Port Royal standard and commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, September 28, 1876, Image 1
St i
VOL. IY. NO. 43
Harvest Home.
Into the harvest fields to-day
Singing Iwent?
The fields where once I met the May,
Ail flower and aoent;
And there rich antnmp, warm and sweet,
Went laughing through the windy wheat
In glad content.
Both hands were fall of grass and grain,
Both feet kept time
To some low murmuring refrain,
Some breathing chime,
That blew through golden ears and leaves
The promise of the full ripe sheaves
In quaint old rhyme
" This is the happy harvest time :
Then cut the corn and press the wine ;
Gather the sheaves, and load the wain,
And bring the 4 harvest home' agaiD."
And I was glad as glad could be
To meet her there ;
44 Oh, queen!" I said, " give unto me
My harvest fair?
My splendid lover, strong and true
Whose witching eyes of tender blue
My heart ensnare.
44 The golden corn, the ruby wine,
Is not the best;
A richer ' harvest home' is mine,
A sw eeter quest,
Give uie my lover ! In his kiss
I have a rotAded world of bliss :
Keep all the rest."
?Harper's.
BABY'S GRANDMAMMA.
44 No, sir!" said Dr. Stone, emphatic
ally; 44 no widows. I've an unconquerable
aversion to them, and have followed
' id We 11cr'8 advice to Samivel since my
oiliest boyhood, and rnoet carefully bewared
of em. If ever I marry, the bride
must be a young girl; so young, in fact,
that I can be almost sure?no one can
bo aure sure of anvthiug where a
womau is concerned?that I am her first
ami only? Don't screw up your face in
that outrageous manner, Payne; you
h>ok as though you were going to have a
fit. Laugh and have done with it, and
then let's stop talking nonsense, for J
haven't the slightest idea of marrying,
or falling in love, or anything of tin
sort." ,
"No old bachelor ever has," said
P.iyue. "But I say, Doc, if I wert
you, I'd have a neat little card dangling
from a button hole bouquet, with the ins.'iiution,
* No Widows,' for, 'pon honor,
you're exactly the sort of chap a well-todo,
pretty, susceptible widow would be
spoons on. Handsome, clever, and jus;
turned forty "?
" Stuff!" growled the doctor. " What
a fool yon are, Payne I'' And then,
glancing from the office window, he con
tinued, as his friend, with a mischievous
twinkle in his eyes, was about making
some further reinurks: "And do In
si'eut for a few moments, if such a thing
be possible, for here comes young Phillips'
nursemaid, and in a hurry, too, i
which is something remarkable for that I
usually easy going and eminently gen- 1
tee) young uerso?. Well, my girl," as
she entered the office, " what's the matter
"Ob. doctor," she gasped, "baby's
took very sick, and we're awful scared,
aud his mother's away, and won't be 1
home till night."
" Wouldn't be much good if shewas,"
mnttered the dr?ctor; "a young bit of a 1
thiag, looking like a baby herself." !
One of the kind a man might be al
most sure had never loved another? }
hey. Stone ?" asked Payne.
But Stone vouchsafed him no reply. 1
" Who's with the child now ?" he in- 1
quired of the frightened girl.
" Tho seamstress, sir. We've sent J;
for his grandmamma, but we're a'raid j
she's ;iwav from home too. 'cause Mrs. |1
Phil ips scarcely every goes shoppin' '
without her." 1
"Well, run ahead; I'll be there in a
moment "?strnggling into his ovt rcoat. '
"And, P.iyne, take care of the office. '
I won't be long. There's a new book on
snrgery to amuse yourself with until I
come back. Capital article where the
leaf is turned down?a man blown al- '
most into piec* s?but find it for your- (
self."
"Thauk yon," paid Payne; "but if 1
it's all the same to you, old feliow, I ^
prefer something not quite so amus- 1
mg.
When Dr. Stone arrived at the dwelling
of the Phi'lipsee, the nursemaid informed
him, as she opened the door,
that "the baby had taken a turn for '
the better, dear iamb, and had been
sleepin' peacefully for the last ten minutes."
"I'll take a look at the little fellow,"
said the doctor, springing lightly up the | i
stairs and gently opening the door of <
the nursery. <
The baby lay in its crib fast asleep, 1
an.l by its side, holding one tiny hand, i
sat a very pretty woman, who, at the I 1
first glance, the doctor decided to be about i
twenty?at the next, about tweuty-five. j
ller golden hair was knotted with artistic i
carelessness at the back of her small, j
shapely head, a few pretty tendril-like .
curls escaping to lie like little sunbeams i
on her low broad brow. Her eyes were j
large, soft, bright, dark brown, and j
shaded by Jong silky lashes. Her nose, i
slightly "tip-tilted," as Tennyson has | ]
it, lent an archness to her face, which 1 ,
otherwise, with such eyes and so i erfect :
a mouth ami chin, would Ifave been ! j
*' faultily faultless." Her dress of some j
lusterless gray stuff, with a bright blue j ]
ribbon at the throat and soft We ruffl ?s I
at the wrists, clung close to a beautiful
form; and the hand that held the baby's \ ,
was small, snowy white, and daintily
shaped. All of which did the doctor
take in in three quick glances, after the I,
manner of his kind.
