Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, April 20, 1876, Image 1
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VOL. IV. NO. 20
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DouH Leave the Farm.
Come, boys, I have something to tell yon,
Come near, I would wh sper it low,
You are thinking of leaving the homestead,
Don't be in a hurry to go!
The city has many attractions,
But think of the vices and sins,
When once in the vortex of fashion,
How soon the coarse downward begins.
You talk ot the minesof the Black Hills,
They're wealthy in gold without doubt,
Bat ah ! there is gold on the farm, boys,
If only you 11 shovel it out;
The mercantile trade ia a hazard,
The gooda are first high and then low;
Better stick to the farm a while longer,
Don't be in a hurry to go.
The great buay West haa inducements.
And ao has the busiest mart,
But wealth waan't made in a day, boya,
Don't be in a hurry to atart.
The cankera and brokers are wealthy,
They take in their million or ao,
Ah, think of the fraud and deoeption
Don't ho in a hurry to go.
The farm ia the safest and surest,
The orchards are loaled to-day,
You're free as the air of the mountain
And " monarch of ail you surrey.''
Better stay on the faim a while longer,
Though profits come in rather alow,
Remember you're nothing to risk, boys,
Don't be in a hurry to go!
Margaret's Mission.
" Agnes Gray says that every woman
has a mission. What do yon suppose
ny mission is, mamma ?"
? Mission, indeed," langhed Mrs.
Alleyne, looking proudly at her pretty
daughter; " I suspect, my dear Meggy,
your mission is to flirt and danoe."
Mrs. Alleyne was wealthy, and Mar
garet was her only child. Her whole
life was spent in rendering her daughter
happy, so Margaret was petted to her
heart's content. To look as pretty and
bewitching as possible, to be arrayed
like Sol mon in all his glory from morning
ti l night, to pass her time in an
endless succession of gayety, was her
child's mission, according to Mrs. AlJeyno's
idea; so Margaret received all
the gifts fortune showered upon her as a
matter of coarse, and enjoyed life as
her mother expected she would do.
At la^t Margaret met her fate, to the
great wonderment of her friends, in the
person of John Graham, a wealthy
young merchant; for Margaret Alleyne,
with her baby face and coquettish manner,
was the last person in the world yon
would imagine the grave business man
would love, and he the most unlikely of
all her suitors to carry off ihe belle.
But Margaret did love her lover; he was
so grave aud clover. So amidst the congratulations
of his friends and the tears
of her parents, John Graham bore his
fair bride off to his home.
He was very much in love with pretty
Margaret. The soft, rose flashed face,
the tender blue eyes, the crinkled golden
hair, never lost their charm for him.
Bnt he never dreamed that this little
fragile creature oould share the burden
. of life with him. No. that dimpled face
was only made for smiles, so he indulged
aud caressed her, but his cares
he bore alone.
The large fortune left by John's
father had been doubled by his energy ;
bnt now, by the simultaneous failure of
two or three Arms he had trusted aud
the villainy of a confidential olerk, the
wealthy merchant saw Himself upon tne
brink of ruin. Love rendered Margaret
keen sighted; she quickly perceived
that all was not right with her husband ;
his wan, haggard face frightened her.
But dearly as she loved him she was too
proud to seek his confidence ; so both
were wretched, though each endeavored
to conceal it from the other.
Whsn John saw tl\afc ruin was inevitable
he wrote to Mrs. Alleyne, frankly
disclosing the state of affairs. The
mother insisted that her daughter
should return to her; her husband could
claim her when fortune again smiled
upon him ; but in the meantime Margaret
was better with her ; to spare her
anxiety, it was better she should not
know of herhosband's difficulties.
With a heavy heart John agreed to all
Mrs. Alleyne's demands. Margaret's
love was the only brightness left in his
life; but of course if she could be happier
with her mother he could sacrifice
it His stern, pale face and constrained
manner affected Margaret painfully
when he told her he desired her to accept
her mother's invitation.
** He no longer loves me?he wishes
me to leave him," the poor child cried
afterwards, in a passion of tears. Bat
before him she presented a calm exterior,
and Johu Graham thought that his
young wife, like tbe rest of the world,
was ready to desert the ship.
So Margaret returned to the home of
her girlhood, calling all her pride to her
assistance to enable her to appear indifUnt
V>n? Viaavt xtnxa venf hv
1UICUI, UUI UC1 UUU w n?a w.?n,. ,
pangs, for she had persuaded herself ;
that her husband no longer loved her.
"Whole nights spent in tears leave j
traces; pretty Margaret grew pale aDd
thin, and Mrs. Aileyne begun to fear :
that, after all, her tenderness could not I
constitute her darling's happiness. Still,
the girl never complained, but bore her
burden in proud silence.
