Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, November 24, 1908, Image 1
l. m. grist's sons. Pubii.hers. j % Jamil; jfewspaper: Jor the promotion of the political. Social. Igricultural and Commercial Interests of the people. j tkr,?nol,e coeVVn" !L VAK,!
established 1855. york v ille,s. "~c.~' t uk wday, november 34, 1908. isto. 94.
IWWHIWIIIHWIW111 IIPHU IWWIII1
By OPII
Copyrighted 1896, by Wm. f
By Permission of Lai
frill HI ill ill 1> 111 Ml in i?t>i ?i >11
\
*> CHAPTER V?Continued.
Alf dropped back and the girl laughi
ed with such genuine heartiness that I
k thought much better of her, but still I
^ did not think that she was at all to be
^ compared with Guinea. The general
yelled for Henry to bring him another
coal, and when his pipe had been relighted
he turned to me and said:
"You don't find the old North State as
she once was, sir. Ah, Lord, the ruin
that has gone on in this world since I
can remember. And yet they say we
p are becoming more civilized. Zounds.
sir. do you call it civilization to see
hundreds of fields turned out to persimmon
bushes and broom sedge?
Look over there," he added, waving his
hand. "I have seen the time when
that was almost a garden. What do
you want?" The last remark was addressed
to the negro boy who had suddenly
appeared. "Dinner? Yes, yes.
Come, Mr. Hawes, and you. A If. This
way. Get out!" A dog had come between
him and the door. "Devilish
a dogs are about to take the place, but
V they are no account, not one of them.
Lie around here and let the rabbits eat
up the pea vines. Even the dogs have
I degenerated along with everything
I else."
k I walked with the general, and looking
back. 1 was pleased to see that Alf
had summoned courage enough to follow
along beside the girl. We were
shown into a long dining room, with a
great height of ceiling. The house had
been built In a proud old day. and all
about me I noted a dim and faded elegance.
The general bade us sit down,
and I noticed that his tone was soften+
ed. He mumbled a blessing over a
great hunk of mutton and. broadly
smiling upon me. told me that he was
glad to welcome me to his board. "The
school teacher." "said he. "modifies and
refines our native crudeness. Yes. sir.
you have a great work, a work that
you may be proud of. Had education
more broadly prevailed, had the people
north and south better understood one
another, there would have been no
bloody disruption. Now. gentlemen. I
must request you to help yourselves.
l remembering that such as I have is
fci fieely yours. When age comes on
apace there is nothing more inspiring
than to see the young and the vigorous
I gathered about us. And it is thus that
ft the evening of live is brightened. HenK
ry. pass the bread to Mr. Jucklin. and
^ the peas, the very first of this backward
season. I assure you. Mr. Hawes.
can you recall the face of your noble
grandfather?"
"No, general; he died many years
before I can remember."
"A pity, I assure you, for what is
more spurring to our ambition than to
recall the features of a noted relative.
\ Some of this lettuce. Mr. Hawes? A
sleepy, but withal a soothing, dish. My
daughter, I must request you to help
yourself. Charming weather we have.
Mr. Hawes, with the essence of youth
? and hope in the air."
How completely had his manner
changed. His eyes, which had seemed
hard and cold when he had waved his
hand and looked out over the yellow
sedge grass, were beaming now wun
kindly light, and his voice, which 1 had
thought was coarse and gruff, was
vibrant with notes of stirring sympathy.
Alf, heartened by the old gentleMp
man's streaming courtesy, spoke a low
ft word to the girl who sat beside him.
W and she nodded, smiling, but with one
L ?-ar politely lent to the familiar talfc of
ft her father.
After dinner we were shown into tlv
library, wherein were many law books.
and the general, catching the longing
glance that 1 shot at them, turned with
bewitching patronage, bowed and said:
"You have expressed your determination
to become acquainted with the
law and to practice the wiles of its
logic; and so. if you can make no better
arrangements. I pray. sir. that you
make this room your office."
Alf's eyes bulged out at this, doubtless
looking upon me as the most fortunate
man alive, and in my country
bluntness I blurted: "You aie the
kindest man I ever saw."
In this room we talked for two hours
* ? ! more, and the afternoon?or the
evening, as we say in the south?was
well pronounced when I declared that
ii was time for us to go. Alf looked up
surprised, and in a voice sad with appeal.
he asked if it were very late. I
could nave gi\en iiiiii in?- r.Mi. i
hut was afraid to take out my grandfather's
watch?afraid that the general
and his daughter might think that I
was seeking to make a display, so I
p simply said: "Yes. time that we were
I going."
"Don't be in a hurry, gentlemen." the
general protested: "don't let a trivial
matter rob us of your society."
V ' Alf pulled hack, but I -insisted, and
so we took our leave. The old gentleman
came out upon the porch with us.
"Henry!" he yelled, turning about,
"who the devil left that g;^o open? Do
and shut it. you lazy scoundrel. Those
infamous new-comers over on the creek
take my place for a public highway.
And I hope to be hung up by the heels
if I don't fill the last one of them full
of shot."
^ "I'll never forget you." Alf remarked
as we walked along, down through the
meadow. "You have stood by me. and
vmi bet your life I don't forget such
nt fnnrse I have known the
? * old man ever since I can remember.
but he never treated me s<> well before.
And when the time comes, if I
<*an get in that dining room I don't
believe he'll refuse tne. It's a blamed
big pity that I can't talk as you can.
but you just stick to me and I will talk
all right after a while."
