The tribune. (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, June 23, 1875, Image 1
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|f THE TRIBUNE.
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VOL. L--NO. 31. BEAUFORT, S, C., JUNE 23, 1875. $2.00 PER ANNUM.
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'
. . A Sketch.
~ - Thsnky is bhie and bright above,
Tho trees have' douuod their soft green
drOBBCB,
And prattling ont its lazy love,
Tho river rakes the sun's careBBee. *
The air with sweat Bpring scenta is rife,
And pleasant with the talk of thrushes,
And glad with a now sense of life
Tho year toward its noon-day rnsheB.
Within a corner of the wood,
Where the sun's might comes something
fainter, Aud
dulled the voices of thifloOd,
There nit a lady and a painter
i ) ( i I 1 .41 %r.?.h
Intend tho scene's delight to trace,
Ue deftly plies his practiced fingers,
With eyes that gcpw toward her face,
And mo3t on her his labor lingers.
And while he works the day glidos by,
Until with pink the hillside fiuBhes,
And with p. half regretful sigh, i
Thus speaking, ho flings down his brushes:
" Tho light that travels down tho stream,
( ?r w.~.'?? "
... J..OIV-1UK mrongii an opening Blender,
Fall* through ttib lcaVcs with fitful gleam?
Thia light my Bkill can catch and render;
" But, sweet, your eyes give out a light
That, though I strive from morn till even,
I never can reflect aright?
I paipt the earth, and not high lleavau."
THE BOORN AFFAIR.
One of the .Host Kxtrnordlnnrr ('nan of
Clrciinihtniitlnl Evidence ou Itccord.
nf?|2 "3
Ou the morning of the 2fith of November,
1819, I read in the Rutland
(Yt.) Herald the following notice :
" Murder ! Printers of newspapers
throughout the United States aro desired
to publish that Stephen Boorn, of Manchester,
in Vermont, is sentenced to bo
executed for the murder of Rusaejl Qolvin,
who lias been absent about seven
years. Any person who. can give information
of said Colviu may save the Hfo
<)i the innocent, lv=- ?i.. ?
. muaiug llliuieuia^o
communication. ' Colvin is about five
teet live inches high, light complexion,
light hair, blue eyes, andi about forty
years old. Manchester, Y?, November
26th, 1819:"
This oommuuication was copied- very
generally by newspapers, and created a
. great deal of interest. BCToffe ' describing
events that followed, let us go back
to the year 1812 and to the little town of
Manchester, Vermont. ; . .
Harney Room, an old man, had two
sons, Stephen and Jesse, and a daughter
Sarah, wife of Russell Colvin, a halfcrazed,
half-witted day laborer. They
were a bad lot, poor, ignorant, and in
doubtful repute for liouesty. Two miserable
hovels served them for shelter,
and a few acres of pine barrens constituted
all their possessions. They raised
a few potatoes *iud garden vegetables,
and elWf out n scanty livelihood by
days' wtai for the neighboring farmer^
: J8Colvin was at hanfe.
In June lie waa missing. At first this
occasioned no remark.. He was always
a tramp, absent from home sometimes
for weeks together. But this time he
did not come back., As weeks grow into
months inquiries began to bo made
otnrt^iv 4-lv^
?mc ucignuors auout tlie missing
man. There are 110 tongues for gossip
Eke those which wag in a village. One
spoke to anotlier. Excitement grow.
Wonder, liko a contagious disease, affeoted
everybodyt t
It was known that tliero had long
existed between the old man aud boys a
grudge against Colvin ; it was in proof
that the last time the missing man was
seen lie was nt work with the Booms
clearing stones from a field, and that a
dispute was going on, and |^ouis Cylvin,
a boy, son of Russel, had stated that his
father had struck his undo Stephen, and
that he, tho boy, becoming frightened,
ran away. Again, a Mr. Baldwin hail
heard Stephen Doorri, in answer to the
inquiry as to wliero Colvin was, say:
"He's gone to U?IV J hope!"
"Is he-dWl, Sto'phen? pursued Mr.
Baldwin.
"I tell you again," replied the man,
'that Colvin has gono where potatoes
wont freeze."
Bennington County. There was no
known proof tba? f^ho* Jlooms were
guilty, ninl yet everybody believed it. A
button and jaekknife were found, which
Mrs. C. believed to have belonged to
* Rnssel; dreams, thrice repeated, were
box had by old women and kitchen girls?
and tun thousand stories were in circulation
. . r* U-aOl
I)ivA' yean after *Oolvin was miseed,
Stephen ftocrn removed to Denmark, N.
Y.f while Jesse remained at home.
After the former had left, some bones
weM accidentally found in the decayed
trunk of a treo near his honse, and
though all surgeons said to the contrary,
it..was universally belipvod that they
were part" 61 a ntimfin skeleton. Of
course, then, .they must be Colvin's
bones. Jesss-'dsas arrested. Stephen
was brought baak from Denmark, and
both were "held fof examination.