Oue night Margaret was at a ball given
by an intimate friend. She had danced
a great deal, and being very tired sat
down near an open window; a heavy
curtain entirely concealed her. Two
gentlemen were standing near, and she
oould hear their conversation distinctly.
" So John Graham is bankrupt. I am
very sorry to hear it; he is a most honorable
fellow," said one.
"Yes," answered the other; "I saw
him last week; he looks wretchedly.
You know he married Miss Aileyne, a
pretty little doll without an idea, and
what is worse, without a heart; now
she has deserted him in his adversity.
It is rather hard when a man's own wife
will not aid him to bear his trouble."
Margaret's heart gave a great bound.
How she had misjudged him! How
true and tender he was ! He was alona
and in trouble ; surely her place was at
his side. Then, heedless of o^mmente,
she left her hiding plaoe.
The next day John Graham's statelv
v
kJSFDA
mansion was to bo sold. He had taken
great pride in his home ; a thousand
tender associations were connected with
every room. Now, with a heavy heart,
he wandered t.hrnnffh the deserted ar>art
ments. Here was Margaret's piano ;
the harp he had given her ; the pictnres
and statnes thej had chosen together ;
every article appeared liko an old friend.
Then a feeling of intense desolation
crept over him?he was so utterly lonely.
The strong spirit was almost crushed.
He threw himself upon the bed and
wept like a child. A quiet step upon
the stairs, a rustle of silken robes, a
glad cry, then clinging arms were twined
about his neck, a soft cheek was pressed
to his, tangled golden curls mingled
with his dark locks. Was it a dream ?
He pressed her close to make sure of
the reality, and kissed her with such
passionate fervor that Margaret wept for
joy.
" Margaret, my wife?Margaret !"
he sobbed.
" Oh, John, how cruel you were to
send me away! I'll never leave you
again, darling."
When they had both regained calm
ueas, John Graham explained to his wife
that the next day the house was to be
sold?he could not take her into lodgings?perhaps
she had better return to
her mother. But Margaret firmly refused.
14 Any place that is good enough for
you, John, is good enough for me. My
place is with you.- I can assist you
more than you think," she said.
Then Margaret oommenoed the battle
of life in earnest. It is not easy to turn
from a life of pleasure and luxury to one
of comparative poverty. Margaret at
first did not find her path strewn with
[ rosM; there w.re difficulties to be encmntered;
slights to be endured, ease
to be sacrificed; but she had a brave
heart, and love had ohanged the gay,
careless girl into the tender, self-sacrificing
woman. She became her husband's
closest friend, his best adviser,
the sympathizing confidant of all His
plans, ever ready to cheer in moments
of depression?the first to rejoioe in his
suooess.
John Graham is a wealthy man again
now; success has crowned his efiorts ;
bat he ever blesses the adversity whioh
taught him to know the real value of
his wife.
| So Margaret found her mission as a
devoted wife and mother, much to her
mother's amazement; and John Graham
found he had married not a pretty butterfly
of fashion, but an earnest, loving
woman. ^
Following the Fashions.
There are ladies in every community
who possess to a greater or less degree
the gift of a Worth with respect to their
own attire, and to some extent with respect
to that of others. They consequently
prescribe the laws of taste and
fashion which their sisters are only too
glad to follow, and whioh many of them
do follow without any regard to facts
which should be taken into consideration.
For instance, when green is the
fashionable tint, and a leader of the ton
wears green, which she will be sure not
to do unless it suits her complexion,
straightway all h> r followers array themselves
in green, though it makes some
of them look like frights; bnt it is the
stiyle, and "green it shall be." Just so
iu the wearing of the hair. The fashion
leader piles on the top of her head braid
after braid, and straightway all heads
a o dressed in tne same manner, mm
little regard to what is beooming to the
shape of the head and the character of
its possessor. 8he has twenty-five
raffles on her silk dress, and, presto!
all skirts of whatever quality are beruffled
in the same manner. She trails a
length of ailk behind her, and serges
and calicoes mnst trail, too. It is pitiful
to see the quantities of fabrics that
cost from twenty five to fifty cents a
yard that are trimmed to death, and are
nothing bnt wretched imitations of fine
clothes after alL In country villages
fashion is much more rigorous and terrible
in its tyranny than in the city. One
or two dressmakers set the style and
everybody must follow it or be odd and
old fashioned. Bnt in large cities one
may wear anything she pleases without
attracting the slightest attention. The
effort seems to be on the part of each
finely dressed lady to have something
different from everybody else, to wear a
hat or a dress or a cloak unique and beooming,
and though the style is genererally
similar, variations from it are innumerable.