Oh. I'll stick to you." I replied, "but
I didn't notice that I talked in a wnv
| to amount to anything. I felt as stupid
as an ass looks. What did the girl
sav? Vou were talking to her very
earnestly over bv the window."
"To save inv life. I can't recall anv-J
^ thing she said. P.ill. but I know that
every word she spoke was dripped honey.
I'd almost give mv life to take)
HI 11 H11WUI HI HI I?111 HI HI HI II i
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her in my arms and hug her Just once.
Ever feel that way about a girl?"
1 was beginning to feel just exactly
that way. but I told him no, whereupon
he said: "But you may one oi
these days, and whenever you do, you
call on me to help you, and I'll do it,
I don't care who the girl is or how high
up she may stand. Many a night I
have lain in bed and wished that Millie
might be going along the road by herself
and that about three men would
come up and say something out of the
way to her, just so I could spring out
and wipe the face of the earth with
them. I'm not as big as you are. but
for her I'll bet I can whip any three
men you ever saw. By the way. don't
even speak Millie's name at home.
The folks don't know that I'm in love
with her. There's one thins that stands
in my favor."
"What is it?" I asked. He looked up
at me. but was silent, and becoming' interested
by his manner I was about to
repeat the question, when he said:
"I'm not at liberty to speak of it yet.
[ You've noticed that Guinea has more
education than I have. Well, her education
has something to do with the
point that's in my favor, but I've said
too much already and we'd better drop
the subject."
I was burning to know more, for I
I recalled the change of manner that
had come over Mr. Jucklin at the time
he spoke of having sent his daughter
away to school, and I was turning this
over and over in my mind, when Alf
said: "A young fellow named Dan
Stuart often goes to see Millie, and I
don't know how much she thinks of
him. but some of his people are high
flyers, and that may have an influence
in his favor. Doc Etheredge, out here,
is his cousin, and old man Etheredge
owned nearly a hundred and fifty negroes
at one time. But when that girl
stands up at the altar to marry some
one else, they will find me there putting
in my protest."
When we reached home I found
Guinea sitting under a tree, leading,
and J had joined her when the old
man called me. Looking about I saw
him standing at the end of the house,
beckoning to me. "I want to see you
a minute," he said, as I approached
him. I wondered whether he was
again going to show me his chickens,
and it was a relief when he conducted
me in an opposite direction. He looked
back to see if we were far enough
away, and then, coming closer to me,
he said: "This is the way I came to do
it."
"Do what?" I asked, not over pleased
that he should have called upon me
to leave the girl.
"Wallow him, the old general. He
claimed that my hogs had been gettin'
into his field, and I told him that I
didn't feel disposed to keep my hogs
up when everybody else's were runnin'
at large, and then he called me a
scoundrel and we clinched. I took him
so quick that he wasn't prepared for
me, and I give a sort of a hem stitch
and down he went, right in the middle
of the road. And there I was right on
top of him. He didn't say a word,
while I was wallowin* him. but when
l let him un. he looked all round and
then said: Lum Jucklin, if I thought
anybody was lookin' I'd kill you right
here. You are the first man that ever
wallowed a Lundsford and lived, and
the novelty of the thing sorter appeals
to me. You know that I'm not afraid
of the devil, and keep your mouth shut
about this affair, and we'll let it drap.'
And he meant just what he said, and
I did keep my mouth shut, not because
I was afraid of his hurtin' me. but because
I was sorry to humiliate him.
Ever hear of John Mortimer Lacey?
Well, shortly after that him and
Lundsford tit a duel and Lacey went to
New Orleans and died there. So. don't
say anything about it."
"About what? Lacey's going to New
Orleans and dying there?"
"No, cadfound it all, about my wallerin'
the general."
"I won't." I answered, and then I
thought to touch upon a question that
had taken a fast hold upon me. "By
the way. you spoke of having sent your
daughter to school at Raleigh?"
"The devil I did! Well, what's that
got to do with you or with anyone else,
for that matter? I'll be?you must excuse
me. sit." he quickly added, bowing.
"I'm not right bright in my mind
at times. Pecked t ight at my eye, and
o* i it,h/iirfkfi I'd ho one-eved this
minute?yes. I would, as sure as you
are born. Hut here, let us drop that
wallowin' business and that other affair
with it. and not mention it again.
Don't know why I done it in the first
p'aee. but I reckon it was because I'm
not right bright in my mind at times.
You'll excuse my snap and snarl, won't
you? Co on back there now. and talk
about your books."
"I am the one to ask pardotv, Mr.
Jucklin. I ought to have had better
sense than to touch upon something
that didn't concern me. 1 guess there
must be a good deal of the brute in me.
and it seems to me that I spend nearly
half my time regretting what I did the
other half."
"Why. Lord love your soul, man, you
haven't done nothin*. Hut you draw
me close to you when you talk of regrettin'
things. I have spent nearly all
inv life in putty much that fix. After
you've lived in this neighborhood a
while you'll hear that old Lim has been
ii< many a fight, but you'll never hear
that anybody has ever whupped him.
You may hear, though, that he has rid
twenty mile of a cold night to beg the
pardon of a man that he had thrashed.
We'll shake hands right here, and if
you say the word we'll go light now
and make them chickens fight. No.
it's Sunday. Kiver to kiver. you understand
Co on back there, now."
With Ouinea I sat and saw the sun
go down behind a yellow gullied hill.