"A seamstress??a princess!" was
the judgmeut he pronounced mentally :
as he drew off his gloves, and, with unusual
urbanity, proceeded to make somo
professional inquiries abont the child.
The seamstress answered in a wonder- (
fully pleasant voice and in a lemarkably
well bred and self possessed manner. !
" Baby seems to be all right now," said 1
she, 4i but i think you had better wait
a little while, doctor, for fear the spasms
might return."
i'bo ooctoi seated hi.useh, not at .-.:l
unwiiiiiigiy, it must be confessed, and j
n
VXDA
while the baby still slumbered entered
into converse with his beautiful companion.
In a few moments ho found
himself turning over the leaves of a
Drowning which he had taken from a i
small table by her side, and then, in another
few moments, giving her, to his
great surprise, his opinion of that j !
writer and his works. (
I sav, to his great surprise, for the
doctor was really a shy, reserved man, J
aud not at all given to talking poetry to
iwnfK? Knf fViia wnmun true cr\
yit-H J MUU nvuirui ?? in> UU
pietty.
As he went od, waxing eloquent, it
suddenly struck him that a needle
woman would not he familiar with these
poems, and lie paused, to have her, to
his greater surprise, take up the subject,
and deliver a criticism far better
and cleverer than his own.
From Browning aud that more resplendent
genius, his wife, to Tennyson,
Dickens, Thackeray, and at last George
Eliot, of whom the seamstress spoke
with a deeper ciimson 0:1 her cheeks
and a brighter light iu her glorious
brown eyes. " Silas Marner," she said,
"is the loveliest "? By this time the
doctor had become so interested in"
watching the play of the pr? ttiiy curved
lips and the bewitching dimples that
came and went with every smile, ho
ceased to hear what the enthusiastic
speaker was saying; aud when she, looking
at him straight iu the face, asked :
"Don't you agree with m?, doctor?"
he w:is obliged to stammer : "1 beg a
thousand pardons, but what was your
last remark?"
"It is I who should beg pardon,"
said the pretty seamstress, with a
charming little grimace. "How thoughtless
I have been ! Of course you have
patients waiting for you. How could I
go on so?" The doctor wished she'd
go on forever. " But pray don't stay
another minute; only tell me what to do
if baby is taken sick again, and if I find
I can't manage him, I'd send for you
immediately. I hope, however, to be c
able to get along without you."
The doctor hoped she wouldn't?internally,
of course-and then ho said: ?j
"I assure you, madam, I havo still an
hour at your service." Ob, wicked Dr. 0
Stone! and old Mrs. Aspen groaning 0
with rheumatism anil oxneofcintr vol! bv a
appointment this blessed moment! " I 8
shall bo only foo happy to stay?I mean, M
I think it necessary I should remain. ?
These childish complaints are, as per- !i
baps you are not aware of, often very 11
dangerous." And again, oh, wicked 8
Dr. Stone 1 for you know you are quite r'
sure nothing serious is tho matter with 11
baby ! Prescribe for yourself, doctor.
It is you who have caugnt a "dangerous
" malady. Iu ppile of your sneers
and scolTs all your life long at the tender ^
passion?in spite of your emphatic dec- v
laration not more than an hour ago?you n
have fallen in love, and sho isn't sweet ^
sixteen, and she is?a seamstress. ^
" A princess," he repeated to himself H
again, and then he said, aloud: " I will, j,
at least, remuin uutil the baby's grand- 4
mamma arrives." p
" Ob, if that is all that detains you, v
go ut once," said the fair one with the u
golden locks, a mischievous smilo ^
dancing over her lovely lips and in hci
big brown eyes. " She is hero. a
" Here?" repeated the doctor, u
" Where ?' a
" Why, didn't nurse tell you ? I'm j
baby's grandmamma, aud dotingly fond a
of my grandson too." Then out burst n
tlie merriest little laugh, that was hushed ^
iu a moment, for tear of wakiug the a
sleeping child, for the doctor's f;.ca was
s comic*1 study. A doz^n diiToreut cx- ^
pressions w< re mingled th< re, as he re- n
membered that the girl wife, Mrs. Phillips,
had once spoken to him of her j]
sweet mamma?a widow, aud a widow 0
for the second time. But who could c
Lave dreamed'of such a widow?such a *]
mamma?such a grandmamma ? Scarcely v
knowing what he did, he bo ved himself 0
From the room, forgetting all about the j,
directions he was to leave, aud hastened ^
iuto the street. ^
" Good heavens, how preposterous!" e
tie exclaimed, as soon as 110 recovuieu ^
his senses ; " and liow beautiful!" ^
And ju^t six months from that day f(
Payne was eliouting at the top of his a
roi<*e in the doctor's oflice : "Ha! ha! ^
ha ! Be a groomsman ? Of course I will, s
old fellorr! But when I think of the
young girl who never loved another, ^
tiausformed into a double widow?ha! c
ha! ha!?and a grandmother in the ^
bargain?ho! ho! ho!"? v
"If you don't shut your month, s
Payne," said the doctor, seriously, u
"you'll have a terrible cold on your ?