Any women who sets herself the task
of following the fashions will not be able
to do much else, for every month there
is some change which requires remodeling
of the wardrobe or a fresh supply.
But she who drosses so as to escape
special observation has no very hard
task before her. Twice in the year, in
the spring and in the fall, she may give
attention to the requirements of the
next six months, and between times occupy
herself witn something else. When
one is having a garment made it is easier
than not to have it made in the prevailing
style, not s > extremely fashionable
that in a short time it will be passed,
bnt with modification and discretion, so
that it may be worn a long time without
chaDge. It is this incessantly ripping to
pieces and putting together again of garments
that might better be worn as they
xperfi made that consumes so much time
in families and make so many women, as
to their intellects, utterly barren and unfruitful.
Such fashions as tamper with the
health, comfort and dignity of the body
should never be followed. Among
these may named tbe piling on the head
of Dounds of foreign hair, the compression
of the waist with steel and whalebone,
and some of the styles of draping
the skirt, which are simply absurd.
Dress ought to be an expression of
character, and when it is so it will be
worn unconsciously and attract but little
attention. It should suit the individual
in color, texture, quantity and
quality. Height, complexion, size, age,
temperament, should modify for each
individual her devotion to the fashion,
and when she wears what suits her in
all these respects she will be well dressed.
Qaery for naturalists : If a bird in
the hand is worth two in the bush, is a
mole in the face worth two in the
ground? !
FOR
RD A
tarn ai present. "uu, men, wuo win
take my little child back to her father ?"
she cried, the tears falling. " I am dying,
and she must go back to him. It
is the only reparation I can make?and
bttle enough?for the bitter "wrong I
have done them. I hoped, sir, you
might see him," she added, a moment
after, checking her sobs; " I hoped yon
might tell him that his image is before
me from morning till nijht, as I know
he must have looked when the first
shock came. Oh, sir, tell him my story.
Warn, oh, warn everybody. Tell him I
have suffered through the long, long
hours these maDy years?ah ! God only
knows how deeply." " Mary, yon must
control yonr feelings," said my host,
gontly. " Let me talk while I may,"
was the answer. *4 Let me say that since
the day I left home I have not known a
single hoar of happiness. It was always
to come?always just ahead?and here is
what has come?the grave is opening,
and I must go to judgment. Oh, how
bitterly have I paid for my sin. Forgive
me, oh, my God, forgive !"
It was a solemn hoar?that which I
spent by that dying penitent. Prayer
she listened to; she did not seem to
join, or if she did, she gave no outward
sign. Remorse had worn away all her
beauty, evea more thau illness. She
looked to the future with a despairing
kind of hope and feeble faith. Reader,
the misguided woman of Ceylon lies be
neath the stately branches of the palm
tree. Her sweet child never met her
father in her native land. She sleeps
under the troubled waters of the great
M ? TTTT 11.. L-l
wild sea. vrnere me ueurayer wttuuers
I cannot tell, but wherever it is, there is
no peace for him. How often rings that
hollow voice in my ear : 14 Tell him my
story. Warn, oh, warn everybody!"
A Genuine More.
Mr. William Einer, a farmer from
Mifflin county, Pa. , passed through New
Lisbon, Indiana, with his family, horses,
wagon and private residence, and, because
of the novelty of the scene, the
attention of many persons was attracted,
and the little house drew large crowds
about it, whose curiosity led them to
give it a superficial inspection. Mr.
Einer has purchased some property in
Iowa, and has resolved to settle there.
Being a man of economical habits, he
has determined to use his own motive
power rather than call the railroad companies
to his assistance. He accordingly
constructed a little dwelling on the top
of his wagon, the building being one
story high, about fifteen feet long and
five or six wide. It contains windows,
doors and various modern improvements.
It is built of light poplar
boards, battened and painted straw
color. Mr. Einer's family comprises his
wife and one or two children, who look
very comfortable in their home. They
eat all tneir meals there, do their cooking
on a little stove which they have,
and are not bothered a great deal by the
gaze of the inquiring public. Mr.
Einer drives three horses and owns two
dogs, which keep their plaoes under the
wagon. He has already traveled 310
miles in this wsv. rather likes the mode
and intends to continue his journey in
the "ame way until he comes to the end
of i:.
BEAUFORT, S.
THE WAGES OF SIS.
An Afltrtlsc Family History with a Suitable
Moral.
A few days ago the Cleveland Leader
ga e in a special telegram from Sandusky
the substanoe of an account given by
a man who had found in Ceylon Mr.
Harlow Case, collector of the port of
Sandusky in 1850, who defaulted and
run away with the wife of his deputy.