Although ^all theteptimony when sifted
was fouila to bb IrorEhless, yet the two
brothers were. remanded Dock to jail,
and Jesse was wprk,ed upon to make him
turti - State'ff^^onte.^5 VTh?* jailer
torinented liim with suggestions, which
bis wife followed up with wothanly
adroitness. Neighbors helped. Beset
witli'direotions?rtohl that there wi.i n<
doubt 'iA"kh^ one's mind but that
Bteplien e mmitted the murder?urged
to make a cle m brt-tet of it and thus
i save both lus dy and . soul, what wonder
that the in-Ji confessed, or was alleged
to hava confeeeed, that Stephen
Boom did murder Bnesel Colvint
M '
A i -
Oil September 3, 1819, the grand jurj
found a bill of indictment againsi
Stephen and JesSe Booru for the murder
of Unwell Oolviu. William Farns
worth testified that Stephen confessed
that he did it, and that J esse helped him
that they hid the body in the bushes,
then buried it, then dug it up and burned
"it, and then Scraped together the few
remains and hid them in a stump. Upon
this unsupported evideuoe the jury returned
n verdict of guilty against botli
Erisoners, and they were sentenced tc
o hung on January 28, 1820.
And now the men came to then
onnaco J il ? ?
U^unvo, xurj uosi'lliuu umir liiuuui'lice.
They said that they had confessed af
their Inst hopo. Some compassion began
to bo felt for them. They might,
after all, be innocent. A petition foi
their pardon was presented to the Legis
lature. But it availed only to obtain
commutation of Jesse's sentence to imprisonment
for life?no more. Stephen
was to be hanged.
Lot the reader now turn to auotliei
chapter of this strange history.
In April, 1813, thero lived in Dover,
Monmouth county, N. J., a Mr. Jnmee
Polhamus. During that month a wayfarer,
begging food, stopped at his
door. ' Being handy, good-natured,
quiet and obedient, homeless, and weak
of intellect too, ho was allowed to stay.
He said that his name wos^ Russell Colviu,
and that lie comq from Manchester,
Vt.
Not far from Dover lies the little
town of Shrewsbury, then a quiet ham
let, now invaded by 'the cottages and
villas of Long Branch''pleasure-seekers.
Here lived Taber Chatlwick, brother-inlaw
to Mr. Polhamus, and intimate with
the family. Accidentally reading the
New York Evening Post, he met, not
with the notice of the Rutland Jlcru/d,
but with an account of -the trial of the
Booms. Convinced that the Russell
Colvin, alleged to have been murdered,
was the verv man then livinc -with "Mr
PollmmuH, he wrote to the Evening
J'ost ft letter, which was published Docombe*-?,
J819? I j *
Upon thd'arrival oftliin paper at Manchester
it excited but little attention.
The letter was believed to be a forgery
or ft fraud; v'* Hafl ?pt the boUfc people in
the town long believed the Boorus to be
guilty ? Had not owe, perhaps both ol
tuem, made full confession ? Th,e bouef
of the murdered man, a button of his
cost, his jockknifo?had they not" nl
been found ? Had not an upright judge
mode solemn charge that the evidenc<
was conclusive, aiid an intelligent jury
found them guilty, and the Legislature
sanctioned the findings ? There was nc
doubt of their guilt?none whatever
and therefore no benefit of a doubt luui
been given by jury, chief justice or eourl
of appeal.
Mr. Chadwick'a letter was, nevertheless,
taken to Steplien's cell and rone
aloud. The news was so overwhelming
tlxat nature could scarcely survive the
shock. The poor fellow dropped in o
fainting fit to the floor, and had to be re
covered by clashes of cold water.
Intelligence came next day from a Mr.
Whelploy, formerly a resident of Man
cheater, that ho himself had been to Neu
Jersey and seen Russell Colviu. The
tnomUuiM r\f 4Vk/X ?- -A
w* tuv JUIJ UiUUll I1UU I'UIIVICIed
the Boorus, however, hesitated to ac
cept anj thing short of the man's pres
ence, and Judgo Chase, who had sentenced
them, pointed to Stephen Boom't
confession.
"The third day came another letter.
" I have Itussell Colvin with me," wrote
Mr. Whelpley. "I personally know
Russell Colvin," swore John Rempton
"he now stands before me." "It if
the same Russell Colvin who maxrieii
Ann Boom, of MancheAter, Vt.," made
affidavit Airs. Jones, of Brooklyn. Bui
it would not answer. Pride of opinior
is stubborn. Doubt of opinion diet
hard.
However, Colvin, or Colvin's double,
was on his way. As he passed tlirougl:
PonchltPunRifl t.l:n nfcroofo urom
o X- I ?iuun8ct
to see bim. The news everywhere preceded
hfm. His story was printed in
every newspaper, and told at every fireside.
At Hudson cannon wero tired ; in
Albany be was shown to the crowd from
a platform; and all along the road tc
Troy bands of music wpre playing anil
banners were flaunting, and cheers were
given as Colvin passed by. Some men
become famous from having been murdered.