Inugs, and 1 won't answer for the conse- jj
cjueuces." p
- J v
Cheese Making on a Small Scale. t!
w
A youDg housekeeper, says a corre- \
spondent, inquires how to make cheese I
3U a small scale. I will send my method tl
3f cheese making, which I have found
to be very good : Cut the rennet in
*raa!l pieces, and fill a jar half full;
throw in two haudfuls of salt and till
up with water. Strain tho night's milk ^
irf a tub and add two spoonfuls of ren- o:
net to each pail of milk, as sufficient to u
f rm a firm curd in half an hour. As si
soon as the curd will break square across h
tho finger it should be cut in pieces an C
inch square. Let it stand until morn- e<
ing, then dip the curd to drain. Scald (>
the tub, strain the morning's milk, and ft
.* i rr
proceed as I efcre. Wiieu tno wney
covers the surface of the curd dip it. <>
When the curds are drained sufficiently a
they should bo scalded by pouriug ou n
hot water to raise the temperature to r'
ninety-eight deg. or one hundred deg., h
stirring constantly. Let the curd re- f'
main in the hot water until thoroughly ! o
done, then drain and hang in a cool f<
place. Proceed with the next day's miik v
in the same way. When the curd is t>
cold chop both together; add one spoon- H
fill of salt to each pail of milk. Pie*G
lightly at fir t, steadily following up the n
pressure until the whole is firmly set a
together. The cheese must be turned tl
every day, kept well buttered, and rub- S
bed often to keep off the flies. If in- t;
clined to spread, a bandage will be tl
needed. c
tl
Mrs. Henry Holt, of Nashua, dropped h
dead in a fit while looking at her lms- A
band's face in the coffin an hour before h
his funeral. They had been united in s
ma riagc nearly half a century, and in ?>
death were not divided. o
ipotv:
HI) A
BEAUFORT, S. C.,
Farmers Ruined by Mice.
The London Daily News says: The
Scotch farmers, with all their shrewdness,
are apparently utterly beaten by
the mouse. So far at least they have
been unable to devise any means of ridding
themselves of the armies of theso
insignificant creatures which have quartered
themselves on the border farms.
About three months ago the attention of
the public in general, and of local agricultural
clubs in particular, was called
to the depredations caused by these tiny
juadrnpeds, which, it was suddenly discovered,
had increased to such an alarm;ng
extent as to have actually destroy? d
i large expanse of pasturage and to
;hreaten to overrun this country. The
and is represented as resembling the
ground iu the neighborhood of targets
or rifle practice, being literally riddled
vith holer'; the whole of the vegetation
s destroyed in certain localities in
Leviotdale, lint merely the blades of
jrass being eaten by the mice, but the
oots being consumed as well. The
jonsequence has beeu that the sheep
lave been robbed of their natural food,
tud the recent lambing seasoii has been
>ne of the most disastrous ever known,
)oth ewes and lambs being deprived of
sustenance and perishing in numbers.
Lhe plague is almost identical with that
chieh has so seriously interfered with
he progress of sheep farming in New
Zealand, only there it is the rabbits that
lave caused the mischief: and unless it
ian be stamped out it threatens the
uin of many sheep breeders and wool
:rowers. One farmer in New Zealand
las actually sacrificed 15,000 acres of I
and by inclosing that area with a solid
QasoDry wall in order to prevent the '
pread of a colony cf rabbits which had
aken possession of a portion of his
arm. Bnt land is too scarce and valua>le
in Scotland to permit of such an
leroic method of cure. The question
or the Scotch farmers is whether they
an reduce tho number of the mice by
ncouragiug the increase of weasels,
awks, owls and other carnivorous birds
nd beasts, or whether they must take
be law into their own hands and drive
ut the enemy. The unfortunate part
f the business is that the little rodeuts
re of no value, unlike rabbits, whoso
kins and flesh are both of a certain
rorth, aud t-iey are too small to attract,
portsmen with their guns. One thing
* certain, that the Scotch farmers will
ot in future eucourago the use of the
un at hawks and weasels, but will
tdher encourage the visits of these
louse catchers.
They Are (Bants.
There is now on exhibition perhaps i
lie most remarkable couple in the
rorld?a man and woman who art)
ian's in stature. They aro Mr. aud
Irs. M. V. Bates, whose home is now '
a Seville, Medina county, Ohio. They
re each seven feet eleven and one-ha.1 1
nohes in height, tho husband weigliin?
78 pounds, while the wife weighs 4l:> 11
louuds. The common sized visitor,
rheu placed Lctween them, feels very ,
:uch as Gulliver must have felt when
e fell among the giants.
