The Anderson intelligencer. (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, November 04, 1880, Image 1
BY E. B. MURRAY & CoT
ANDERSON, S. C, THURSDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 4, 18807
VOLUME XVI.?NO. 17.
Reward of Honest Industry.
I want to tell the boys about a. friend
of mine, whose faith ful performance of
present duties led him into higher posi?
tions than be ever dreamed of filling, and
gave him what we would all like to reach
?honor and jiucceas.. .... .?. .
In the years of.jmy experience as a
printer'in Chicago, more than twenty
years ago, our firm did a good deal of
printing Jor the Chicago, Burlington and
Quincy Railroad, and because of this 1
came to know a young man who is the
subject of my story.
He er me from- Massachusetts ; he .was
'poorj: .no d-h^d-no* influential friendsno
even give him a letter of recommendation.
He sought employment on the Chicago,
^iBnjlingtQn and ? Qptqcy Railroad^and
affer^aitingja time,at< Fast secured-a-po
sincfff as trraSeman on a freight train?
aa,laix onlyv thirty dQllare a month. He
Wan faithful in this position, and being
both intelligent aod industrious, he was
soon made a conductor on the train, with
ifagtf ne?Hy d?tiblefl7"^He'soon attracted
the attention of his superior officers, who
: saw in him'a^^m'e^ laStBful, conscien?
tious conductor,.one not seeking his.own
ease or pleasure, but constantly devoted
to the interests of the company that em?
ploy ed - him, so that not many months
ekpsed before he was made conductor of
r. pas&eguer train?a more comfortable
position, and one yielding a higher salary/
Here I first knew him, a modest, quiet,
unassuming young, man, free from -the
popular vices, and who tried to be just as j
faithful and true and devoted to his work j
as a conductor, as though the position had
bisen that of general superintecden t. "He"
did not apparently have a very high
opinion of his own abilities; there was a
tfltal absence ofthat swagger-and strut so
olten .seen in those who come to similar
subaltern positions. It seemed as though
tc properly conduct his train, to secure
the corn-fort ofhi3-passengers and rightly
serve "flfe'lnre'rests of "his cdmpariyj re
?AH4t^ of^alr-the^powers'l
had given him.
One of thesternest and most exacting
rj.yet onefof tb^e noblest, ablest, and
most conscientious men who ever filled
asiimilar position, was then general su?
perintendent-of :the road. This- many
C^^G/jjQ.,, Hjunmond^ watched .every
erh^yec'pf the road with au eagle eye.
H^fmeasufe^xe^ry'man,'knew tbe.abil
ity of each and seemed, .intuitively to
k now the faithful workers from the shirks.
: Our young conductor did not escape his
keen eye. When' he least thought of it,
h? chief was measuring and sounding
himi and finding onb' .what kind of metal
he was made of. But no one ever knew
whether ho was approved or not, for the
chiefs look, was always stem and cold as
ice. : '"?
' On Friday night,. train number four
niovedalowly out of Chicago under the
cure of my young friend,' who, only intent
OA doings has-.- work as well as he knew
how, seemed to have no higher ambition
. thunJobe.a conductor?salary nine-.hunr
dr^jfeBars.a yeat.... About noon, w^eii
- he stopped at the station, he found a tel?
egram from the head office,'ordering him
to leave the train in care of 7-1?-, and
tnke the first train for Chicago.
This was an unusual: things Wonder?
ing what was. the matter, conscious that
he had tried to do exactly right, and yet
remembering how. exacting was the. su?
perintendent, he feared that unintention?
ally he had fallen under his displeasure.
ILeaching Chicago late Saturday evening
he found Colonel Hammond had gone
home, and knowing bow strict he was in
his observance of the Sabbath, the con?
ductor waited impatiently for the coming
Monday morning, when, with a fearful
heart, he presented himself at the office
of the superintendent.
"Good morning, Mr. Hammond ; I've
answered your telegram, and come to see
what it means."
?"Good morning,'*- growled the' chief;
"I see you. have, sir. I concluded to take
. your train away from you.''
? The conductor's heart sank lower tha'n
ever; % IfVJiat^before was. only fearful fore.-!
boding waf now painful truth. He had
served the company to "the best of his
ability; he baa kept the affairs of his
train in complete order; bis reports had
been carefully and correctly made; and
yet, after all, he had lost his position, he
knew not why,- Snd felt-that his case,
was sad:;- indeed. He Inwardly re?
eved that, having missed his calling, he
would quit railroading and try some ser?
vice, where' faithful work would be ap?
preciated. He dared not hope to reverse
the decision of the official, yet in as calm
, a voice as be could command, he politely
asked the reason of his -summary dismis?
sal.
Colonel Hammond waited a while be?
fore he answered. Then the muscles
of his face relaxed a little, and he said: * i
"I want an assistant superintendent in
my office, and have called you to take the
True worth is always modest, and our
thunder-Struck?} cond u ctor. could only.
stammer:
"But I am. not competent, sir, to fill the
position you offer."
"You can do as I tell you; you, can
obey orders, and carry out the details of
the work laid out by the chief."
To these .'duties he brought the same
thoroughness and faithfulness that bad
made him conductor, j His elevation did
not make him vain- or spoil him. He
was as plain and modest and hardwork?
ing as before. The salary at first was one
thousand eight hundred dollars. '
After a few years of service under Col.
Hammond, and an advance of salary to
two thousand five hundred dollars, the
plain young man was invited to take the
office of general superintendent of a
young road, at a salary of four thousand
dollars. Distrusting bis own ability, but
determined to do his best, he accepted
the call and succeded, until the Chicago,
Burlington and Quincy Railroad, realiz?
ing how -mach they had lost in parting
.with him, invited him to resume his old
position, with the tempting offer* of six
thousand a year.
In the meantime, Col. Hammond bad
become Superintendent of Union Pacific
road, running from Omaha to Ogden,
where it connects with the Central Pa?
cific road. The latter road was owned by
four or five millionaires who had built it,
- one of whom was its general superinten?
dent. However good a business man, he
knew but little about railroading, and
udder his care the road was anything but
prosperous, until the owners and direct?
ors resolved upon a radical and sweeping
change.