The paper completes the story, giving
the full narrative of the traveler, who
found the guilty pair living in affluent
style in Ceylon. He visited their house,
and, after a fine dinner, the following
took place:
" Sir," said he, in tones which I shall
never forgot, "if I have sinned, God in
heaven knows that I have suffered; and
if in F.'s bereavement he has cursed me,
that curse is fearfully fulfilled. Poor
Mary is dying?has been dying for
months, and I have known it. It has
been for me to see the failing step?the
dimming eye ; it is for me now to see
the terrible struggles of her nearly wornout
frame ; it is for me to listen to her
language of remorse that sometimes
? ? . s t? i a til
almost drives me maa. xes, maa, maa j
he said, in a frenzy, rising and crossing
the floor with long, hasty strides. Then
burying his faoe in his hands, he exclaimed
: " Too late ! too late! I have
repented!" There was a long pause,
and heoontinued, calmly: "Nohuman
means can now restore my poor companion.
Her moral sensibilities become
more and more acute as she fails in
strength, so that she reproaches herself
oonstantly." A weary, mournful sigh
broke from his lips as if his heart would
break. " Oh, if he knew !" he exclaimed
again, "if he knew how bitter a penalty
she is paying for the outrage she had
oommitted upon him, he would pity her
?and, if it oould be, forgive. Will yon
see her, sir?"
I shrunk from the very thought.
" She has asked for you, sir ; do not
deny her request. Hearing that you
came from America, she entreated me to
bring you to her. I promised that I
would/'
"I will go, then."
Up the oool, wide, matted stairs he
led me, into a chamber oriental in its
furnishing and chaste in its magnificence.
There, half-reclining in a wide
easy chair, a costly shawl of lace cast
over her attenuated shoulders, the rich
dressing gown clinging and hollowed to
the ravages sickness had made, sat one
whose great beauty and once gentle gifts
made the light and loveliness of the
sacred home. The eyes only retained
their luster; they were woefully sunken.
The blazing fire, kindled at the vitals,
burned upon her sharpened cheeks?
burned more fiercely, more hotly, as she
looked upon my face. I could think no
more of anger ; I could only say to myself
: " Oh, how sorry I am for you !"
She knew, probably, by her husband's
manner, that I was aware of their circumstances.
The first question was: "Are you
going back to Amerioa, sir ?"
The hollow voioe startled me. I
seemed to see an open sepulcher. I told
her that it was not my intention to re
- a < / /M XI L. Ml
T RO'
lND <
C., THURSDAY, A
_ .
THE CAUSES OF INSANITY.
An Interesting Paper from the Superlntt
dent of an English Asylum.
Dr. Clouston, physician superintendent
of the Royal Edinburgh Asylum,
in his annual report, says: Glancing
over the summary of assigned causes, it
< is at once seen that intemperance stands
out as by far the most frequent. It
alone caused forty-eight of the 260, or
about twenty per cent, of the cases.
Much is properly said about the prevention
of diseases nowadays. Most unquestionably
the sum total of the men,
tal diseases in our city might have beeD
lessened by that amount if the laws of
nature had been better obeyed. Fifty
of the cases thus resulting from drinking
and excosses being paupers, each
costing ?27 a vear to the public rates,
, over ?1,300 will have been paid for one
, year's production of lunacy from very
, preventible causes, and, of course, this
; takes no account of the oost of the old
( incurable cases already in the asylum
from the same cause.
I am quite sure that intemperance was
the remote cause of the disease in more
' of the cases; but, even allowing for
, these, we cannot put this down as accounting
in any way for more than one
in four of all cases of insanity. In assigning
intemperance as the cause of insanity
in a number of cases, two things
must not be forgotten. The first is,
that the taking of stimulants may not
be a cause at all, but merely a symptom
of the brain disorder; and, as a matter
of fact, it is often one of the early symptoms
in many oases. The seoond thing
to be kept in mind is that there are
many cases in which it is the real cause
of the mental disorder; bnt the mental
balance has always been so unstable, and
the brain working so easily overset, that
a very little alcohol indeed will bring on
an attack of insanity in the persons,
just as in those same people a fright or
a little over-excitement will upset their
sanity. This is the class of persons who,
in my experienoe, get upset by religious
revivals.
The resetting and recuperative power
that is really an essential part of a healthy,
nervous system, whereby the effects of
| not too long-continued over-eating or
over-drinking, over-feeling or over-work
are at once recovered from, is wanting
in these people. Nature provides that
short excesses don't do much harm to
healthy people. It is a poor sort of
boiler that bursts whenever the ekact
! pressure needed for its daily work is
exceeded. And before I leave this subject
I may mention that I have not reckoned
in any way the mere drinking craving
or the inability to resist it, as constituting
insanity. I believe this may
or may not be a real insanity in different
cases, but it was from developed
and unmistakable mental alienation that
all my patients suffered. When the
causes of the insanity of our eightyeight
private patients are compared with
those of the '222 paupers, the difference
is most striking, and entirely bears out
the general law already indicated.