Mr., or Capt. Bates, as ho is called, is
finely proportioned man, of ruddy,
ealthy looking complexion, straight
ud military IcokiDg in his regimentals,
lis immense stature is not so notice- 1
ble as that of his wife, who seems almost
awkward somehow on account of
er length, sho being actually taller for I
womau than he is for a man. They 1
re evidently people who, it not so won <
erfully tall, would be considered comlouplace.
i
They are intelligent, however, and <
tie lady especially feels the awkwardness j
f her position as the object of the uriosity
and open mouthed wonder of
lie multitude. In an interesting con- j
arsation with our reporter, she showed J
penly her dislike of the life- she is lead- ,
lg, and her longing to return to her }
ome in Ohio. Thoir home, by the
ray, was one built and furnished
specially for them. The ceilings are
welve and one-half feet high, and no
oorway is less than eight and one-half ]
eet high. Ox course they find the hotel i
ccommodatious unsuitable to them ]
rherever they go, as the doorways are j
o low and the beds so short. i
One of the strangest facts about their <
istory is that they were the children of ]
ommou people. Mrs. Bates' father i
ras only five feet four inches in height, i;
rhile her mother was orly a common '
ized woman. Her brothers and sisters 1
re of no remarkable height. Capt. j
lates' father uas six feqt two inches in i
eight?a tall man, but a dwarf, com- *
ared with his son. Bates is now :;
iveuty-nine years of age. He is a na- j 3
ive of Letcher county, Kentucky. His i;
'ife is a Nova Scotian, twenty-seven 13
ears of age. They were married in 1
jondon, England, while traveling in ]
Liat country on exhibition.
'
Mountain Scenery in California.
Professor Davidson, chief of the
Fnited States coast survey, who is now
ngaged with a corps of engineers in 1
lakiug sigual observations upon the y
iimmit of Mount Diabolo, n high moun- '
n'n on the Pacific coast, near Benicia, 1
!al., gives some interesting items con- \
srniug the latitude and distance of some j
f the most prominent points visible i
om his quarters on the mountain top. j J
'he view trom the summit is a grand j j
i ? 3 ' 1 1 1 J
ne ana emm aces an area, luciuuiug muu |
ad ocean, of no less than 32,000 square
liles. The most distant point within
mgo of observation is Lassen's Peak, }
1 the Sierra Nevada, which is 183 miles 1
om Mount Diabolo, aud has a latitude '<
f 10,650 feet; Suow mountain, 7,000 ?
?et high, 114 miles distant; Downie- 1
ille Buttes, 8,720 teet, 157 miles clis- <
mt; Lolo mountain, near Truckee, I
,280 feet high aud 136 miles distant, *
re also ah visible. Nearly all the 1
lountains of the Sierra Nevada range ]
re to bo seen, and the coast range all j i
lie way up to the northern end of the j <
tate are in view. Of the nearer mounlins
Clay street hill, in San Francisco,
liirty-two miles distant, can be dis- <
erned, and Mount Lyell, the site of ^
lie new Lick observatory, 4,300 feet! I
igh and fifty-two milesaway, is in sight. | {
.t a distance eighty-three miles the <
orizon of tl.o : ea is seen, and on all .?
id-^s the eye rests upon miles ami miles 1
c the mining and agiicult iral country j
i California. {
r Ba
lND (
THURSDAY, SEP!
Lire in Arizona.
An Eastern gentleman engaged in
mining in Arizona Las written to a fiieud
in Ne w York, giving an acconnt of the |
difficulties under which mining operations
are prosecuted in that Territory. :
He says: The amount of progress I i
make seems to me small, but you can I
have no idea of the difficulties which 1
have to be constantly met and over- '
come. The labor is very unreliable, and i
it is hard to get a day's work for a day's ]
pay, and there is a strong feeling of
jealousy between the whites and Mexi- 1
? ^ - - t. - ? U ~ ? .3 Art AVtAHAAmA Til ft i
CliUH TVHIPIJ is liUTU IU UtrilAiUiC> xuu I
weather is hot beyond belief. Never, I i
think, less than ninety degrees in the i
shade, and from that up to 120 degrees, 1
There is no lumber in tho country, and i
all tho building has to be done with i
Cottonwood poles, and hauled five miles <
on jackasses to the mine. In addition, '
I have had to peck water five miles, as 1
we have had no rain, and the tanks at f
the mine are exhausted. We have now t
killed three rattlesnakes in the house, y
besides any quantity of scorpions, etc. c
In opening my trunk I was stung in the i
finger by a scorpion. I bound a poul- 1
tice of onions and tobacco on the wound c
and drank three full pints of whisky, i
It make mo very drunk, and I think 3
killed the other poison, although my 1
whole hand and arm was numb for a c
day or two. It is a pretty hard country, ]
and three men have already died of 1
thirst near here. My last letters were c
sent here from the mine (only r
fourteen miles distant) by an old Scotch- 1
man. The letters did not arrive, and c
we searched for him and found him dead 1
ouly four miles from camp. He was I
stripped and his nails were worn from e
his hands by scratching in the sand for t
water. We have sent out twice and t
brought in men who were crazy and r
blind and speechless from thirst. The f
sun is terribly hot, and the rocks so hot t
that they blister the flesh if touched. 1
You can hardly realize what a country c
it is. nor how expensive it is, as well as p
hard work, to accomplish much. Trans- \
portation, more than anything else, is t
the great bugbear. t
r
Fashion Notes. ]
Bonnets will have long strings in the *
fall. I
Hats of every kind are to be worn oft' 0
the forehead. 1
Fancy feathers are to take the place c
of ostrich plumes. f
Velvet bonnets will take tho place of ^
frvlf nnps t.liia fall. | C
Turbans will bo the fashionable round *
hat next season. ^
Greenish tinted cream is tho new j
shade of this popular color.