But where could they find a general
superintendent who bad the abilitv and
would dare to re-organize the road and
put its affairs upon a better basis ? They
consulted Col. Hammond and other rail?
road men, and the result was that roost
unexpectedly, our modest and hard work
i n g conductor one day received a telegram
asking him if he would undertake the
duties of general superintendent of the
Central Pacific road at a salary of ten
thousand dollars. - He was satisfied with
his appreciation by the Chicago, Burling?
ton and Quincy Railroad, who proposed to
increase his pay to seven thousand dol
lars, and as he preferred to remain in
Chicago, he declined the princely offer
made by the California road. Then an?
other telegram asked at what salary he
would become the chief of the Central
Pacific: Almost hoping' to discourage
his tempters, he telegraphed,
' "Thirteen thousand a year in gold."
1 At once came the-?nswer,
'?Accepted."
'So taken in his own trap, be had
nothing to do but to bid adieu to the city
' that had served, him.so .well, and turn his
; face toward the land of gold. My story
j would be too long if I should
; try to tell-you the unexpected difficulties
he encountered from the old officers of
the road, who had determined that they
would not be superceded, and that the
new superintendent should never enter
upon* his duties; how tbey, before his
arrival, set the whole press and people of
California against him; how, supported
by. the .directors, of the. road,. he queit- j
3y Jtook control; disarmed- prejudice,
conquered submission and was" success?
ful.
This was nine, years ago. .He.issti.il
general superintendent of the Central
Pacific, one of the most important rail?
roads i n the world." With its connections
with California, this quiet man now su
Serin tends 734 miles, of railroad, and over
fty connecting steamboats, besides dic?
tating tbe tariffs of the China, the Aus*
fralian and the Panama line of steam?
ships. ? .While other young men preferred
present ease and comfort .to the interest
of their employers, wasted Ihne in billiard
halls and theatres and drinking saloons,
Albion N. Towne was at work, building
up character as well as reputation, and
now fills one of the most important posi?
tions in California, and instead of three
hundred dollars a year as brake man on a
.freight train, he now draws the comforta?
ble salary of twenty thousand a year in
gold.- j ? -
"Lucky man,"-said one.
"Luck" had but very little to do with
it; modest worth did it; work did it;
faithfulness in the performance of present
duties, however humble, did the most.
. His untiring faithfulness in the hum?
bler du ties' not only attracted the notice
and won the appreciation of his superiors,.,
but fitted" him for the higher positions
which, without his seeking, he was called
upon to fill.'
. I have loug desired to tell this story of
a young man's faithfulness and consequent
success, for I consider it a lesson that boys
and young men pf ^e day can-study to
advantage.?By Alfred L. Seioell.
Death of Rev. W. S. Planier, D. D.
The name of' Dr.'Plainer has been'
familiar to as all our life long. We can?
not recall a time when we were not ac?
quainted with it. When we were not ten
years of age we beard much talk of a
sermon which he had preached at or near
Hampden-Sidney College, from the.toxi,
"On that day shall there be Upon the
bells of the horses, holiness unto the j
;Lord." .For many years past we -have..;
seen nim at intervals. We saw bis ven?
erable form-in the Democratic National.
Convention of 1868, whose daily sessions
he'twice opened with'prayer. He pre?
sented the same striking appearance then
which a few. years later caused, a Chica$>
journal to compare him to Moses coming
down the Mount. ? We have heard him
preach several-times since the., close-of
the late war between the States?once,
we think, .within the. last year. At all
times, aod in all places, and under all
circumstances, he looked to be the great
man (hat he was. .
Dr. Plumer was a most distinguished
theologian. Yet-he. was of a tempera?
ment naturally belligerent; and rather
sought than avoided controversy. He
was a match for great lawyers when the
subject to be discussed was in tbeir line,
as he was for. the ablest doctors of divin?
ity when the subject to be discussed was
in their line. Ho was a master of logic.
He was skilled in dialectics. Some of
his-great successes in controversy was un?
doubtedly owing to his fine personal ap?
pearance ; but of course not much of it,
.else Paul had not been a formidable an-,
tagonist. Dr. Plumer's very voice was a.
fortune in debate..-- His powerful blows
'came down -wittra steady, deliberate reg
ularity that was terrible to the man who
had dared to encounter him. He ap?
peared, too, to be the king of the council
as truly as the lion looks to be the king
of the forest.
: Among the. Presbyterian- divines of
Virginia Dr. Plumer was, we suppose,
facile princeps?tbat is, of course, some
thirty or forty years ago, when he had
been living in the State all bis life. We
think no one will doubt tbat it was by bis
effort:! and. influence that the. Virginia
Presbyterians were anchored, in the Old
School denomination when that church
was some forty years ago severed into the
New School and Old School divisions.
The denominational organ, here sided
with the New"School; but'Dr.Plumer
at. once, began , the publication of the
WatcMian'of-'the South, and soon had
almost the whole Presbyterian denomina?
tion in Virginia at his .backi' Happily,
there is no longer any division in that
church in Virginia; and even those who
were engaged in the contests of that diuy,
of whom there can be .but few left on this
side of the dark river, must be ready and
willing to confess tbat Dr.. Plumer hac
no fireman who could stand before him,
however worthy of his steel many of his
opponents might have been..
Though a Pennsylvanian hy birth, Dr.
Plumer was a Virginian and a Southern?
er in every fibre of his composition.
Even the title of his religious weekly?
Watchman of the South?showed how
ready he always was to rush to the de?
fense of the people whom he loved ; aod
as he was incapable of hiding his preju?
dices or concealing his sympathies, be no
doubt offended a good many of his North?
ern brethren. We believe that before
the war, during its continuance, and after
its close, he was always and everywhere
an avowed Democrat. But nobody ever
doubted bis sincerity, and nobody in this
city that we know of ever became offend?
ed with him on account of his party pre?
dilections.
This rambling notice is, we fear, un?
worthy of its subject. It is not intended
j to be anything else than a sketch hur?
riedly penned of what Dr. Plumer ap
Eeared to be to ono person?the writer
ereof. Our admiration of him was, we
may say, banded down to us. Wc in?
herited it. And wo could not but Bay a
few words when this Prince of Preachers
went down to the grave.?Richmond Dis?
patch.