Of those eighty-eight private patients,
mental causes produced the disease in
about thirty-eight, physical being only
twelve per cent, under them, while in
the paupers they were just one-third as
numerous. These facts tend strongly to
show that the higher in the social srale
we go the more strongly do purely mental
and moral shocks act in upsetting a
healthy mental balance, and that those
causes operate more powerfully on the
lower classes of a town population than
an agricultural.
The President's Salary.
The bill reduoing the salary of the
President of the United States from
$50,000 to $25,000 per year passed the
Senate by a vote of twenty-six to twenty.
It cannot of course interfere with the
salary of Gen. Grant, as the Constitution
provides that the salary of the President
shall not bo reduced during the
term for which he was elected. Three
gentlemen known as Presidential aspirants
voted in the affirmative, Conkling,
Morton and Thurman, and one, Mr.
Bayard, against it.
The approval or rejection of the bill
by the President, an exchange sayR, is a
matter of great delicacy. Gen. Grant
approved the bill doubling his own salary,
and his approval of the bill repealing
that action would seem rather harsh on
his successor. On the other hand, he
will be called upon to sign bill3 cutting
down salaries on all sides, even to the
clerks and officers in his own household,
and it would seem an act of injustice
were ho to veto a bill cutting down the
salary of the Presidential office. Onl^r
one other way will bo open to the President,
and that is, to allow the bill to
become a law without his signature by
* . - i a
returning it .ten aays.
A Load of Haj.
The innocence and childlike simplicity
of some people is shown by the story
described in an Anoka (Minn.) paper, as
follows: As William Mogle, of this
city, was on his way to Minneapolis he
overtook a man from Hennepin county
with a load of hay on which were two
large sized women. A short distance
this side of Minneapolis the hay man
stopped his team, and Mr. Mogle observed
that he was vigorously digging a
hole in the hay. Mr. Mogle drove on
and passed him, and on looking back
the women were no longer visible. The
two teams entered Minneapolis about j
the same time, the load of hay was i
driven at once on the scales and weighed,
and as the driver had turned a corner
the women emerged from their retr*?t.
Somebody paid for those women
at tno rate ol siu per ion.
Those Pigs.
Ji(ynold'8 Newspaper, a London j
publication, devoted mainly to abuse of i
royalty, declares that the queen's hogs 1
are better oared for than maDy of her j
subjects. " Then we came to the pig-!
gery," says an article descriptive of her j
farm. "Several hogs were so fat that!
they could no longer open their eyes,yet
they seemed to have no difficulty in
moving about. We saw sacks apparently
stuffed with hay and sewed up lying
about on the straw, and on inquiry
learned that they were pillows, one for
each pig, for them to rest their heads
upon when asleep."
Coma
PKIL 20, 1876.
THE BLACK HILLS.
No Protection for Whites beyond Laramie?
Immigrants Robbed by Lying Adventurers?On
the Road to Starvation and
Death.
A reporter of a Chicago paper bad a
long interview with Gen. Merritt, of the
United States army. We copy as follows:
Reporter?Tell me something about
the Black Hills country. Anything
fresh from there ?
Gen. Merritt?I suppose you mean in
reference to the gold sensation out
there. Well, I'm free to venture an
opinion on that subject Now, mind
you, I don't say there is no gold there.
There is gold there, even in the area
they have opened up already for mining
purposes. But it is a fact that the area
in whioh gold is found at present is so
limited that it wouldn't support onehalf
of the people who are there already.
The gold yields at the best will not pay
| more than wages; and wherever there
seems to be a promising location it is
already covered with experienced and
practical gold miners, with whom the
crowds of people going there now could
not possibly compete even if they had a
chance. Away up north, now, it is asserted
that the region is more largely
auriferous, but how are they going to
get there?north of Fort Fetterman,
with wild bands of Sionx on every side ?
Gen. Crook is after them now with a
large foroe, and I think will give them
a thrashing. Bat each an idea as going
a gold mining np there with swarms of
hostile Indians to meet them is the most
preposterous folly that any lot of too
credulous people ever took into their
heads. Cr.zy Horse, too, has gathered
a band of j oung and moody redskins
from Bed Cloud's band, and gone up
north to join the insurgents. Had they
not the conviction that a large force was
after them to whip them, these malcontents
woold attack miners even in the
already cleared mining area.
Reporter?The troops do not impede
the passage of the oolonizers into the
Indian reservation any more, do they!