I'rom afar up and down the valley
came the lonesome "pig-oo-ee!" of the
farmers, calling their hogs for the
evening's feed. We heard the flutter
of the chickens, living to roost, and
the night hawk heard them, too, for
his eager, hungry scream pierced the
still air. On a smooth old rock at the
verge of the ravine the girl's brother
stood, arms folded, looking out over
the darkening low land, and from within
the house, where Mrs. Jucklin sat
alone, there came a sad melody:
"Come, thou fount of every blessing."
The girl's eyes were upward turned.
"Every evening comes with a new
mystery." she said. "We think we
know what to expect.' but when the
evening comes it is different from what
it was yesterday."
"And it is thus that we are enabled
to live without growing tired of the
world and of ourselves," I replied.
"And I wish that I had come like the
evening?with a mystery." I added.
I heard her musical cluck and even
in the dusk I could see the light of her
smile. "But why should you want to
come with a mystery?" she asked.
"To inspire those about me with an
interest regarding me. Even the
stray dog is more interesting than the
dog that is vouched for by the appearance
of his master. I never saw a
pack-peddler that I did not long to
know something of his life, his emotions.
the causes that sent him adrift.
but I can't find tiiis interest in a man
whom I understand."
She laughed again. "But haven't
you some little mystery connected with
your life?" she asked.
"None. I have read myself into a
position a few degrees above the clodhopper,
but that's all. If there were a
war. I would be a soldier, but as there
is no war, I am going to be a lawyer."
"It would be nice, I should think, to
stand up and make speeches," she said.
"But wouldn't you rather be a doctor?"
I don't know why I said it. but I replied
that I hated doctors, and she did
not laugh at this, but was silent. I
waited for her to say something, but
she uttered not a word. It was now
dark, and I could just discern Alf's figure,
standing on the rock. The song
in the house was hushed.
"I don't really mean that I hate doctors."
I- said, seeking to right myself,
if. indeed. I had made a mistake; and
she simply replied: "Oh." "I mean
that I should not like to practice medicine,"
I added, and again she said:
"Oh." A lamp had been lighted in the
sitting room, and thither we went, to
join Old Lim and his wife, who were
warm in the discussion of a religious
question. The Book said that whatever
a man's hands found to do he
must do. and. therefore, he held that
it was right to do almost anything on
Sunday.
"Even unto the fighting of chickens?"
his wife asked.
"Oh. I knowed what you was a-gittin'
at. Knowed it while you was abeatin
the bush all round. When a
woman begins to beat the bush, it's
time to look out, Mr. Hawcs. I came
in here just now, and I knowed in a
minute that wife, there, was goin' to
accuse me of havin' a round with Sam
and Bob. but I pledge you my word
that I didn't. Just went in and exchanged
a few words with 'em. Man's
got a right to talk to his friends. I
. K..t if nin't \v'v_ it's tilllP
ICVIVV/ii, uui 11 iiv w... %. .. ,
tr. shut up shop."
Alf came in and. with Guinea, sang
an old song, and their father sat there
with the tears shining in his eyes. He
leaned over, and I heard him whisper
to his wife: "Did have just a mild
bit of a round, Susan, and I hope that
you and the Lord will forgive me for
it. If you do I know the Lord will.
I'm an old liar, Susan."
"No, you are not, Lemuel," she answered,
in a low voice. "You are the
best man in the world, and everybody
loves you."
I saw him squeeze her wrinkled hand.
I could not sleep, but in a strange
disturbance tossed about. Alf was
talking in a dream. I got up and sat
for a time at the window, looking out
toward the gullied hill that had turned
out the light of the sun. On the mor
row my work was to begin. Ana wnai
was to be the result? Was it intended
that I should reach the bar and win
renown, or hud 1 been listed for the
life of a pedagogue? Was my love
for the girl so new that it dazzled me?
No, it was now a passion, wounded and
sore. But why? By that little word,
"Oh." I put on my clothes, tip-toed
down stairs and walked about the yard.
The moon was full, low above the scrub
oaks. A streak of shimmering light
ran down toward rtie spring, and over
it I slowly strode. I heard the water
gurgling from under the moss-covered
spring house, and I saw the leaf-shadow
patch-work moving to and fro over
the smooth slabs of stone. Long I
stood there. looking at the pictures, listening
to the music; and turning back
toward the house, I had gone some distance
when I chanced to look up, and
then, thrilled. I slowly sank upon my
knees. At one of the large windows,
in the northeast end of the house, stood
Guinea, in a loose, white robe, the light
of the full moon falling upon her. Behind
her head her hands were clasped,
and she stood there like a marble cross.
Her face was upward turned, and the
low yellow moon was bronzing her
brown hair?a glorified marble cross,
with a crown of gold. 1 thought, as I
bowed in my worship. My forehead
touched the path, and when I lifted my
head?the cross was gone.
CHAPTER VI.
We ate breakfast early the next
morning, while the game cocks were
yet crowing in their coop. When I
went down I heard the jingling of trace
chains, and I knew that the old man
was making ready to plow the young
corn. I had insisted upon walking to
the school house, telling Alf that all I
wanted was to know the direction, hut
he declared that it was no more than
just that I should be driven over the
first morning or tin* session. c?>, ? >get
her we went on the buck-board,
fiuinen had laughingly told me not to
lu afraid of the creek, that the large
boys wore at home, plowing, and as
we were skirting the gullied hill I
glanced back and saw her standing in
the yard, looking after us. The mad
lay mostly through the woods, with
many a turn and dip down among
thick bushes to cross a crooked stream.