Get Out Doors.?The close confine*
raeut of all factory work gives the opera?
tives pallid faces, poor aryetite, languid,
miserable feelings, poor blood., inactive
liver, kidneys and urinary troubles, and
all the physicians and medicines in the
world cannot help them unless they get
of doors or use Hop Bitters, the purest
and best remedy, especially for such
coses, having abundance of health, sun?
shine and rosy cheeks in them. They
cost but a trifle. See another column.?
Christian Recorder.
? Mr. V. H. Ruck er, of Amherst
county, Va., will gather 1,200 barrels
of apples from his orchard this year, and
Mr. A. D. Watts, of the same county,
has 60,000 hills of fine tobacco, and one
houseful already cured.
A Deaiei in Menageries,
A New York letter to the Atlanta
(Gu.) Comiitution says: One day I was
walking down Chatham street, New
Ycrk, when toy steps were arrested by a
qu'.er sound, proceeding from a store. It
was a sort of chirping tumult, as if all
the birds in the world had met in a de?
bating societ?. I had little difficulty in
finding the door from whence the chirped
volume of music issued. It was, I be
believe, No. 55, a handsome front and a I
large store. I sauntered to the door and
looked in and. saw a sight that I do not!
think-.can be duplicated in America. On
each side of the store the walls were lined
with bird cages, from top to bottom.
The ground work was of canaries, and
there must have been thousands of these
yellow tufts of fuss and feather. Under?
neath, the swarming tiers of canariei were
large compartments, in which were
pheasants, cranes, and every rare bird
?stored or profane?that I ever heard
of. On the higher shelves were smaller
song, and show birds, from insane love
birds, or whistling finches, up to. the
hoariest and hoarsest of parrots.
In this wilderness of cages, a shortish
man, evidently of Tentonic build,: was
walking leisurely. As he saw me he
turned and.came forward vyith that easy,
pleasant grace common to well-bred city
men. I saw at a glance that; he was of
the best type of Germans?rhearty, self
poised, intelligent and cordial. His face
was clear, thoughtful and strong?the
face of a man who has seen, the world,
has fought it and whipped it. . I am thus
special in describing him because I
found him one of the most agreeable and
entertaining men I ever met, engaged in
the most unique business, and the Napo?
leon of his profession.
I don't.know bow I came to know so
much of him ao soon, except that he
displayed that engaging frankness that
the traveled man shows to the inquisi?
tive provincial. At any rate, I discover?
ed after an hour's chat that I was talk?
ing to Henry Reiche, of the firm of
Reiche & Bro., dealers.in birds and wild
animals., This firm is famous the world
over, and. stands without competitors. .
In the name of this firm there are organ?
ized bands of-hunters, in all parts off
Asia and Africa, engaged in capturing
elephants, lions, tigers, etc., for shipment
to the branch house in Hamburg. From
this - point the animals are supplied to
England and the: Continenfand shipped
'to America. All the wild animals that
fill the menageries and parka of this con?
tinent; came through the bright-eyed
'German with whom I spent that delight?
ful dry. His.history is full of interest.
Id 1844 or 1845 Charles and Henry
Reiche, two young Germans, having lit?
tle lefts than, the practical education that
seemfi to be natural to young Germans,
were bird peddlers in New York. They
went about from street to street, selling
birds from stands. Their trade was
principally in canaries, which they had
sent over from Germany, where they
only cost ten or tu el ve cents each. They
did a pretty fair business up to 1852,
when they made a daring stroke that
made them a fortune and established the
enormous business they now control. At
that time California was in the flush of
Sold finding. Gold was plentiful-there,
ut luxuries few. There was no trans?
continental road, and the Isthmus route
? was tedious and costly. Young Reiche,
knowing that canaries were unknown
there, and believing they would become
the rage when once seen, determined to
carry over a cargo. He therefore, got
3,000 of theyellow fellows together, and.
packing them in little cages, started for
the Isthmus. Arriving at Cartenaga, he
had his birds carried across the 'Panama
bay, by natives, and caught.a ship there
and. soon reached San Francisco. He
was late-in reaching the ship, and the
captain was about to sail without him.
but, seeing his boats filled with covered
^boxes, thought it was belated mail mat?
ter. When Reiche drew near, the cap?
tain hailed him and asked him. what he
had.
"Canary birds," replied Reiche.
"Canary birds!" shouted the Captaio.
"If I'd known it was birds, I'd ha' left
you long ago."
Reiche's first idea of the flush tide he
was to ride was caught from a homesick
Englishman, who, hearing the whistle of
a bull finch that had been accidentally
put in with the canaries, offered to pay
the expenses of the entire cargo for that
finch. As this amounted to $283 Reiche
saw that he had struok a rich lead, and
be put the price of canaries at $25 each
They did become the rage. Hotels, sa?
loons, private residences, all must have a
canary. The little yellow birds made a
craze like the tulip mania. The price
soon went up to $50, and the cargo was
soon sold. Reiche returned to New York
a rich man.
About this time the menagerie became
an American institution. The "moral"
show went abroad through the land, and
there was a demand for Asiatic and Af?
rican animals. For years Hamburg in
Germany had be en -a sort of a depot at
which such animals were gathering by
incoming ships from the tropics. Reiche
conceived the idea of establishing a
house there, and supplying it steadily
with all sorts of beasts, to be captured by
bands of hunters, working under his
direction in the deserts and jungles. Up
to that time the.supply at Hamburg had
been casual, depending on what sailors
or ship captains might bring over. Mr.
Reiche went into Africa and Asia, and
found that his* best methed was to de?
pend upon native hunters, acting under
order of their sheikh and directed by a
few white men of courage and address.
His system was soon so organized that
his beast depot at Hornburg became the
largest in the world. It was supplied
constantly with all sorts of captures,
from tiny antelopes up to to elephants,
running through all the gamut from leo?
pard to. rhinoceros. From Hamburg he
now supplies the most of the parks and
gardens of Europe, and ships heavily to
America. He imports every wild ani?
mal sold in this country, and keeps a
"large and assorted stock on hand."
Ninetentha of the animals in Central
park, New York, and a large proportion
of those in other parks are his property.
When he receives a consignment of lions
or hippopotami, or a few rhinoceri and
giraffes are billed to hiai, he places them
in Central park, where they await a pur?
chaser. He keeps in his store only a few
of the smaller animals?and even the
aviary in Central park is stocked with
his birds. He considers twenty lions a
good average stock, with probably as
many tigers, a dozen elephants, four rhi?
noceri (or rhinocerosses), and other
beasts in proportion.