Gen. Merritt?No, they do not impede
it; but beyond Laramie the people
have no protection, for it is an acknowledged
reservation, and settlers and
miners mast go at their own risk. The
army authorities preserve a sort of tacitly
understood neutrality upon this point.
Bed Cloud and Spotted Tail both seem
to regard the loss of the land as a foregone
conclusion, and simply consider it
an additional enoroachment. They lay
the blame of their loss in the matter,
however, upon the shoulders of those
who were prominent in opposing the sale
of the land.
Reporter?Did'you say the miners
are making but poor headway anyhow,
general ?
Gen. Merritt?Yes; under the most
* it. 1.^1^
favorable circumstances, mo wuu.o
thing is a wretched showing. Produce
is high, and tho people cannot get
enough to live on. Besides, they are
not used to such a country. Work they
cannot, for they aie not experienced
miners, and there is no other wort for |
them to do. They go out there as a forlorn
hope, totally unprovided with tho
means of obtaining, for a reasonable
time, the necessaries of life ; and leaving
the crowded cities from the fear of starvation,
they find themselves in a strange,
bleak, and inhospitable region, face to
face with the c rtainty of starvation.
The great majority of the poor, deluded
people going there are broken down city
people. Their dress, demeanor, and
habits prove it beyond a doubt. Recruited
by these lying adventurers,
greedy to skin them of what little means
friends have contributed to sustain their
delusive hopes, they come from Philadelphia,
Boston, Chicago, and other
cities in parties of 300 and 400, and
when they arrive at Laramie City or!
Sioux City, Sidney, or any other of the I
depots in which they are swindled and
fleeced by these harpies for "implements,"
"outfit," and what not, they
find themselves ushered into anew country,
into what is, for the most of them,
a wholly impossible life, and at their
wits' ends to preserve themselves from
starvation.
Reporter?Not a very pleasant picture,
general?
Gen. Merritt?No, indeed; but there
is positively a worse phase than that.
There are people in hundreds?!ramps,
seedy clerks, and porters, and so on?
who, having no money at all, tramp it
through the snow, living upon the
wages of their daily labor, from hand
to mouth, and though their condition
can scarcely be more destitute than it
is, yet, when they reach their destination,
their case is tho more necessitous
from the fact of there being no work to
do oven for food. It is ail very well for
these as far as Laramie City, we'll say,
bat beyond that what are they going to
do? 1 have seen these fellows myself
trudging it through melting snow and
borne up through many privations simply
by the delusive hope that when
they reach the Black Hills they will
reach fortune. In my opinion the present
spring will see many of these unfortunates
prostrated by exposure and disease,
and literally starved to death.
What can they do ? Even puttng the
most favorable construction upon the
case, they cannot mine for months, even
if they are fortunate enough to subsist.
Tho snow is deep on the ground, the
streams are all frozen hard, and the only
running water at present is upon the
superficial surface of the ice, and it
won't break till June. I told you how
dreadfully cold it was out there; the
warm, mild weather which we experience
here has but very little effect out
there.
Reporter?Did you meet any parties
ooming back, general ?
Gen. Merritt?Yes, I met as many
parties coming back as I found were
going. Of course, they all said that
they were going back again later, but
there were very few who, when candidly
interrogated, didn't admit keen disappointment.
Reporter?Then, in plain English,
this Black Hills business is a stupendous
humbug ?
Gen. Merritt?It is more than that; it
is an infamous traffic.
There are now 195 officers in the
United States regular army who won j
promotion from the ranks.
1ERCI
$2.00 per i
| COAL OIL J0H5NY.
The True Htory of hie Haddea Wealth aad
Retarn to Poverty.
Scarcely a month passes without the
appearance of some newspaper paragraph
informing the world of the whereabouts
and wealth of Johnny Steele, oras he is
better known, "Coal Oil Johnny."
Only a few days ago, said an Oil Oity correspondent,
I noticed in a New York
paper an aooount of his having suddenly
acquired another fortune, and other
reports as false as this one have acquired
wide circulation.
Johnny Steele was born near Rouseville,
one of the mushroom towns of the
oil region. His parentage is obscure,
but he was adopted by a widow lady,
a Mrs. McOlintook, and treated by her
as if he were her son. The Widow Mo
Olintock, aa she was called by her neighbors,
was the owner of a barren farm on
Oil creek, upon which, before the
oil excitement broke out, it was difficult
for the family to make a Irving. Johnny
was made to work as soon as he became
of sufficient size, and was employed in
driving a team and doing odd jobs.
When the oil excitement occurred the
Widow McOlintook's farm suddenly became
worth a small fortune. The o!d
lady was olose, however, an I although
Johnny was her only heir, she did not
keep him in idleness nor allow him to
spend much money. He beoame a
teamster, hauling oil on the creek, and
working for five dollars a day. Just as
the McOlintook farm was at its highest
valuation the widow died, and Johnny
came into possession of the property.