Sometimes we came upon small clearings.
where tired-looking men were
grubbing new-land for tobacco, and
1 remembered that a half-grown boy.
with a sullen look, threw a chunk at
us and viciously shouted that if we
would stop a minute he would whip
both of us. I imagined that he was
kept from school by the imperious demand
of the tobacco patch, and I sym
pathized with him in liis wrath against
mankind. A little further along we
came within sight of an old log house,
and then the laughter of children
reached our ears. We had arrived at
the place where my work was to begin.
A if put me down, and, saying that he
must get back home, drove away; and
a hush fell upon the children as I turned
toward the house. Inside I found a
cow bell, and when I had rung the
youngsters to their duties, I made them
a short speech, telling them that I was
sure we should become close friends.
1 had some difficulty in arranging them
into classes, for it appeared that each
child had brought an individual book.
But I was glad to see that old McGuffv's
readers nrevailed. for in many
parts of the south they had been supplanted
by books of flimsy text, and
now to see them cropping up gave me
great pleasure. There they were, with
the same old lessons that had fired me
with ambition, the words of Shakespeare
and the speeches of great Americans.
By evening my work was well laid
out. and as I took my way homeward,
with Guinea in my mind, there was a
strong surge within my breast, the
leaping of a determination to win her.
As I neared home, coming round by
the spring. I saw the girl running down
the path, the picture of a young deer
and how that picture did remain with
me. and how on an occasion held by the
future, it was to be vivified.
"Oh, you have got back safe and
dry." she cried, halting upon seeing
me. "Why, I thought you would come
back dripping. Xo, I didn't." she quickly
added. "Don't you know I told you
that all the large boys were at work?
Wait until I get the jar of butter and
I'll go to the house with you."
"Let me get it for you." I replied,
turning back with her.
"You can't get it," she said, laughing;
"you'll fall into the spring. But,
then, you might hold it as a remembrance
to temper the severity of the
ducking yet to come."
"Miss Guinea." I made bold to say,
standing at the door of the springhouse.
"do you know that you talk
with exceeding readiness?'
"Oh. do you mean that I am always
ready to talk? 1 didn't think that of
you."
I reached out and took the jar from
from her. "You know I didn't mean
that," I said: and, looking up, with her
eyes full of mischief, she asked: "What
did you mean, then?"
"I mean that you talk easily and
brightly?like a book."
"You'd better let me have the jar,"
she said, holding out her hands. "I'm
afraid that you'll fall and break it, after
that. You know that a man is
never so likely to slip as he is when
he's trying to compliment a woman."
"No. I don't know that, but I do
know that a southern woman ought to
know tlie difference between flattery
and a real compliment."
"Why a southern woman?" she asked.
She looked to me as if she were
really in earnest and I strove to answer
her earnestly.
"Because southern women are not
given to flirting; because they place
more reliance in what a mah says,
and?"
"I think you've got yourself tangled
up." she said, laughing at me, and 1
could but acknowledge that I had;
and then it was, in the sweetest of
tones, that she said: "But if I had
thought you really were tangled I
would not have spoken of it. Now tell
me what you were going to say, and I
promise to listen like a mouse in a
corner."
"No, I'm afraid to attempt it again."
I was in advance of her, for the path
was narrow and the dew was now
gathering on the grass, but she shot
past me. and. looking back, said beseechingly;
"Won't you, please?" The
sun was long since down and the twilight
was darkening, but I could see
the eagerness on her face. "Do, please,
for I like to hear such things. I'm
nothing but the simplest sort of a girl,
as easy to amuse as a child, and you
must remember that you are a great
big man. from out in the world."
"Come on with that butter!" the old
man shouted, and with a laugh the girl
ran away from me. I wondered whether
she were playing with me, but I
could not beljeve that she was. In
those eyes there might be mischief, but
there could not be deceit.
Bed time came immediately after
supper. The old man did not go out
to look after his chickens, so tired was
he, and there was no song in the sitting
room. I sat in the passage, where
the moonlight, fell, and hoped that the
girl might join me. but she did not.
and I went to my room, where I found
Alf. half undressed, sitting on the edge
of the bed. I had sat down and had
filled my pipe before he took notice of
me. but when 1 began to search about
for a light he looked up and remarked:
"Matches on the corner of your library."
"Here's one," I replied, and had
lighted the pipe when he said: "Saw
her today. Bill?saw her riding along
the road with Dan Stuart. She didn't
even look over in the Held toward me.
but he waved his hand, and I saw
more hatred than friendship in it.
Blame it all. Bill. I'm not going to follow
a plow through the dirt all the
time. I can do something better, and
after this crop's laid by I'm going to
do it. I .don't think that she wants
to marry a farmer."
"What does Stuart do?" I asked.
"How can he afford to be riding about
when other men are at work?"
"Oh. I guess he's pretty well fixed.
He's got a lot of negroes working for
him and he raises a good deal of tobacco.
Xo, sir. she didn't even look
toward me."
"But haven't you passed her house
when you were almost afraid to look
toward the porch when you knew that
she was standing there?"
"< ?f course I have!" he cried. "Yes,
sir. I've done that many a time?just
pretended that l had misiness everywhere
else but on that porch. Ain't it
strange how love does take hold of a
fellow? It Rets into his heart and his
heart shoots it to the very ends of his
fingers; it gets into his eyes, and he
can't see anything hut love, love everywhere.
It may catch you one of these
days. Hill, and when it does, you'll
know just how 1 feel."