Colored beads in thick cable cords aro a
shown for fall hat trimmings. f
Russian greens and very dark bronze *
shades are among the new colors.
Uudresscd kid gloves of very dork *
shades are brought out for next season.
Parisian ladies are wearing low, loose
coiffures held in nets of wide silk
braid. r
The new Derby hats have high, slop- e
ing crowns, with brims pressed liat on n
tho sides. t.
The new imported suits and garments
of all kinds are profusely ornamented
with buttons. ^
Navy bluo, almost black, is seen in j .
the new fall goods for polonaises. It is j .
to bo piped with cardinal red and worn
over cardinal red silk petticoats.
The new French flowers are made of i j
matt rials producing startling effects, j v
such as silk petaled roses, wheat of 11
?reen velvet, aucl" shaded leaves of vel- |c
/el, satin and chenille. s
White dresses of antique damask | fi
linen are very much worn at tho sum- t!
oier resorts. They are profusely trim- a
aied with Hambug embroideries aud c
ribbon bows and sashes. tJ
t<
Anxious for Work. ! &
a
" Do you know where I could get a j S1
harvest hand ?" " Yes; do you see that I ij
man across the road holding the awning ^
post in front of that saloon ? Well, go j
for him, he wants work." They met !
lud commenced negotiation. "What,
lo you pay for harvest hands?" "I ^
pay from 81-50 to $2.50. It depends all ^
m the man." " WTell, sir, I guess I am a]
your man; I waut work, b:it whether I ^
work or not depends all on the wages." j ^
1' I live nine miles from here, and if you
>o out with mo in the morning and i
work one day, then we'll fix the wages '
satisfactorily." "Is there a cover to
your wagon?" " No; sir, no cover, but ' ^
i nice spring seat." "No cover!" | t;
polled the laborer, "do you think I'd j11
ride nine miles in an open wagon to get ' A
svork in the harvest field !" Why, you J a
must be siek! Stranger, ' pull down j P
pour vest.' " I ^
How Turks Eat. ! ^
! *1
The Turkish restaurants at dinner j f<
ime are a wonderful sight. The guests j
jquat round a mat, the host brings in a b
tvhole sheep and tears it open with his | j,
[lauds, whereupon the guests seizfc upon j']]
the rice, with which the interior of the I ti
inimal is stuffed, and after kneading it j b
in their fingers into balls till it is quite q;
urown, they put it into their mouths, a;
ike flat cakes of horrible, indigestible t(
maize bread supply the places of nap- ! a]
iius, and are then eaten. i ?
i o.
Tickled.?Iowa has been tickled b
iiowrlv to /Lath to think that an ear of i ci
[owa com has been carried back to Bra p
sil by Dom Pedro, because the emperor, j tl
ippearing to bo amazed and delighted j aj
svith the remarkable size and appearauco si
Df Iowa corn, begged an ear at one of r<
;ke stations on the Burlington and Mis- w
>ouri Biver railway while passing w
-hrough the State. It has since trans- d
aired that the imperial party were learn- w
ug the American game of poker, and tl
inly wanted that eorn for checks. st
; w
Defacing Counterfeit Notes.?The 01
jirculation of counterfeit bank notes ?'
vill bo materially lessened in the Uni- tl
;ed States by the strict enforcement of
he act of Congress requiring bank
>fficials to deface such notes 011 pre ft
eutation and thereby render them eu- S
;irely worthless. The secretary of the ?1<
:r< a-urv has issued a timely circular on !
die subject. ( c<
0
5T.A.L
^OMJV
.'EMBEJLl 28, 1876.
Salt Mountains of Nevada.
A correspondent of the San Francisco
AHa, writing from Prescott, Arizona,
gives the following description of the
wonderful salt formations on the Virgiu
river, in Nevada : Stone's ferry is about
six hundred and fifty miles above the
mouth of the Colorado, having an altitude^
of 1,250 feet above tide water.
Ihe river at this point is 650 feet wide,
md has generally a swilt running current
of from four to six miles per hour.
Virgin river, which rises in the mountains
of Nevada over one hundred miles
to the north, enters the Colorado a short
mile above Stone's ferry. At low water
t is a swift running stream of over fifty
:eet in width, with an average depth of
ibout one foot. The salt formations i
ire, in fact, mountains of salt, and ex
:eud for thirty miles or more up the
Virgin river, and the Muddy, one of its
jranches. It was discovered some !