The most extensive animal he deals in
is the hippopotamus. A good hippopo?
tamus is worth (to a man who wants
him) from $10,000 to $12,000. They
must be captured when they are young
and raised on goat's milk. A caravan of
hunters returning across the deserts with
captured animals is n strange sight.
About one thousand goals are brought
with the caravan to furnish milk for the
antelopes, hippopotami and otherr milk
drinkers. As the goats cease giving
milk they are killed and fed to the flesh
eaters. The animals are carried in bam?
boo cages, rigged with ropes, and slung
across the backs of camels. From the
coast they are shipped to hamburg,
where Mr. Charles Reiche receives them,
and thence they are distributed accord?
ing to demand. Elephants are captured
when young, and usually by driving them
into immense traps that converge
rapidly until the beasts are cribbed into
reach of ropes. A fine elephant will
bring from $1,000 to $5,000. Of course,
the price of animals varies with tho de?
mand. You must get a man that wants a
beast before you can get any price lor
him?then the price depends upon how
much he wants him.
"You see," said Mr. Reiche, smiling,
"yon wouldn't give $10 for that lion
there (for we had now drifted to Central
Park) for your own use, and yet be is
worth $2,500."
A good companionable tiger can be
bought for 1,200, and a nice leopard is
worth about $400. Monkeys sell in the
bunch by the dozen at about $30 each,
and a rhinoceros brings about $3,000. A
giraffe is very expensive and very deli?
cate, and a zebra, striped up to the regu?
lation of ninety-nine and one is worth
about $1,000. Giraffes die of indiges?
tion ; the rhiuoceros, despite bis heavy
overcoat, is a frequent victim of con?
sumption, and the monkey dies of emo?
tional languor.
The depot for sea lions h San Fran?
cisco, where a man named Mullet super?
intends. They are taken on. the south
California coast, and bring $400 each.
Polar beais come from the Arctics, and
are worth about $2,000. They are kept!
in deep caves that are damp and sunless,
or in dens set in ice and with huge blocks
of ice dripping from the top. The point
at. which Mr. Reiche buys them is Ham-,
burg, very few being taken in our Arc?
tics. The snake trade is one of the im?
portant departments. The headquarters
for snakes is Para,, in Central America,
though, of course, the boa comes from
the Nile, and the anaconda from Africa.
There are various depots for rare fish,
and Mr. Reichels an enthusiast on this
subject, being owner of the New York
aquarium. The bright colored fishes
come from the tropical waters, and. the
dull-colored from the Arctic Stations.
The ostrich has less sense than any land
animal, and yet is worth $1,000. They
are caught while- young. Birds come
from all quarters. The most expensive
is the bird of paradise, which sells for
$200 to $500, according to plumage,
Parrots, paroquets, and monkeys are
brought in great numbers by sailors who
come in on foreign ships.
The principal shipping points are Al?
exandria, in Egypt, and Ceylon, of
Southern India. At the tust point the
animals from the Nile region and the
heart of Africa are collected; at the lat?
ter the tigers aud lions from the jungles
of India. The bed of the Nile is the
best hunting ground, as it has been for
years. Almost every wild beast of the
tropics may be found there, and in fine
sample. The African elephants are
smallest and most stupid, but otherwise
the beasts from Africa are large and vigo?
rous.
? The amount of business .done by Mr.
Reiche is wonderful. His standing or?
der for canaries is 10,000 birds a week.
They are imported from Germany and
sent all over the continent. He has an
agent in Savannah, and has sent ship?
ments to Atlanta. Frequently he re?
ceives $50,000 worth of animals in one
manifest. There is a growing demand,
from circuses and menageries and zoolo?
gical gardens all over the country. No ]
circus now travels without its mena?
gerie, and not park is comple with?
out its zoological department. There is
a large sale for rare birds, and antelopes
for private parks and grounds. Mr.
Vanderbilt once gave $500 for a bird of
paradise.' A large number of parrots are
sold and trained to tnlk and sing, a good
talker being worth $100 or $200. The
supply of all bird:; aud animals must be
kept up by importr.tion, as few of them
breed in captivity. Lions and tigers are
about the only animals that breed in
capitivity' and they bring ragged and
puny cubs that are not salable. The
growing demand, therefore, and the losses
by death must be supplied by fresh cap?
tures and importations. Consequently,
Mr. Reiche's hunters are kept busy, and
his ships are always coming in. Fre?
quently, he receives a special order from
some circus or park for a certatn animal.
This order is at once dispatched through
various agents until it reaches the hun?
ters, who organize a special expedition
and eapture it. A pair of hippopotami
are now being brought over for a circus
at a cost of about $20,000
A large business is done exporting
American animals; this business, as well
as the importing, is controlled by Mr.
Reiche. The grizzly bear is the typical
American beast, and is always in demand
for European buyers. The buffalo, the
moose elk, and caribou are the larger
animals exported most heavily, they be?
ing American types. The opoasom, the
gray squirrel, the red fox, the hedgehog,
are most popular of the smaller animals,
while the puma is in great demand as a
new type. The mocking bird is a great
favorite among birds, and Mr. Reiche
lias mertHvho search the Southern forests
for them annually. The red-headed
woodpecker is exported heavily as a show
bird, and the robin is esteemed in Eng?
lish parks as a quiet but handsome fel?
low. There is a very large profit on the
exchange. Mr. Rieche once bought a
pair of fine cranes in Schoharie, N. Y.,
to fill an English order?giving $25 for
them and receiving $400. There is an in?
teresting story connected with the famous
London show elephants, showing some of
the points of the animal trade. A Mr.
Kelly, a banker who drifted into the show
business by a mortgage on the Van Am
burg menagerie, sent out a ship to Ceylon.
He loaded it with a number of Yankee
houses, all ready for putting together.
He had the sashes, doors, locks, and
everything complete. Arriving at Cey?
lon, he tsold the houses at an enormous
profit, balasted his ship with coffee, and
put thirteen elephants and a lot of animals
aboard. He made $30,000 clear money
by the trip, and bad his elephants clear.
Of this heard five were trained for the
London Bhow, and one of them, "Baby,"
is the mother of the first elephant ever
born in captivity.