I looked at this strong and honest
man. this man idolizing an Image that
he had enshrined in h'.s soul, and I
thought to tell him that, with my forehead
touching the ground. I had wor
shi| ed his sister, but no, it was too
delicate a confidence?I would keep it
to myself.
We were astir in the dawn the next
day. ate breakfast by the light of a
lamp, but Guinea was not at the table,
and I loitered there after the others
were Rone out, hoping to see her, but
she did not come, and then I remembered
that Mrs. Jucklin was also absent,
and that the services of the meal
had been performed by a negro woman.
When I returned at evening, with the
droning of the children's voices echoing
in my ears, it seemed to me that
I had been gone an age. I came again
by the spring, but Guinea was not
there, but I heard her singing as 1
drew near to the house. She was in
the passage, gleefully dancing, with
a broom for a partner. When she saw
me she threw down the broom and ran
away, laughing; but she came -back
when she found that I had really discovered
her. "You must think that I
am the silliest creature in the world,"
she said, "and I don't know that I can
dispute you. Millie Lundsford has just
gone home. She and I have been going
through with our old-time play,
when, with window curtains wound
about us to represent long dresses,
and with brooms to personate the
brave knights who had rescued us from
tiie merciless Turks, we danced in the
castle. And I was just taking a turn
with a duke when you came. What a
knight you would have been."
"And what an inspiration I should
have had to drive me onward and to
set my soul aflame with ambition." I
replied, looking into her eyes.
It must have been my look rather
than my words that threw a change
over her; my manner must have told
her that I was becoming too serious
for one who had known her so short a
time, but be that as it may, a change
had coine upon her. She was no longer
a girl, gay and airy, with a romping
(Spirit, but a woman, dignified.
"Has your work been hard today?"
she asked.
"It has been more or less stupid, as
it always is," 1 answered, slowly walking
with her toward the dining-room.
When we had sat down to the table
Alf came in with his new clothes on,
and whispering to me when his sister
had turned to say something to her
mother, ho said: "Got something to tell
you when we go up stairs."
Mrs. Jucklin was afraid that 1 did
not eat enough; she had heard that
biain workers required much food: her
uncle, who had been a justice of the
1.-.1 ,.l.l 1 it morla Hilt
pfacf, I1HU imu IK* I niai II lunu^
small difference what he ate while enpaged
in getting out saw logs, but
that when lie began to meditate over
a case in court, he required the most
stimulating provender. "And now," she
she said, "If there's anything that I
can fix for you, do, please, let me know
what it is. Now, Guinea, what are you
titterln' at? And that negro woman
doesn't half do her work, either. I
dulare to goodness I'd rather do everything
on the place than to see her
foolin' round as if she's afraid to take
hold of anything; and her lingers full
of brass rings, too. I jest told her that
she'd have to take 'em off, that I didn't
want to eat any brass. Laws a massy,
niggers are jest as different from what
they was as day is from night. Talk
to me about freedom helpin' 'em. Hut
the Lord knows best," she added, with
a sigh of resignation. "If He wants
'em to be free, why, no one ought to
complain, and goodness knows I don't.
Yes, they ought to be free," she went
on after a moment of reflection. "Oh.
it was a sin and a shame to sell 'em
away from their children, but it's all
over now, thank God. Now, I wonder
where your father is, Alf. Never saw
sicli a man in my life. Looks jest like
he begrudges time enough to eat. There
he comes now."
The old man came in, covered with
dirt. "Alf, is the shot gun loaded?" he
asked, brushing himself.
'Yes, sit. Why?" We looked at the
old fellow, wondering what he meant.
* -- 1 Alf ,.p_
but be inaue no t-A|uti....
pea ted his question. "Why?" And the
old man exclaimed: "Oh, nothin'. Jest
goin' to blow that red steer's head off.
that's all. Confound his hide. [ wish
I may die this minute if I ever had sieli
a jolt in my life. Went along by him',
not sayin' a word to him. and if he
didn't up and let me have both heels
I'm the biggest liar that ever walked a
log. Hadn't done a thing to him. mind
you; walkin' along 'tendin' to my own
business, when both of his heels tlew
at me. And I'll eat a bite and then
go and blow his head off."
"Oh. Limuel," his wife protested: "a
body to hear you talk would think that
you don't do anything at all but thirst
for blood. If the Lord puts u in nomind
of a steer to kick you. why. It
ain't the poor creeter's fault."
The old man snorted. "And if the
Lord puts It in my mind to kill the
steer it ain't my fault, muther. Conscience
alive, what are we all dressed
up so about?" he added, looking at Alf.
"So much stile goin' on that a body
don't know whuther he's a shuckin'
corn or is at a picnic. Blow his head
off as soon as I eat a bite."
To be Continued
...
MONTE CARLO SUICIDES.
Only Seven In a Week, Which Indicates
an Improvement.
Under' the headline "Seven More" a
French newspaper recently published
the following from a Monte Carlo correspondent:
"There Is a slight reduction
in the number of suicides for the
current week. Of the seven unhappy
ones whom the bandits of Monte Carlo
have hurried to their death after first
robbing them, four have hanged themselves
in the garden and one has hanged
himself in his room at the Hotel de
Paris. This last one was cut down,
nearly dead, and taken to the hospital
at Monaco, where lie is being cared for
in the greatest secrecy. A woman also
has poisoned herself at Monaco, only
a few steps from the museum that was
raised to his own glory by Albert I.
