs to their horses and dashed toward the hut, Chambers, who had done the Bhooting rushed down the hill and plunged into the Platte. There had been heavy rains, and the river was a torrent, which made it seem impossible that a man could reach the other side alive. All the horsemen, however, drew up along the bank, and waited with guns in readiness to shoot Chambers, should he by auy chance get across. They waited for half an hour, and as there was no sight of him, they returned to Rawlins. That afternoon the other two j desperadoes were buried in what is j known as "Murderers' Row," and be- | side the graves was piacea a ooaru 10 the memory of "Joseph Chambers, drowned in the Platte while escaping capture," Two years after leaving Rawlins, I chanced to be in Abilene, Texas. A man passed me on the street one day whose face was strangely familiar. I turned to my companion, and asked who it was. "That," said he, "is Joe Chambers, one of our respected citizens." Suddenly the scene of the lynching at Rawlins came back to me, and I knew that the last time I had seen that man he was standing under a tree | with a rope around his neck. I told my friend the story, and he evidently doubted my veracity, if not my sanity. He told me that Chambers came to Abilene when the town was first started. He invested money in town lots, and made a fortune. He was a pro- ! inoter of schools and churches, and I was talked of for the next mayor. That night I was at my hotel wheu a j tall man with a slouch hat wandered i in. He looked round, and then came j straight to me. "Are you the man," he said, "who : has been telling a yarn about Joe I Chambers being lynched ?" I acknowled that I was. "Well," he replied, "Joe told me to : tell you that he'd shoot you on sight if you were in town tomorrow. Two hours later I was taking a night ride across the prairies. The Last Slave Cargo.?There is living in the outskirts of Augustu, On., a negro who was one of the cargo of the Wanderer, the last slave ship to bring to this country a load of captives from Africa. Lucius Williams he was christened by one of the young ladies of the family into which he was sold, "Umwalla" ho was called in Africa. As Umwalla, he was born in I Guinea, according to his story, not far from Liberia. One day, when he was j about ten years of age, he was sent to his aunt to carry her some pinders to j plant. When he was going through the woods two strange black meu seized him and bound his hands. He , cried terribly, and they soon gagged ; him. They sold him to a native, who j took him to Liberia. There, for the j first time in his life, he saw a white ; man, and he was terribly frightened J at him. Umwalla was then taken to i the Wanderer, where a large number j of captives had already been stowed away in the hole. When the Wanderer approached the .South Carolina coast she was sighted by a government boat and given chase. Luring the night she dropped anchor off Pocataligo, and the cargo of negro men and women was debarked. Umwalla, or, as he was soon afterwards called, Lucius, was taken to a Carolina plantation, near Beech Island, and put to work there. Thk Bitk of a Snakk.?The heads of the most venomous snakes, including the "rattlers,'' bulge just beyond the neck. Without exception they have fangs, either always erect, or raised and laid back at will. These fangs are long, sharp pointed teeth, with a hollow groove running their entire length. At the root of each fang is a little bag of poison. When the snake bites, the motion presses the poison-sac, and its contents (low down through the hollow in the tooth into the puncture or wound. The harmless little forked tongue is often spoken of by the uninformed as the snake's "stinger." Now, there is no propriety in the name, as the poisonous snakes do not sting, hut bite, their victims. There is no creature, even if brought from foreign countries where "rattlers" do not exist, but will halt and tremble at i the first warning sound of the rattle. Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, with others, has been making experiments with the venom of different serpents. He haa found that, aside from its poisonous qualities, it contains living germs, which have the power of increasing Enormously fast. So, you see, when an animal is bitten, these tiny bits of life, entering with the poison, cause harmful action to begin almost at once. Dr. Mitchell has found that the nervous center controlling the act of striking seems to be in the spinal cord, for ''?' if he cut off a snake's head, and then pinched its tail, the stump of its neck turned back, and would have struck his hand bad he been bold enough to hold it still. TWO CURIOUS NEEDLES. Girls, we are afraid, don't like sewing quite as well as they ought to. It is so much easier to ask mother to do what is needed than to do it themselves. And many mothers, unfortunately, think it takes less time and trouble to do the work than to teach their daughters to do it. But the girls may be interested in reading about some curious needles, if they are not obliged to use them: The king of Persia recently visited, a needle manufactory in his kingdom, in order to see what machinery, with the human hand could produce. He was shown a number of superfine needles, thousands of which, together, did not weigh half an ounce, and mar" " * - - 1 -a veiled how such minute objects coum be pierced with an eye. But he was to Bee that in this respect something tinner and more perfect could be