It was not a million, nor two million, as
1 1?? MMtaAit.U ronnrtivl TKA
liUS UCCU Ci X UUWUJiy iv|rv??w
whole amount did not ezoeed 1800,000,
but to a person who had been living by
day labor that sum seemed to be inexhaustible.
- Johnny at once begun a career of dissipation,
which lasted nine months. Ia
that time he spent his whole fortune
with the exoeption of a small sum which
he settled on his wife, after which he
beoame a laborer once more. We need
not wonder at this, sinoe he had never
been taught the value of money, and
having lived on a couple of hundred
dollars a Tear, he thought his wealth
had no end. He did not spend all his
money himself, however. His friends
helped him largely, and it is estimated
that (he loaned to his companions one
hundred thousand dollars without taking
any paper to show for it, and none
of the money was ever recovered.
Many of his freaks during this period
are amusing. One day, "while in Philadelphia,
he ordered a carriage for a
ride. A basket of wine and several boon I
companions were taken along. The
whole afternoon was spent in carousing,
and at early twilight the oarriage was
driven through Ohestnut street, the legs
of the occupants stioking through the
windows, where they had been placed to
the detriment of the glass. At another
time while on a similar spree, Johnny
and his companions cut the carriage
cashions to pieces, broke the door
panels, smashed the lamps and windows,
and made a wreck of the entire
affair. When the party arrived at the
hotel the livery man was angry. Johnny,
with a tone of importance, asked
him what he valued the whole rig at
The livery man said : " Two thousand
if C3l?1 fnminnr tr>
aoliars. owoio puu nuu - 0
the driver, gave the horses to him.
Another freak, for which he paid
88,000, was running the Girard House,
Philadelphia, for one day. He fancied
the hotel clerk did not treat him when
he entered with that respect which was
due him, aud he demanded to see the
proprietor or manager. When that personage
appeared Johnny announced his
name, and wanted to,know the landlord's
price for the use of his hotel one day.
The answer was $8,000, which Johnny
l paid, and that day he threw the hotel
open to overybody.
Many of his sprees Johnny does not
remember, for, as he says, it was a nine
months' drunk. Daring this time his
wife sued for and obtained a divorce.
At the end Johnny's money gave out,
and be fonnd himself a poor man again.
He returned to Oil creek, and worked
at day labor for some time. Then he
was assistant baggage master for the
railroad at Bonseville, and afterward becoming
reunited to his wife, he settled
down on a farm in Venango county.
From there he recently removed to the
West, where he has obtained a small
farm, and, as he says, is enjoying life
moro than in his days of wealth.
Centennial Notes,
Italy will make a grand display in the
art department.
The Southern historical society will
send all its official records.
The railroad companies are making
extraordinary preparauoua.
New England has organized a battalion
called the Centennial legion.
Barracks are to be erected at Germantown
for the nse of the military visitors
expected.
The grounds now have the appearance
c f a sort of human bee hive. Everybody
works as if something was to be
done.
Only a fifty cent note will be received
for admission. No change will be received,
made or given by the honest
men at the door.
The appropriation bond was signed
by one hundred Philadelphians whose
wealth combined is $100,000,000.
A Question of Brains.
A laughable occurrence took place at
a session of court not long ago. Two
lawyers were opposing each other in
the oonduct of a suit, one of whom was
decidedly large, physically, and the
other was a little fellow, but very sharp.
During one of the sparring engagements
of the learned counsel, the large man
looked contemptuously upon the small
one, and with majestic voioe said:
"Why, I could swallow you without
greasing you and not half try." Ooiok
I as thought his antagonist replied :
" Well, if you should, you would have
| more brains in your stomach than you
! ever had iu your head." The nurth in
I the courtroom was somewhat extravaI
gant about this time, and after that the
large man was not so much disposed to
efforts for the taking down of the little
fellow.
\ 2
III'
am
AL.
~~ / Ms /-?f
Ibbbi. Single Copy S Cffltr*
1 ? * mi?
Items of Intones*. *?mii
Miss Susan Denis dfecMn 'BMRton,
Ind., having been injured by a fall on
the stage while she was playing "Leah,"
in Indianapolis.
The Kentucky Legislature has passed
a bill taxing all dogs over three years of
age $2 each. Dogs refusing to give .,
their ages will be dealt with summarily.
Last year the following nations sent
the United States contributions of citi
sens in the order of numerical importance:
Germany, England, Ireland,
Canada, China, France, Russia. ,
California wheat in the straw six feet
in length, corn ten or twelve feet, and
several species of cactus thirty XoBt in
height, will be sent to the Centennial.