Still another, a young man, 30 years
< i -i- . ?..?ir ,\n MnndflV even
111(1, Siloi Illlii^ni iivuu ?
ing at 9 o'clock on one of the benches
fronting the great staircase of the Casino.
And yet among the statesmen
who meet regularly at The Hague to
combat the scourge of war, not a single
delegate lias yet dreamed of suggesting
the suppression of the slaughter
house at Monaco."
X"""An elephant's burden Is from 1.S00
to 2.500 pounds, and that of a horse
from 200 to 250
iHisccllanfouo iUiulittt).
AN OTTER HUNT.
British Sport of a Kind We Do Not
Knov/.
A bright, sunny morning, and a
meet of otter hound*. What a crowd
it is! Young men, old men, women
daintily dressed, short-skirted maidens,
and the members of the hunt In
neat blue serge, smart vests and
bright colored caps. Every one
carries a stout pole, some six feet long,
with niches cut upon it Indicating
"kills," and all wear a silver-mounted
otter pad as a badge.
There are the shaggy-coated hounds
rolling in the meadow grass, the
huntsman in their midst, and the
whips a little distance off, flicking
lightly at any that wander too far
away, .^ee, now, the master approaches
and hounds are about to be
laid on.
Away/ runs the huntsman toward
the river, blowing his horn as he goes,
and the whole pack scamper after
him. Half of the hounds are whipped
in and, swimming: the stream, take
up the further bank; half remain on
the near side, and then all are nosing
it diligently as we proceed up stream.
Bouncing Girl is very keen. She leaps
over the little bushes, pokes into ever?
cranny, snuffles at the willow
trees, and every now and then takes
the water. Listen, hounds are voicing
from the the other bank! The
hound that has spoken is old Booser,
the surest dog hound in all the pack.
Wliite, shaggy, and so stiff that he
can make no pace, he has yet a nose
which never deceives him.
"Get to him." cries the huntsman,
and, plunging and leaping, hounds
crowd round with muzzles down and
waving sterns. They take up stream
again at a great pace, for a "drag"
once established must be hotly pursued,
since scent may cool with the
advance of day. We come to more
shallow water and banks bordered
with reeds. Hounds check, they have
"put down" their otter. Here, or
hereabouts, Lutra is hiding. Old Booser
has marked a hollow tree. "Try in
there: try in there!" cries the huntsman.
They have marked a holt; they will
not leave the snot. Poles are used to
tap the withered trunk, but Lutra is
not there. He must be below, in some
hollow in the tree's roots, approached
only by diving beneath the water's
surface. We can trace his stamp in
the mud. The master collects a dozen
men Who jump simultaneously on
the bank, and presently the otter is
bolted from below. A cry of "Tallyho!"
comes from thirty yards up
stream. A little whiskered black head
has popped into view and instantly
disappeared again. Hounds romp to
the spot, and old Booser, plunging in,
shows' us one of the most interesting
sights, in otter hunting, for he swims
along, nosing his quarry through the
water. Once more there is a view,
and then for several minutes we do
not see him. If he comes up it is behind
some tiny covert which screens
him. We do, however, see his chain,
a little double row of bubbles, rising
at regular intervals. He is making
for deep water ahead and if he reaches
it he will escape us.
The master takes a number of volunteers
up stream. They all go into
the river, stretch from bank to bank,
and line their poles along wedged by
their legs. They are not a moment too
soon for, like a flash, a black object,
darting beneath the surface, thuds
against the barrier and is driven back.
Down the stream we hear a man cry
"Tally-ho!" and then we see him
jump frantically into the reeds. He
has attempted to tail the otter. We
are secretly glad of his misfortune,
for tailing is not a very sportsman
like practice, ana is aosoiuteiy ioroiuden
by many masters. It is the business
of hounds to kill their otter, and
the less they are interfered with the
better. Sometimes a tailed otter will
get a rich revenge, for unless he is
grasped by the rudder close to the
body he can twist up and bite his opponent.
His rudder, too, is very slippery.
and this adds to the danger.
As our too ardent sportsman struggles
to the bank and stands pressing
the water from his clothes he explains
that he had seen the otter draw
itself silently into the reeds and lie
with its head just out of the water.
Always a most intelligent animal, the
otter will positively think when in extremes.
Note how he remembers. He
does not seek again, the holt from
which he has been bolted; the recollection
of the thud overhead, caused
by the jumping, has led him to doubt
the security of his ceiling. Xext he
tries down stream. In this direction
would probably be safety did he only*
contihue far enough, but. being a bit
done, he must come up for breath,
and. rising he winds the hounds so
plainly that he turns back.
Now he will essay a desperate part.
A tributary stream lies half across a
tiny wooded space. It is only a few
yards, or he would never venture.
With great ' courage he climbs out, i
hobbles across, and plunges in on the 1
other side. Fatal error! He had been [
seen, as is in now much more confined
space. Master and huntsman know
the end is near and hounds flying to
the horn plunge into the stream voicing
vigorously as they own to tlie drag
and feel their quarry is at hand.
Hut master and huntsman have ,
reckoned without their host. They
realize very shortly than an otter does
not leave a broau ror a narrow sueam
for nothing. His sagacity is far too
great for that, and there is a reason
for this manoeuvre.
Hounds, scrambling out of the river.
follow their huntsman, and several
pick up the line the otter has just
laid, but when they reach the smaller
waterway their enthusiasm slackens.
Old Booser never leaves the line, but
pants backward and forward along it.
Hounds did not view the otter, and
had they done so old Booser's failing
sight would scarcely have served him.