some twelve or fifteen years siuce by
ihe Mormons, who built up several i
rery flourishing colonies iu tho valleys <
>f Virgin and Muddy, put out fine 1
>rchards and vineyards, and brought i
arge tracts of land under successful I
uiltivation. For reasons unknown to i
ne they were recalled to Utah some 1
rears since by their Prophet Brigham, i
eaving their fields and improvements, >r
selling them for what they could get. 1
During their stay they worked the salt i
uiues to some extent, and supplied the i
ountry for long distances with what 1
vas needed. Since that time the mines i
lave been worked at intervals by differ- nt
parties. The different openings I
nade are in the face of the mountain 1
fluffs which run down from the north i
md south ranges of mountains both on I
he east ind west side of the river. The i
irst one visited by me was about six
niles up the Virgin river from Stone's <
erry, and about one-half of a mile to i
he east. The second one is seven miles 1
ip the river, and one-fourth of a mile I
i. mi t t il: j
uau. xuu uunaco 01 una una iu'j uiuer
alt bluffs aiul mouutains is covered
vith a dark, orange colored clay and
iarth, in which are strewn large quantiies
of impure mica. This clay and
arth is some two feet deep, and underleath
this is from two to four feet of
mpure sedimentary gran-te, and then,
it a depth of from three to six feet from
he surface, the salt is found in a solid
tnd compact form. It is mined by
dasting in the same manner as granite
>r other stone would be. Five miles
urther up, or twelve miles from the
orry, is another opening of similar
iharacter to the two first. The salt
rom the three mines mentioned is of a
lark gray color, somewhat resembling
pauite, and is ninety-two per cent.
>ure. Small veins, from two to six
nchc3 wide, of pure crystallized salt,
>ro met with every few feet in these
ormations. At a point twenty-one miles
rom the ferry is a larger mountain than
he others, and this is all pure, clear and
ransparent. I laid a block of it one
oot thick over a copy of the Alta, and
ould as easily read through it as
iirongh a small body of the purest
;lass. In extent and purity, these
mountains of salt equal, if they do exel,
any in the world. After an examination
of the salt mouutains I returned
o the ferry, where I was hospitably enertained
by Mr. Emery. On the following
day Mr. Emery took me to a
tatural salt well, which is a short mile
rom the ferry, in a northwest direction.
L stretch of mesa land, about one huu[red
feet itbove the Colorado river, runs
ff to the north and west for some miles,
nd on this mesa, about half way be
ween the rivor ana the oase 01 ine uiacK t
oleauic mountains to the northwest, is }
bis wonderful salt well. The well is a c
ircular opening in the mesa, about
eventy-five feet in diameter, the surace
of tho water beiug fifty feet below
be surface of the mesa. The banks are
brupt, and almost perpendicular, exept
at one point on the south, where
be rains have washed down the banks
3 a slope sufficient to permit approach
3 the water. The water is so salt that
person bathing in it will float upon its
nrface line cork upon common water,
'he full depth of the water in the well
} unknown, but a line has been sunk
39 feet without touching bottom. The
vidences are that here, in the remote
ast, was a great salt lake, which in the
ipse of time has been filled in by washigs
from the mountains and river until
11 that is left of its former greatness is
lis well of salt water so briefly dejribed.
A Curious Study in Currents.
At the gathering of people on tho ocasiou
of the opening of the Centennial
Exhibition, a striking example aud
lustration was observed of the fact that
crowd lives only by tho aid of the
icendiug current from the bodies of the
ersons composing it. The observer ^
'as sitting on the plat foim in front of i
[emorial hall, and all the space between : s
lis platform and the Main building, a I T\
pace of probably one hundred and fifty 1 i
jpt in width by live hundred feet in i ^
mgth (of a dense crowd), was occupied I s
y about forty thousand persons, stand- ; t
lg as closely as comfort would allow. ; j
'he air was quite warm, about seventy- J i
ve degrees Fahrenheit, and a light j s
reeze was blowing from the west, i
'here were many smokers in the crowd, h
nd it was noticeable that the course of | ]
* *- i ? - f. i i
)Dacco smose, wmcn suoweu wuite ; i
sjaiust ttie brown front of the Main ; t
Ixhibition buildiug, indiea'ed the course 1
f the current at different points. A | f
reath of smoke on the outskirts of the , c
rowd was dispersed irregularly. A a
uff of white smoke anywhere toward 1 f
16 middle of the crowd rose with great | a
pparent rapidity until it was lost to ! a
glit by ascending above the line of ! i
>of of the building ; tho background of i f
hite clouds, with which the blue sky t
as then broken, not allowing it to be . c
istiaguished higher up. The swiftness j 1
it li which tho smoke rose showed that j c
le ascending current in the center of j r
) thickly thronged and so large a space i c
as rapid. In fact, it showed a set of j s
arrents like those at a fire?on the \ c
atskirts tending toward the center, in j v
le center upward. j c
:d
A Change.?In 1867 Russia supplied | s
>rty-four ptr cent, and tho United I
tates fourteen per cent, of England's v
I maud for foreign wheat. In 1873 the t
Hired S* {? ? mi? plied forty-four per j c
and iiur.iia only iweuty-onepercent. j r
IERCI
$2.00 per i
Adventure with a Sword Fish.
Toward the end of last November, an
engineer proposed that a diver of some
renown should make one of a party of
tbree to explore the rocks of the island
of Hyeres. He accepted the engagement.
A boat and the necessary diving
dresses were hired, and in due course
the three divers found themselves exploring
the unknown depths of the
03ean. It was arranged that they should
all keep close together, so as to be able
to communicate with each other, which
could be done by approaching the helmets
so that they touched, when the
sound of the voice vibrated through with
sufficient distinctness to be understood.