created. The borer, that is the workman whose ' business it is to bore the eyes in these needles, asked for a hair from the monarch's head. It was readily given, and with a smile. He placed it under the boring machine, made a hole in it with the greatest care, furnished it with a thread, and then handed the singular needle to the astonished king. The second curious needle is in the possession of Queen Victoria. It was made at the celebrated needle manufactory at Redditch, and represents the column of Trajan in miniature. - This well-known Roman column is adorned with numerous scenes in sculpture which immortalize Trajan's heroic actions in war. On this diminutive nee- ' die scenes in the life of Queen Victoria are represented in relief, but finely cut, and so small that.it requires a magnifying glass to see them. The Victoria needle can, moreover, be opened; it contains a number of needles of a smaller size, which are equally adorned with scenes in relief.?Good Cheer. Wheelbarrow Folks.?There are a good many children, and some grown people, who go just like a wheelbarrow?that is, they go as far as you push them, and when you stop they stop. You tell them to do aching and they do it, and that is all they will do. If you want a thing done again, you must tell them to do it again. If you want it done forty times, you must tell them forty times to do it. There are other people who when you set them going, can keep on themselves. They have some "go" in them. If you tell them today that you want a thing done, tomorrow you will find the *? 5 JAl A 4.-11X same tning aone wuuuui lemug wcm. If you complain that a thing has been neglected this week, next week they will see that it has not been neglected. There is a great deal of difference in the value of these two kinds of people, because the whcelborrow kind of folks need somebody to run them, just as much as a machine needs somebody to attend it. They only go while you watch them and push them ; so if you have one such person at work you must employ another one to watch him and keep him going; but if you have one of the other kind at work he will watch himself, do bis work, and make you no trouble about it. It is very important for all boys and girls to decide which class they will belong to, whether they will be wheelbarrow folks, that go as far as they are pushed and then stop, or whether they can be depended upon to keep in motion after they are once started. Boys or girls who must be told what they must do and watched while they do it are not worth their salt, but if a person can do a thing with one telling, and continuo doing it without further care, such a person is worth more than gold.?Little Christian. Where Meerschaum Comes From. ?Meerschaum is a kind of clay. It is composed of magnesia and flint, with sometimes traces of iron and other minerals. All of it comes from the providence of Eskischia, in Asiatic Turkey. It has been dugout of the ground there for centuries, and the manner of procuring it is to this day extremely primitive. The material is found in lumps of all sorts of shapes and sizes. The mines extend underground to a depth of thirty feet, and are aired and kept dry by windmills. There are ten different qualities distinguished. The discovery of the usefulness of the process of boiling in wax was made by accident. Imitation meerschaum is manufactured from chips left over from the carving. They are ground iuto a ? ? 11 3 A 11 pulp, treated cnemicauy aim imauy pressed into the shapes desired. Every one knows that pipes made out of the counterfeit will not color.?Exchange. 46T A church subscription paper, 111 years old, was found recently in Wilmington, Yt. It reads: "Whereas, ye subscribers being desirous to have ye gospel propagated among us, and our posterity trained up in ways of Christianity, have hereunto set our names with ye labor, etc., that we will give towards building a house of worship as near ye four corners of Halifax, Marlborough, Wilmington, and Halifax, as may be a convenient spot found for to set said meeting-house, viz: June ye 24, 1781." It was sigued by nineteen persons. Most of the subscriptions were in work, some were boards and shingles, and one was a gallon of rum! None were in money. Tjik Thumb as Indicative of Chauactek.?There is as much character in the thumbs of people as in their faces. A long first joint of the thumb indicates will power; a long second joint indicates strong logical or reasoning power; a wide, thick thumb indicates strong individuality, while a broad knob at the end of the thumb is a sure indication of obstinacy. The thumb is the characteristic feature of the human hand, a characteristic in which it differs from the hand of the monkey, and of all parts of the hand no one is so strongly individual or telltale as the thumb. ClKlOSITIKS A HO IT LANGUAGES.? Almost a third of the total population of the globe?a round 400,000,000 human beings?speak nothing but the Chinese and allied languages. One hundred million more speak Hindoo only, and 95,000,000 speak Knglish. The Russian language is fourth on the list, being the mother tongue of 89,000,000. The German is a good fifth and is used by 57,000.000 tongues. France coming sixth on the list, in which it was once first. Spanish is used by 48,000.000 people in Europe and the three Americas. floy Jumes Maydwell and wife, of Cincinnati, have twenty-one children, all but one of whom are living. Nineteen of them leside at home. There ure three pairs of twins in the lot.