His nose does not deceive him now,
but on a line so hot and short he cannot
tell which way his quarry traveled.
As to the rest of the pack, they
hunt on a dozen different lines, without
voicing or being able to decide
which is the freshest. Kach time they
touch Booser's ground they wish to
fly back to the river, but are whipped
to the stream again. What has happened
is this: The wily Lutra has
carried them to his last night's hunting
ground and hidden himself in a
submerged drain directly at the end
of his little run across country. He
knows his 12-hour-old scent will be
still holding and that it will confuse
hounds, and he waits silently in his
resting place.
Rut the huntsman, waist deep. Is
ramming his pole beneath the bank,
and at last he finds an inlet. It is the
mouth of the drain a little below the
surface. A farm hand standing by
tells us of a dam up stream. The very
thing! A foot of water is run off, the
terrier is introduced into the aperture,
and the next moment the otter is
bolted.
Followers wade the river in their
anxiety to see the kill, and every inch
of stream is soon watched by careful
eyes. There is a view here, a tally-ho
there, and shortly it is obviously his
frequent reappearances that Lutra is
nearly done. Then comes the end.
and fortunately, as every good sportsman
would desire, it is all but instantaneous.
A view is made right under
hounds, there is a terrific splash as
they leap In, and then all is over.
It has been a gallant otter and a
great hunt.?London Daily News.
THE NAVAJOES.
The Famous Indians of the Far Southwest.
The present-day Indian if not considered
a menace to society, is looked
upon as a charge on the body politic,
and we frequently hear that the only
good Indian is the dead one, yet there
are exceptions.
The tribe of Navajoes, whose reservation
in New Mexico and Arizona
borders on southeastern Utah and
southwestern Colorado, numbers
nearly 4,000 souls. They are a pastoral
people, herding sheep, goats and
horses over their great arid ranges,
and in a small way cultivating corn
and other grains. Except when excited
by fire water, they are peaceable
and to a degree Industrious. The
women are notable blanket weavers
and the men are silversmiths of no
mean ability.
Of late years the Navajoes have
been employed with considerable deervck/*
r\f qo Ho/aqu aontlnrt nn
the Denver and Rio Grande and other
railroads running in close proximity
to their reservation. They have also
been engaged by orchardists to gather
fruit, and last season hundreds of
young bucks ranging in age from 12
to 20 years were employed in thinning
the sugar beet fields of the Arkansas,
Grand and Uncompaghre valleys in
Colorado. They were away from the
reservation two months at a time,
and their employers report that their
work was quite as satisfactory as that
of the Russian peasants generally employed
to do this work and supposed
to be unusually skilled in this particular
kind of labor.
Like all Indians, their besetting sin
is "monte." Give an Indian the price
of his hire and he will quit work until
it is gambled away. They are a
polygamous people, having no religion.
and like all aborigines, are superstitious,
Relieving in all kinds of
signs and workings of supernatural
powers.
Although the Navajo reservation
adjoins the Mesa Verde National
Park, where so many Cliff Dweller
ruins are found, it is with difficulty
that a Navajo can be induced to act
as a guide to the ruins. When one is
found willing to show the way he cannot
be induced to remain in the immediate
vicinity, and when night
comes on he moves miles away.
A curious tradjtion. and one accounting
perhaps for their abhorrence
of the Cliff Dweller region, is tnat
ages ago, when the Cliff Dwellers and
their enemies were engaged in an exterminating
warfare, the former were
finally driven into a mighty river, and,
drowning, the souls of the Cliff Dwellers
were transmitted into the bodies
of fishes. And from that time to this
a Xavajo cannot be induced to eat
fish.
Another legend, no less curious, relates
to the Ship Rock. About thirtyfive
miles due west from Farmington,
X. M., and within the borders of their
reservation, situated in the midst of
the desert, stands a famous rock called
Ship Rock, which looms to the
height of 2.000 feet above the surrounding
plain. It rises from the
centre of an immense and gradually
sloping mound, which gives it a towering
appearance and its outlines can
be seen for many miles in various directions.
The rock derives its name from its
appearance when seen from a certain
d{MnA<i/vtt ikUam/IA If kaoamhlao o fill I _
UIICLUUII, IICIIWC II ICOClllUICO Up LXMttrigged
ship stranded and petrified.
The Indian legend is that in the dim
and misty past they had their habitation
in a distant land beyond the
great ocean and that the rock was situated
in their ancient country. Once
upon a time, the tribe being closely
pressed by its enemies and in danger
of total annihilation, the survivors
climbed into the cracks and crevices
of the great rock and implored it for
protection. The supplications were
heard and shortly the rock began to
move. It crossed innumerable wastes,
gradually reached the ocean, which it
crossed, traversed more wastes and
deserts and finally arrived at its present
resting place, when the refugees
sprang from its bosom. Thus the
tribe remained upon the face of the
earth.
The ranks of the tribe are being de- 1
pleted, and before a great many years (
the good Ship Hock will be obliged to
gather up the people and go on another
long voyage in order that the tribe 1
of the Navajo may be perpetuated i
among the tribes of the earth.?San ,
Francisco Chronicle.