Of course Mr. Reiche bas amassed a
huge fortune in his unique trade. He is
more than a millionaire, and is certainly
growiug richer. He has a superb resi?
dence at Bergen, N. J., where be is sur?
rounded by every luxury that taste and
money can command.
? A gentleman who visited Richmond
(Va.) on a vacation trip, writes in the
Boston Journal a very interesting account
I of what he saw and learned, from which
we make the following extract: "The
I business interests of Richmond are va?
ried, tobacco being of course one of the
I most important. There are now nearly
eighty tobacco factories in the city, em?
ploying over 8,000 men, women and
children, while iu the smaller places of
manufacture some 3,000 to 4,000 more
are employed. In iron-works, flour
mills, and other business interests, the
number of employees rises to upwards of
20,000, which certainly gives an oppor?
tunity to the poorer people for earning
their living at least with comfort."
How Southern Women Dressed Daring
the War.
No part of the story of the self-sacrifice
with which the Southern people clung
to their hopeless cause has. excited more
surprise in the outside world than that
which tells of the difficulties of dress
under the blockade. Hunger and cold,
ruined homes and hearthstones made
desolate?these were to be expected as
the legitimate evils of war; out .that
women, nurtured in. luxury, should will?
ingly submit to wear old clothes and re?
main in ignorance of the fashions?this,
it appears, was heroism beyond belief.
A riding dress, which was among the
sensations of Richmond during the last
days of the war, and which cost a small
fortune in Confederate money, was worrf
the next summer in Central Park?only
once, for it made its wearer, unpleasantly
conspicuous. It was- of fine gray Con?
federate army cloth, with the bodice
trimmed like the coat of a Confederate
brigadier, and fastened with Virginia
military buttons. .
The bride who was married during the
days of the Confederacy, was seldom pos- ;
sessed of an extensive trousseau,* The
outfit considered ample for such a one
would provoke the contemptuous pity of
any modern belle. For instance, the
daughter of an bid. Virginia family,
whose name is too well known for publi?
cation, in independent circumstances, for
Surchase of whose trousseau in 1864 three
ogsheads of tobacco were sold, had but
four new dresses?a white muslin wed?
ding robe, a silk dinner-dress, popinette
trimmed with furniture gimp?a costume;
which, by the way, was much admired?
and a French merino. The tulle for her
bridal veil cost' twelve hundred dollars.
The wreath?far handsomer than any
which coold have been bought within
the Confederacy?bad. been her mother's.
The manufacture of homespun, al?
though pursued under many disadvanta?
ges, was carried to great perfection. The
women of the South were as a class by no
means the selfish; self-indulgent creatures
t which they are represented to be in mod?
ern fiction. The mistress of a plantation,
with a large number of slaves to care for,
held no sinecure. Among such there
were many notable housewives and good
managers, renowned among their ac?
quaintances not only as good cooks, but
for their homemade linens and flannels,
the blankets, and bed-spreads of their
own manufacture which gained prizes at.
industrial fairs.
On every plantation there was a greater
or less number of women slaves unable
from physical disability to work in the
fields. It was necessary to provide em?
ployment for these, and they were trained
as seamstresses,.as spinners, and as weav?
ers. Such women took mach pride in
their trades, and often became experts.
Besides these there was usually in every
neighborhood some family of poor whites
with a local reputation' as weavers, who
earned a living by doing fine nork for
the. wives of the neighboring planters,
either by day or job.
With these persons as leaders, all other
women were glad to follow, and home?
spun garments came rapidly into use.
The blockade runners learned to make
dye-stuffs part of their regular cargoes.
The wood and weeds of the South furn?
ished many respectable, dyes, none of
them brilliant, it is true, but by no
means to be despised where dye-stuffs
were scarce.
Necessarily, the most was made of
i whatever materials were already on hand.
Dresses were turned and returned, pieced
and twisted, dyed and made over again
and again as long as they could be made
to hold together. They were lengthened
under flounces or puffings, and black
waists in winter and white ones in sum?
mer was a favorite fashion, which made
the skirts of old dresses still available
when the original bodies were hopelessly
worn out. Literally nothing was thrown
away. Garrets were ransacked, old
chests yielded their forgotten hoards,
and even the ragbag was turned over
again that scraps which had been scorned
in days of plenty might be made use of.
Melon waists became popular because
the many seams in them rendered the
narrowest strips of material available,
and when the fashion of gored skirts was
brought through the lines it was hailed
with delight as requiring less stuff than
those with straight breadths. Sewing
silk sold for $60 a spool before the war
was ended, and embroidery silks were
scarce at any price. Small pieces of em?
broidery were often executed with* silks
ravelled from odds and ends, of ribbons.
Female ingenuity, however, did wonders.
Most of the self-trimmings, as dressmak?
ers term them, which -are now in vogue,
figured on confederate dresses, preference
being given to such as required least ma?
terial. Pleatings were little used; but
folds, pipings, shirrings, flounces, puffing,
shell trimmings, &c, were all more or
less popular. Narrow bias strips of silk,
pinked on both edges, and very scantily
gathered with the finest stitches through
the centre, were a favorite Btyle for trim?
ming bodices and heading flounces. Gilt
braid and buttons, being military goods,
were of course imported, aud might be
had at fancy prices.
These were thought handsome for
trimming black bodices, the preferences
being for tiny ronnd gilt buttons set on
in a double row down the front and on
the cuffs. Quillings of shirt braid were
used for trimming French merinoes, red
or blue on black being the favorite con?
trast. Fancy straw braids- were used
with black lace on white muslin waists.
Calico dresses were finished off with
collars, cuffs, and bands, button-hole
stiched in scollops on the edges in red or
white embroidery-cotton, or perhaps with
bl?ck silk. Button moulds covered with
the material were almost invariably worn,
except when others were already on hand
?relics of a time before the blockade?
and not unfrequently the moulds were of
pasteboard instead of wood.
Old black silk stockings were patiently
ravelled for sewing silk. Spool cotton
never rose beyond twenty dollars a spool,
and was therefore comparatively cheap.
But since a " iico served for any occa?
sion on which a demi-toilette is admissi?
ble, a new one being considered a hand?
some, dress, the dresses themselves were
not the chief difficulty. The many ac?
cessories of the toilet, upon which so
much depends, were almost unattainable.
Ribbons and laces were scarce. Those
on hand were carefully treasured, and
cravats and bows were deftly manufac?
tured from scraps of silk.