Mustard stalks eighteen feet high will
not be exhibited.
" Minnie has been to see me to day,"
said a little five-year-old, "and she behaved
like a little lady." " I hope you
did, too," said her mother. M Yes, indeed.
I did; I turned somersaults for
her on my bed.** , ,
Emerson advises unknown poets to
publish their verses, if they nyist see
their work in print, in the poet's corner
- * * ' rm..
01 tne county newspaper, mo osuuvj
newspaper will hare something to say
about that, Mr. E. < ao **Ji
Two new breeds of sheep have been
introduced into England from the west
ooast of South America. One it a white
wooled sheep, with four bona; the
other a dark wooled species, a owes between
the llama and the alpaca,.
"No, Mrs. Henry; no!" said Join, in
toaeQ of solemn warning. " Look at
Mrs. Belknap. She wanted anew dress,
too; and see where she is noW Stick to
your calico, Mrs. Henry, and avoid tho
insidious voioe of the tempter." m
In India, in 1869, one tigress was reported
to have killed 127 people and
stopped a public road for many weeks.
In another case in the oentr&l provinces
a single tigress oaused the desertion of
thirteen villages, and 260 sqpju^miles
of country were thrown out of jcultivat'on.
Within the last two years, op the
farm of Miles Case, near Robertson,
Ky., two twin girls have been born; a
ewe had six twin lambs; another ewe
gave birth to 4wo pair of twins, and an
old mare capped the by bringing
forth two twin mules, and the farm is
not very productive either. ' '
Some idea might be formed of the extent
to which Sebestdpol seas fired upon
by the allied armies and fleets, when it
is stated that from a tax of a sixpence
per hundred weight, which the Russian
government levied upon the proceeds of
(he sales of old iron, shot, and shell
picked up and sold by the people,*- sum
of nearly $75,000 was reafciedL
Emily Faithful says: We hke unladylike
girls. We dislike to hear a chit of
ten or eleven praised for being " such a
ladylike little girL" We would far
rather hear the complaint, "Mary is so
boisterous; she never comes down the
stairs, bat always down the banisters;
she tears about uke a mad thing hnd is
never so happy as when uke is after
some lark, as she ealls it f"
Why Children Are Pan!shed.
First Mother. "Now that baby is
getting old enough to understand; you
ought to punish her when she is
naughty." , i U
Second Mother. ** In what way ?"
" By slapping her hands or spanking
her." 1
" Strike my darling t It would kill
me to do such a thing. . .?,'J
" But if you don't punish her she will
ride over you rough-shod."
"I think not; at any rate, wait and , - ?see.
Still, I would rather she should
I be a spoiled child than I should do as
you suggest It don't do children any
I good to whip them."
: "Well, at least it is a relief to us
when they are willful and aggravating."
" That's just my idea. It is because
mothers cannot oontrol their anger that
they become incensed against their little
onea and treat them so. Whipping is a
sort of safety valve to their feelings. A
true mother should restrain herself,
even when provoked. An angry woman
cannot act justly, but may often do cruel
things, which she will afterwards keenly
regret."
t t
* Thoughts for Saturday Night,
Men tire themselves in pursuit of
rest.
Economy in youth makes a cushion
for old age.
It is not enongh for a reader to be
unprejudiced. He should remember
that a book is to be studied, as a picture
is hung. Not only must h bod light be
avoided bnt a good one obtained. This,
taste supplies. It pubs a history, a tain
or a poem in a just point of view, And
examinee the execution.
When death strikes down-the innocent
and young, for every fragile form from
which he lets the panting spirit free, a
hundred virtues rise in shapes of mercy,
charity and love, ferwalk the world and
bless it. Of every tear that sorrowing
mortals shed 011 such green graves, some
good is born, some gentle nature comes.
Courage, so far as it is a sign 01 race,
is peculiarly the mark of a gentleman or
lady; bat it becomes vulgar if rude and
insensitive; while timidity is not vulgar
if it be a characteristic of the race or
fineness of make. A fawn is not vulgar
in being timid, nor a crocodile "gentle "
because courageous.
What it Take*.
Taking timothy hay as a standard of
comparison, it requires one hundrei
pounds of it to supply a certain amount
of nourishment. It is estimated by
careful experiment that the tantamount
of nourishment can be^^^^d by
> using the followii^M^^^^^^Bfe^^^
Olover hay,
straw, 836
pounds; potatoes,
280 pounds;
bagas, 282 pounds
pounds peas, f < >rtJH| I
beans, forty-six pounls;
pouid-; barley, fifty-ou* pounds:
fifty six pound* ; oats, fifty-nin* pounds;
buckwheat, eixty-leur pounds ; and oil
of cake, ninety-four pounds.
. M