Rkasox Foil Dkawino.?The deviousness
of the operations of the mind
has ben freshly illustrated for an instructor
in drawing in one of the technical
schools of New York, says the
Tribune. Desiring to get the point of
view regarding the subject of drawing '
from a new class, she asked each member
to write out what she considered
to be the object of drawing. Among
the papers submitted was one. written
in excellent hand, by a 14-year-old girl
i)f foreign birth and parentage. It '
read as follows: "The object in drawing
is to exercise the arm muscles and
to give free access to the muscles in
the arm, so that the arm will have free
movement back and forth and in and
out of the sleeve. It is also useful in
designing a picture, and can also be
used in embroidering a piece of goods
which has to be stamped. It may be
used in making a picture frame; by i
using a little paint the drawing will
show out very nicely."
PREDICTS WAR IN SKIES.
Fleet of Aircrafts Armed With Guns to
Act as Scouts.
Hudson Muxlm, the famous Inventor.
has just worked out the plans for
a new submarine motor boat, says the
Xew York American, which will act.
Itself, as a monstrous torpedo and, after
blowing up the warship It has chased,
safely escape on the wave caused
by the explosion. It will be driven by
only a couple of men, travel at terrific
speed, have a "steaming radius" of
several hours, be practically Invulnerable
and carry in Its deadly nose a ton
of high explosives, which it can place
with surety wherever the other fellow
least wants to have it.
Pressed for details of this remarkable
new engine of destruction, which,
ii is Deiieveu, win create a new era in
naval warfare. Air. Alaxlm refused to
talk. "I am saving them for my lecture
tomorrow evening before the
American Chemical society and am
sorry that anything about it has leaked
out beforehand. I had hoped to
have kept it secret altogether."
The representative of the American
asked if he did not think these deadly
instruments would put an end to war
by making it impossible.
"Quite the reverse," Mr. Maxim replied.
"So far from war in the world
being anywhere near its end, it Is, as
war. only just commencing its scientific
period.
"The idea about the "zone of death,' r
that two armies would reach a point
where neither could attempt to cross
the Interval without facing certain annihilation,
is a fallacy. It is all right
in theory. But in practice it only discloses
a need which science at once
sets about providing for. I have now
many ways for enabling an army to
cross that 'zone of death.' The simplest
buries the enemy in a cloud of
dense smoke. Another, still better, is
used at night, and so lights them up
that, while they can be plainly seen,
they are too dazzled to see anything
themselves.
in me wariare 01 me iuiure, armies
will line up on opposing skylines
and fire at each other over the enormous
arena in between them. They
will hdve their scouts and riflemen
armed with silent guns, and the sky
will be clouded with fleets of scout- >
ing aircraft. There will be many a
tilt between aerial pickets, and
shrapnel and canister will be directed
toward the sky as well as towards the
enemy's flring l^e.
"But is it a mistake to suppose that
flying machines will play havoc by
dropping high explosives. Explosives
so used would do very little damage
in ?he horizontal plane, and kill very
few men in an army.
"By that time army generals will
be expert scientific engineers, and explosives
will be used In machines that
will annihilate thousands of men in a
few minutes.
"But as a political factor, war maybe
kept out of account if one keeps
prepared. In war dollars fly more
quickly than bullets. The only way
to keep war off is to let the promoters
of war see that the plunder won't repay
them for the money outlay.
"What Russia may do in the present
war cloud in Europe, at the back
of which she no doubt is, cannot be
forecast from her defeat by Japan. I
should not be surprised if this time she
obtained her long-sought goal?Constantinople,
and a water outlet by way
of the Dardanelles. England will
hardly face another war. If France
joined her, Germany would rush in?
? ...
and in the end all Europe would be
at the mercy of her yellow peril."
MANY EMPTY HOUSE8.
Fifty Thousand of Them In the City of
London.
Fifty thousand empty houses In
London acclaims Tit-Bits. John
Burns made this startling announcement
in the house of commons recently.
Large as this number is there
are those who believe it is under
rather than over the mark. A remarkable
change has taken place
during the past five or six years.
Whereas formerly landlords were
masters of the situation, tenants have
now the whip hand in nearly every
district, and are offered all manner
of inducements to take houses.
It is not long since that a premium?or
what amounts to the same
thing, "key money"?was demanded
by property owners in some parts of
London. Today numbers of such
men will actually allow tenants a discount,
which consists in the case of
small property, of the expenses of
removal up to ?1, or else of so many
weeks' occupation free. Usually no
rent is required for the first fortnight;
but in certain localities the competition
between property owners is so
keen that the period in some cases is
one month, making the discounts
about ?2 2s., or ?2 5s.
A more curious bait is free insurance.
One company gratuitously insures
each of its tenants against fire;
while another, besides safeguarding
the householder against this contingency,
relieves him of apprehension
respecting any damage to his furniture
by "lightning or Hood.
Certain separate charges have also
been swept away, particularly in the
case of flats, which, it is said, are now
u drug in the market. Some landlords,
for instance, made one for the
cleaning of the common staircase
this, with the "extra" for gas,
amounting to about Is. 6d. per week.
The 18d. was really rent, and the reason
it was not called such was partly
to evade payment of rates. When?
this is an actual case?a man owned
about fifty flats and returned their
rent as 15d. per week, each less than
it really was. his assessment was considerably
lower than it ought to have
been, and consequently he did not pay
his due proportion of rates. But of
late "extras" have frequently been
cut off without any addition, being
made to the amount formerly set
down as "rent."
.t ' Out of every million letters that
pass through the postofflce it is calculated
that only one goes estray.
tf*"'The British railways in 1907 are
reported to have had a total length of
23,101 miles. There were 1,260,177,000
passengers and 515,971,000 tons of
freight carried during the year. The
gross receipts were $591,465,000, and
the total expenditures were $373,085,noo.
I