Nets for the hair were crocheted of
black glace cotton in open meshes, and
these were often completed by skirt-braid
run in the outer row of meshes and fin?
ished off with a bow of the same.
Old dress coats belonging to relatives,
who, in the army, had no longer need of
them, were accounted inestimable treas?
ures. Shoes and gloves were made from
them?the smallest pieces being utilized.
A certain pair of fine gray cassimere
trousers kept two sisters in gloves for
more than two years, six pairs being
made therefrom, the same two sets of
gauntlets serving every time.?Harper's
Bazar,
? The Sheriff of Perquiraans county,
N. C, weighs 410 pounds. When a pris?
oner is refactory he sits down on him.
Jmlffc Kershaw on the '?Code."
In his recent charge to the Grand Jury
of Spartanburg County, Judge Kershaw
spoke in reprobation of the practice of
duelling in this State, and suggested as a
measure for the protection of society the
enactment of the following law by the
Legislature at its next session:
"That, in addition to the oath of offico
now required, each officer, before he en?
ters upon the duties of his office, shall
take and subscribe an oath, that since
the ratification of this Act he had not
done any act which would disquali?
fy him from holding office, under the
provisions of Article 1, Section 32. of the
Constitution of this State, and that he
will enforce the laws against duelling,
teethe-best of his ability, in every in?
stance of their violation which may come
to his knowledge, and employ all legal
measures in his power to prevcut such
offense*."
The Judge goes on to say: "If the duel
is to be tolerated at all, it is due to our
people that is should be openly legalized
and regulated under the law, and the
. Code of Houor, so called, in some form
spread upon the statute book. * * * j
If the duel were thus sanctioned by the
law, and this form of homicide legalized,
we would at least comprehend the necessi?
ty of training our sons from infancy to the
skilful use of the pistol, reverse our eth?
ical system, and omit from the Lord's
Jrayer so much as 'doth teach us to do the
eeds of mercy.'" This is a capital re
ductio ad absurdum. The force of Judge
Kershaw's words, however, is weakened
-if not destroyed, by the following sen?
tences in his charge:
"So far as concerns past offenses of
this nature, while courts and juries must
perform their full duty and vindicate
the violated majesty of the law, offenders
may well plead at the bar of Executive
and Judicial clemency that they were
tempted to the wrong by the criminal
blindness of the officers of the law, and
the silence of the 7oice of the people."
The trouble is that Judge Kershaw,
like a great many other good people, while
honestly anxious to put a stop to duel?
ling, is unwilling to make a beginuingin
.earnest. The laws we already have are
quite sufficient to stamp out duelling ifl
"the courts and juries and the officers of j
the law were not criminally blind'
to their sworn duty. Much as we esteem
Judge Kershaw, we fear that he cannot
inspire confidence as the leader of the
crusade against the duello. The public
?have not yet forgotten the brief career of |
"The Anti-Duelling Society of Caiuden,"
of which Judge Kershaw was President,
and in which he was the moving spirit.
They have not forgotten the excuses made
for the Society when it failed at the first
-opportunity to carry out its solemn pub?
lic pledges, nor the fact that the Judge
(for guod reasons, it may be,) resigned the
Presidency when there was real work to
be done. The recollection of these things
is not calculated to add force to Judge
Kershaw's charge in Spartanburg. If the
crime of duelling is ever to be suppressed
in the South, it must be resolutely tracked
and sternly punished just like any other
vulgar crime. One duellist in a striped
suit will do more to check this species of
murder than all the fine phrases of j u dees
and moralists.?News and Courier.
Selection of Field and Garden Seed.
An editorial in the Register a few days
ago, on the selection of cotton seed for
planting deserves more attention than it
will probably recieve. It is, unfortu?
nately, but too true that the wisest sug?
gestions on the subject of farming, when
put into print, lose much of their power
to do good. A man may be recognized
by his neighbors as a model farmer, but
if he unwittingly "writes for the papers"
he is at once set down as a theorist, a
"book farmer," and "Othello's occupa?
tion's gone." It is true, and pity 'tis 'tis
true.
The selection of field and garden seeds
is a matter of no common interest, and
embraces a larger margin of profit for the
farmer than is generally supposed. The
time has come when the profits of farm?
ing depend upon what you can save more
than what you can make. The small
leaks must be stopped, or the vessel will
Boon be empty. Thousands of dollars
are annually sent North for field and
garden seeds which, with a little care in
selecting and propagating, could be just
as well produced at home. We have
kriL .\n many successful farmers who bad
never paid tribute to foreign seed grow?
ers.
But to return to the selection of cotton
seed for planting. We would* never se?
lect from the first opening, but from the
second, where the seed is well ripened
and developed. Any observant planter
will detect many varieties of the cotton
plant in bis fields. Some stalks, tal) and
vigorous, will have very few bolls, but a
superior staple; others will be very pro?
lific but the bolls may be small or open
badly; others will be covered with bolls
which will stand at about one thing until
frost, many not maturing at all; while
others will open freely and the lint will
hang out ready for picking and dry
enough for the gin. An intelligent, ob?
serving man can go ahead and make se?
lections of the best varieties, and as " e
select pile of cotton will always be small,
there will be no damage of heating and
injuring the seed. The coutinued selec?
tions, year after year, will produce a
superior variety of cotton both as to
staple and fruitfulness, if a proper de?
gree of attention is bestowed?all de?
pends on that.
The Georgia planters have paid more
especial attention to the prolific character
of the plant. This is all very well, but
since tue production of cotton has gone
mainly into the hands of the white man
and the cotton belt is continually extend?
ing, we should endeavor to improve the
staple. The supply may exceed the de?
mand, or come so close to it as to make
the crop an unprofitable one, but we
have the advantage of climate and should
be able to produce a stable superior to all
other countries. It should be borne in
mind that cotton is the most popular J
crop in the world, from the fact that it j
can be grown.over so wide an area and
that it is a cash crop always, at all places
and at all times. The cultivation of it
will spread as long as population increas?
es. Dr. Cloud, a distinguished Alabama
planter, always used the seed of the pro?
ceeding year's crop for planting. He
said he was sure of a better stand and a
more vigorous plant, because all the infe?
rior seeds would lose their vitality during
the Winter. There would seem to be
good sense in this.?-Cor. Columbia Reg?
ister.