They found mussels in great variety and
abundance amoDgst sea flowers and
plants of the most lovely and varied colors,
sprouting out in all directions from
the crevices in the rocks, such as they
had never seen before. They saw numbers
of fish differing strangely in form
and size, some of which approached and
eyed them curiously, and vanished as if
by magic at the slightest sound or movement.
About a quarter of an hour after
their descent, the diver who was slightly
in advance suddenly stopped and motioned
the others to stop. He then
tieared them and said: " A sword fish."
A. sudden shiver ran through them at
the word, as the strength and viciousaess
of these creatures are well known,
in J the one which they saw approaching
eras about two meters in length, with a
sword which measured about one meter.
Aiter a moment's doubt and hesitation,
they drew the daggers with which they
had happily provided themselves, and
iwaited the fish, planting their feet
irmly apart, watchful and terribly anxious.
Flight was impossible.
The creature, too, appeared undejided,
ard for a moment seemed intent
upon making away from them. Then
tie halted, and momentarily looked at
hem with his small dark eyes, whereupon
he turned half round and made a
lart at them. He missed his aim, and
hat was his ruin. The diver, who had
been auxiously watching his movements,
:urned a little on one side as the fish
.mine shooting past, and with a strong
land seized hi >ld of his sword, which
was pointed at him, while with the other
le dealt the creature a heavy blow on
he side of its head, inflicting a wound
if no small dimensions. The blood
shot out in streams, and was at once carded
away by the sea water, A second
UlAn. nitl, Via tnifa fnllnwAil
IUU IU11U U1UIT TTiVU bUU AU4?V 4V4.W .. wv,
.11 quick succession; the diver twisting
md turning in all manner of ways, but
lever losing his hold of the sword, while
;he fish was plunging about in every direction.
Recovering from their dismay,
;he diver's companions all fell upon the
ish, and administered blows on the
lead, back, belly, and wherever possible.
Still the strength of the animal did
lot seem in the least to abate, until a
veil directed blow ripped open his ablomen,
when the body turned on its
back and slowly ascended to the surface
>f the water. All these actions were of
sourse accomplished with extreme rabidity,
or the result would probably
lave been much less satisfactory.
None of the men thus happily freed
rom this terrible danger felt in the
east inclined to encounter a similar
muting adventure, so orders were given
ihrough the speaking tube to raise them
is qaickly as possiole.
After taking off their dresses, they
ooked for the body of the sword fisb,
vkick was eventually fouud, and the
iailors cut it up to divide amongst
hemselvcs, the engineer claiming the
ikin, which h-> has hud stuffed aud
blaced in his study, in commemoration
>f a startling submarine adventure.
An Iceland Cave.
The interior of Icelaud, as is generally
mown, is a great uninhabited grassles.s
lesert, for the population (only about
rO.OOO for an area one-fourth larger than
ireland) is mostly confined to the seabores
and neighboring valleys. In gong
from coast to coast this desert most
>e crossed ; it edges the inhabited land
is the sea does on the other side, and
jives it a wild charm?for us, at least,
vho suffer from over-population. We
vere now on the borders of this region,
;ro8?ing a great valley or plain of old
ava, with a background of snow moun
ains. The lava was rainer lute a very
ent and crevassed glacier, but all black,
lie somber coloring beiDg only relieved
iy the parches of gray and yellow
ichen. Kight in the middle rose the
solated conical hill, Erick's Jokiill, with
lark crags below, and perpetual snow
md ice above. Even on that sunny day,
he sceue conveyed the strongest impreslion
of vast, weird, remote desolation.
iVe rode over the lava till we reached a
p-eat gaping pit, and then dismounting
\e clambered down over rough rocks
nto the cave of Sqytsheier, which they
iay runs for two miles underground.
The floor of the cavern was of transparent
hard ice, covered near the entrance
vith some inches of water. The last
light of daylight, looking back, was
herefore very pretty, as the ice gave a
icrfect bluo reflection of the overreachug
rocks. Now lighting caudles, we
crumbled on over icy slopes. Down
u the clear depths we could see the
trange black shapes of the lava, as
Dante saw the traitors like flies in amber
n the ice of his frozen Inferno. All
his car vera must have been once a
luge bubble in the boiling Java, and these
antostic bowlders flung from some furimsvalcano.
Then came the frost giants
ud made the place their summer palace,
or where the cavern is at its highest
nd the clear ice stands in tall columns,
,nd frett*l arches reaching to the roof,
t is curious and pretty enough for any
airy talc. In the light of our torch,
he whole place flashed back prismatic
:olors with a blaze fhafc made our two
itt-le caudles seem very dim when it was
>ut. At the end of the cave, in a hollow
ock, we found seals and coin, and
arved names left by former travelers,
ome of them dating from early in the ,
entury. We added our names, as we I
rere the first ladies who had been in the j
averns? not that there is any special!
lifficnlty nbout going there, but that, j
peaking broadly, no ladies travel in j
celsud. We were glad to return to the j
/arm daylight, feeling convinced that (
he outlaws who once inhabited these j
aves must soon havo become the moht '
h' umatic of men.