? "Here, lend me a hand, somebody,"
cried good little Billy, struggling to climb
over the back fence to run away to the
circus. And his kind father, who hap?
pened to be near and heard him came up
and lent him a hand about the size of a
sugar-cured ham. sixteen or seventeen
times. And the next time he runs away
to the circus Billy will try to get along
alone.
? "Do you love this girl better than
you do her sister?" was what a Kansas
clergyman asked a man, who stood up
before himMo bo made a husband.
Flexlblrness of American Ingenuity.
I The remarkable inventiveness of Amer
j ican genius lias often been commented
j upon with wonder and applause by ob
, servers from every land, and it deserves
J to be admired. Last year, for instance,
in Great Britain, 3,400 patents were
granted out of 5,200 applications, while
! in the United States of 20,000 applicants
j 12,400 received patents. This is nearly
four to one, both of applications made
and patents granted. But the flexible
ness of American invention, its peculiar
capacity of adjusting itself to surround?
ing circumstances, its "pliability to the
1 environment," as the evolutionists would
! say, is a much more valuable property
than were its fecundity. This quality
makes every resource of the American
mii:i! instantly available for each occa?
sion as soon as it arises, and contrasts
strikingly with the rustiness, the slowness
of motion of^thc more solid European
mind. Examples abound of this differ?
ence in mental cultivation, but none are
more forcible than those afforded by the
comparative history of railroad construc?
tion in this country and in Europe. The
first locomotive engine was put on the
Liverpool and Manchester Railroad in
1829. It was built for a straight, stone
ballasted road, with ,stone and iron
bridges, a roadway solid as a Roman
road, and costing ^enormous sums per
mile. Uudcr such conditions, with our
inferior amount of available capital, ex?
tensive railroad construction could not
have been entered upon in this country.
The English roads are still built in the
same solid way, and the English engines
are simply improvements upon Stephen
son's original model. But in this coun?
try, from the first, our railroads were con?
trived to turn almost impossible curves,
to wind up almost impossible summits, to
descend peri lions grades, and to cross
great ravines on spider-web tracery of j
trestle-work. A British engine could not
have been driven on any such road, and
if it could its weight and massiveness
would have crushed the track. But the
engineers who adapted their roads to the
face of the country and the state of the
public purse might be trusted to adapt
their engines to the roads. Indeed, the
first locomotive ever built in the country,
Mr. Peter Cooper's, was intended and
contrived to wheel in and out of the fre?
quent and marvelously short and sharp
curves of the original Baltimore and
Ohio railroad to Ellicott's Mills, which it
was thought would look "so picturesque,"
winding along its ambient way und fol?
lowing the bends of Gwynu's Falls and
the Patapsco. This sort of pliancy has
continued throughout. It gave the
"camel-back" engine and the V curve to
the Alleganies, and the light cotton-wood
cheap road-bed to the prairies. The
rapidity with which our engineers learn
to adjust means to ends is surprising.
The builders of the Liverpool and Man?
chester road, in order to make it straight,
ran it right across Chat-Moss, a great
morass, into which millions of cubic
yards of rubbish were dumped for ten
years. American engineers began in the
same way. Iu building the Erie railroad
ninety miles of it were laid on piles, as if I
it were a pier they were building. But
engineers soon learned to flank such ob?
structions, or, if they had to be crossed,
to get over them not by main strength
and awkwardness, but by cheap, ready
made, yet efficient expedients.
Thus again the Erie, when British rails
were not to be bad for less than $80 a
ton, in 1846 founded the Lackawanna
Iron Works, hauled iron and coal over
wagon, roads and forged its own rails?
the first T rails ever made and laid down
in this country. In tunnelling and
bridging, as well as in trestle work and
in climbing steep acclivities, this same
flexiblcness in invention is constantly
sren, and it was often displayed during
the late war, as when the Confederates
built an armor-clad vessel out of railroad
iron, or Farragut protected his vessels
from shot with anchor chains, or Porter
rescued his fleet.from the Red River by
constructing a boom and a wing-dam,
one of the most ingenious engineering
performances upon record. This capa?
city of self-adjustment in the American
faculty of invention is the most resource?
ful possession of our people, and must
continue to enrich us more rapidly than
other nations are enriched as long as we
retain it.
Mathematical Pnzzles.
I.
Two countrymen were going along the
road, each driving sheep. Said one:
"Hi, neighbor, give me one of your
sheep, and then I shall have twice as
many as you will have."
"Nay, neighbor," replied tho other,
"give me one of your sheep, and then we
shall both have the same number."
How many sheep did each have?
II.
An old man lived in a little hut by a
bridge which crossed a deep river.
One day a wicked water-spirit appeared
to him and said: My friend, I know y)u
are very poor. Now, I will increase
whatever money you may have two-fold,
asking only in return this small favor,
that every time you cross the bridge you
will throw twenty-four cents into the wa?
ter, and at the same time the money you
have left shall he doubled. The poor old
man was delighted at what he thought a
generous offer of the water-spirit, and
faithfully fulfilled all the conditions; but,
to his sorrow and astonishment, when he
had three times thrown the tribute of
twenty-four cents to the water-spirit he
found himself penniless.
How much money did he have when
the water-spirit first appeared to him ?
HI.
A man had seven sons and a property
of $49,000. Now, the younger sons
were jealous because their father speDt
more for the elder brother than he did for
them, aud they entreated him to make
his will iu their favor. To satisfy their
demands he made his will, and the young?
er sons were contented. Thisis the will:
The oldest son to have $1,000, and an
eighth of what remained ; the second son
to have $2,000, and an eighth of what re?
mained; the third $3,000, and an eighth
of what remained ; the fourth $4,000,
and an eighth of what remained ; the
fifth $5,000, and an eighth of what re?
mained ; the sixth $6,000, and an eighth
of what remained; the seventh and
youngest to have all that remained when
the sixth had takeu his share.
What share of the $49,000 did each
receive?
IV.
A good mother went to buy eggs for
her children, for the Easter season was
approaching, and tho eggs were to be
colored red and blue. She bought from
a grocer half of his entire stock and half
an egg more. Then a second woman
came, and she bought half of what the
grocer had remaining and half an egg
more. A third woman and a fourth wo?
man did the same thing, and in the end
the grocer bad one egg left.
How many had he in the beginning?
? A woman near Cairo dressed up as
a man to see how much bluff her old
husband would take from a stranger.
She got forty bird shot in various parts
of her body.
General Xcws'SutiiniAry. ^yffiS
? Georgia has 616 licensed distilleries.
? Holyoke, Mass., has eighteen paper
mills.
? Georgia will have fifteen colored
men in the next Legislature.
? New Orleans expects to ship 30,
000,000 bushels of grain this year.
? The completion of the Mississippi
River improvements wi!'. require $4,200,
000.
? The 41 cotton-seed mills of the
South turn out 90,000,000 gallons of oil
annually.
? Boston's real estate is valued at
$400,000,000, fwhich is nearly $4,000 to
each inhabitant.
? Macon, Ga., has 43 manufactories,
representing a capital of $792,500, and
employing 696 hands.
? The Vermont Legislature have re
elected Senator Edmunds to Iiis seat in
the United States Senate.
? No pupil is allowed to attend the
public schools of Memphis who has not
been successfully vaccinated.
? The people of Schley County, Ga.,
voted by a majority of 409 to prohibit
the licensing of liquor saloons.
? Miss Nellie Calhoun, a grand niece
of John C. Calhoun,' has recently made
her debut upon the stage, in San Fran?
cisco.
? It is reported that 10,000 Chinamen
are to be imported into New Orleans
from Cuba, to work on the sugar planta?
tions.
? The oyster business of Virginia is
worth $2,000,000 per annum. There are
6,538 white and 7,598 colored men en?
gaged in it.
? ? The Buffalo Express says the reason
men succeed who "mind their own busi?
ness" is because there is so little compe?
tition in that line.
? Pleasantville, N. J., does a thriving
business iu making pickles. During the
season just closed, nearly 11,000,000
cucumbers have been pickled there.
? John Hicks, of Jeffersonville, Ind..
aged 80 years, has just been sentenced to
the penitentiary for two years. He has
served fifty years of his life in prison.
? Victorio, the Indian Chief, and most
of his band, have been killed by the
Mexicans. Within the past year he and
his band murdered upward of 400 per?
sons.
? Five women were burned to death
in a shoddy factory in Cincinnati one day
last week. Heroic efforts were made by
the firemen to save them, but without
avail. A
? The Harrisonburg Register claims
that Rockingham county, Va., has fur
uished $75,000 worth of horses to the
"outside world" during the past six
months.
? It i3 claimed that Madison and Bun?
combe counties, N. C, will send to mar?
ket this year over a million and a half
pounds of tobacco. Their crops are
extra fine.
? The Oregon Senate and House, Oc?
tober 16, passed a constitutional amend?
ment in favor of woman suffrage?21 to
9 in the Senate, and the House by a vote
of 32 to 27.
? Wealthy citizens of Baltimore
have, in 150 years, given $13,000,000 to
public charitable purposes. The bulk of
this, however, was given by one man,
Johns Hopkins.
? A colored washerwoman, who died
last week in New York, left a fortune of
$80,000. She had done an extraordinary
good business in not returning the boy's
shirts on Saturday nights.
? Advices from Buenos Ay res an?
nounce that a snow-storm occurred there
on the 18th of September, and that it is
estimated that 700,000 head of cattle,
500,000 sheep and 250,000 horses per?
ished.
? Schuyler Colfax, who has been men?
tioned in connection with the United
States Senatorsbip from Indiana, declares
that, under no possible condition of
affairs, will he ever consent to re-enter
public life.
? The imports into France for the
past nine months show an increase of
263,000,000 francs as compared with the ?
same period last year. Of this increase
189,000,000 francs is in food. The ex?
ports increased 69,000,000 francs.
? If we owned a Republican govern?
ment with Garfield at its head, and Sam
Lee in Congress, and hell, we would rent
out the government and live in bell, wo
would. We think we would have more
peace and prosperity in the latter place.
? The cotton crops of this country for
1878 and 1879 were the largest ever
raised. The ten crops from 1852 to 1861,
raised by slave labor, numbered 34,995,
440 bales; the ten crops from 1870 to
1879, raised by free labor, numbered 41,
454,743 bales.
? John A. Woodward, for fifteen years
in the service of the Boston City Treas?
ury, during the last five of which he was
cashier, has disappeared, and his books
show a defalcation of $82,000. He is
thirty years old, and was of excellent
social standing.
? The New York Graphic Company
is a Montreal enterprise. After sinking
$750,000, it has now become profitable,
and after paying all debts, declared a
dividend of $80,000. Two years ago the
stock was worthless. It is now sold at
$50 per $100 share.
? The Register has the following piece
of information: "It is said that Guffin,
the man killed by McClung at Abbeville
consulted a physician the day of bis death
as to the best method of committing sui?
cide, and it is thought that he deliber?
ately precipitated the affair which cul?
minated in the tragedy.
? Hon. A. G. Porter, Governor-elect
cf Indiana, has announced that he will
not be a candidate for the United States
Senate. He says he was elected Gov?
ernor, and be wants to be Governor for
four years. His canvass has revealed
many things to him that he believes he
can accomplish for the people as Gov?
ernor, and he is anxious to do so.
?The motive power of the South Car?
olina Railroad has been reinforced by the
addition of two new and powerful loco?
motives which arrived a few days ago
and have been put into service. Two
more engines are expected within the
next ten dnys. The engines were built at
the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Phila?
delphia, and have a capacity of fifty load?
ed cars each.
? They give strange names to childrc
in China. If a child is born at mid?
night, its name may be Midnight; or
they may name it Rain, if it is rainy
when the child is born. Should the
birth occur on the anniversary of the
birthday of a relative, the child may be
named according to the age of the rela?
tive?Thirty-five, Forty-two, Fifty-one,
or whatever number fits the case. Girls
have been named Ought-to-be-a-boy,
because the parents desired a boy.
? There are two ways of measuring sin
?down and up ; down, by counting all the
actual sins we have done?all covetiugs,
anger, evi 1 thoughts, sei fishness, fasehoods
dishonesties; up, by seeing what we
might have hceu, all the good deeds we
might have done, the character we might
have formed, the blessed, useful life we
might have lived, and God intended us
to live; and then placing beside this
picture the lifo we have actually lived.
This will show the number of our sins of
omission.