AL.
num. Single Cop; 6 Cents.
Items of Interest.
Why is a dog's tail like the heart of
a tree ? Because it is furthest from the
bark.
Talkers should speak the truth because .
it is good, and not because it is disagreeable.
There is a mill at Hingham, Mass.,
which was built in 1643, and is still in
running order.
A Liverpool lawyer lias been com"
- - * *? i : ?
polled to pay damages ior uaviug givou
bad professional advice.
Why is a mad boll an animal of convivial
disposition ? Because he offers a
horn to every one he meets.
The mother of Lieut. Stuigis, who
was killed in the Custer battle, has become
insane from grief. He was her
only son.
The ontire coffee crop of the world
last year was 900,000.000 pounds, of
which the United States imported over
300,000,000 pounds.
A lady says it is no worse to encircle ,
a lady's waist with your arm in a ballroom
than to kiss your friend's sister on
the back stairs. No worse ! "Why, it is
not half so good.
Why don't your father take a newspaper?"
said u gentleman to a little
urchin whtm 1 c caught in the act of
pilfering one from his doorstep. " 'Cause
he sends me to take it."
A Boston servant girl utilized the
telegraph wire that passed over the flat
roof of the house for a clothes line, and
every Monday the b >ys had a deeply
scientific argument as to what ailed the
chemicals.
It was not many years ago when all
the skates used in the United States
came from abroad, chiefly from Germany.
Now, a Massachusetts company
is filling orders for nickle plated skates
to be sent to Germany.
The letter carriers of New York recently
presented to Postmaster James a
petition 3,000 feet long, containing the
signatures of 50,000 persons, aud protesting
against the reduction of the
salaries of the carriers.
A Yankee counsel, who was defending
? man on t.rioi fnr wife murder, soaght
a um? vu
for some euphonious and innocent
phrase with which to describe his client's
crime, and finally said: "He
winnowed her into paradise with a fence
rail."
A few days since the poor Empress
Charlotte escaped from the Chateau de
Lacken, where she is still under care.
After finding her it was difficult to make
her return, and she was induced to do
so at length by the stratagem of flinging
flowers before her, as she is very
fond of flowers.
Adam aDd Eve escaped two serious
annoyances of modern lovers. In the
first place, Eve had no mamma to make
judicious inquiries as to Adam's social
position and prospects of patrimony,
and Adam had no "governor" to see
that he did not throw himself away on a
portionless girl.
John Stuart Mill once said, privately,
that there ought to be a gradation of
electoral power, so that the more learned
a man the greater number of votes he
would have. Louis Blanc replied that
if Mr. Mill could at a public meeting
convince 600 ignorant then how they
ought to vote, ho would thereby cast
600 votes.
The latest arrangement to insure the
honestv of car conductors is a turnstile.
The front platform of the car is closed
entirely ; no jrcrson is allowed to ride
on the buck platform, each being compelled
to enter the car through the turnstile,
which stands in front of the doorway,
and registers the number of those
passing through.
Sentencing a criminal to be hanged a
Missouri judge recently delivered him
self of this considerate reflection : "ii
guilty yon deserve the fate which awaits
you; if innocent it will be a gratification
to you to feel that you wore hanged
without such acrimeon yoar conscience;
in either case you will be delivered from
a world of care."
In the Mediterranean and on the
coasts of Newfoundland the devil fish has
sometimes a body length of six or seven
feet, with tentacles from twenty to forty *
feet long, and two years ago one was
discovered by seme fishermen near
Baffin island, Connemara, the arms of
whi h measured ten feet and the
tentacles thirty feet
" Suppose, Belle," said a poor but
honest youth to a girl, "suppose that a
young man loved you deaily?very
dearly?but was afraid to ask you to
marry him?because he was very timid
?or felt too?poor?or something?
what would you think of such a case?"
"Think ?" answered the girl,immediately.
" Why, if he was poor I should
think that he was doing* just right in
keening still about it." The question
was dropped right there.
Women Journalist?. #
The Xcw Centui-y for Women properly
resents the strictures which have
been passed upou women correspondents
as the pests of journalism. It says;
" It is not sex thas marks the dividing
line between the good and bad journalist,
but high prinuiplo and fine breeding.
To repeat private conversations;
to peep through crevices and listen at
keyholes; to blazon abroad family matters
which do not concern the public; to
retail twaddle and small talk about the
dress and manners of men and women
wlio are piacea oy accuiem, m wurpuous
positions; to indulge in jests and
stories whose point is an indelicate innuendo,
or flippancy that will wound
some one, is impossible to gentlemen,
and equally so to ladies." The original- *'
Jenkins was undoubtedly a man, andAe
has many sons as well as a large /smily
of daughters. In England public affairs
are discussed in the parlor and diningroom
as well as ill the clab-honse i.ud
smoking-room; women know what is
goiDg on in Servia, in Parliament, and
even in the law courts. American
women as a rule know little and care less
uhont public affairs, and naturally when
they write for the newspapers run to
gossip and dress materials. Haj pi!y
there are exceptions. Some of the t?
work in American journalism is d< ? ?
by intelligent, conscientious and alle
women.