Russell Oolvin was famous because
he was alive. *
Toward evening of Friday, Decembei
22, 1319, a double aloigh was driven furiously
down the main street of Man
Chester to the tavern door. It contained
Whelpley, Komptou, Chad wick, and the
bewildered Russell Colvin. Immediately
a crowd of men, women and children
gathered around, and as the sleigh un
loaded its oocnpants and tliey took theii
places on the piazza, exhibiting tho last
man to view, "That's Russell Oolvin,
sure enough ! There's no doubt aboul
itl" come from the lips of scores ol
gazers. He embraced his two children,
asked after the Booms, and started foi
the jail.
The prison doors were unbolted, and
the news was told to Stephen Boorn.
" Colvin has come, Stephen," said the
Rev. Lemuel Hayiies.
" Has he!'* asked the prisoner.
" W tie re Is he $
"Here I am, Stephen," said hif
brothfcr-in-law. 44 What's them on yom
legs ?" -?"
"Shackles I" replied Boorn.
"What fort"
?? P- -iiM-L thoy .inJd I murdered you."
' Von never hurt me in Joqr life," rei
plied Colvin. r
t Xiie ooqiiel is soon told. Stephen
Boom was released frbm prison, as ww
Jesse ilso. RuskhII Colvin returned tc
New Je.vey. But 10 judge who euffured
fcr. incooent man to be couvioted
ol morder by the admission of extra
r judicial confessions?the members of the
k jury who deliberated but one liour be
fore agreeing upon a verdict of guilt
upon evidence that should not hang a
I dog? -the deacon and church members
; who urged confession and preached re,
peutance, and the ninety-seven members
of the Legislature, sitting as a court of
r appeals, who refused rehearing of cvii
deuce?what became of them?
The Last Station. ?.
He had been sick at ono of the hotels
for three or four.weeks, and the boys on
the road hod dropped in daily to see
i how he got along, and to learn if they
. oould render him any kindness. The
( brakeman was a good lollow, and one
and all encouraged him in the hope that
he would pull through. The doctor
i didn't regard the case as dangerous, but
- the other day tho patient began sinking,
i and it was seen that he could not live tho
night out. A dozen of his friends sat in
the room when night came, but his
miud wandered and he did not recognize
them.
i It was near one of the depots, and,
after the great truoks and noisy drays
l.o.l i A I... W?ll 1 it._
I uuv4 V.v,c?0CU AOlUil^ UJj tuu UCim 1U1U 11IU
short, sharp whistles of the yard engines
: sounded painfully loud. The patient
had been very quiet for half an hour,
. when he suddenly unclosed his eyes and
shouted:
* *'K*l?-mn-zoo!" *
i One of the men brushed the hair back
. from the cold forehead, and the brake[
man closed his eyes and was quiet for a
time. Then the wind whirled arouud
. the depot and banged the blinds on the
! window of his room, ard he lifted his
i hand and cried out:
; "Jack-son ! Passengers going north
by the Saginaw road change cars."
i The men understood. The brakeiuan
1 thought he was coming east on the
Michigan Central. The effort seemed to
liavo greatly exhausted him, for he lay
r like one dead for the next live minutes,
. and a watcher felt for his pulse to see if
life had not gone out. A tug goiug
. down the river sounded her whistle loud
aud long, and the dying brnkemnn
opened his eyes and called out:
! "Ann Arbor!"
> .He had been over the road a thousand
f times, but had made his last trip,
i Death was drawing a spectral tram ever
i the old track, and he was brakoman,
p engineer and conductor.
? One of the yard engines uttered n
} shrill wliistlo of warning, as if the glare
r of the headlight had shown to the engi5
neer some stranger in peril, aud the
, brakeruan called out:
; " l'p-slauty?ehrtfigo cars liero for the
1 Eel River road !"
t "He's coming in fast," whispered
one of the men.
" And the end of his ' run * will be the
[ end of his life 1" said a second,
r The dampn ss of death began to colw
lect on the patient's forehead, and there
L was that ghastly look on the face which
. death always brings. The slamming of
a door down the hall startled him again,
and he moved his head and faintly called:
" Grank Trunk junction?passengers
r going east by the Grand Trunk change
? cars!"
He was so quiet after that that all tho
. men gathered around the bed, believing
. that lie was dead. His eyes closed, and
. the brakeman lifted his hand, moved lvis
, head and whispered:
" I)o'7?
Not " Detroit," but death ! He died
j with the half-uttered whisper on his
r lips. And the headlight on death's en
gino shone full in his face and covered
j it with such pallor as naught but death
[ can bring.?Free J*reus.
5
t The Fashionable Child.
^ There is unquestionably in infancy an
" interference with the natural instincts
which is far too great for healthful
' growth. This, of course, from the con|
(lition of the subjects of it, who are
hardly moro than vegetative beings, is
chiefly physical. Consider for a mo1
ment how artificial a thing a modern
baby becomes under the hands of a fasli1
ionable mother 1 Look at its manifold
1 wrappings of finery, with involutions of
f lace and fine linen more complicated than
those of a mummy ! See how carefullv
* it is handled and deposited lest a speck
[ should soil or a touch derange the drossed-np
manikin! Notice how often it is
introduced to company, not seldom even
awakened out of sleep to be shown by
mamma, eager for a compliment, to flattering
visitors with the ever ready
[ "What a fine baby!" on their lips.
What more unnaturul usage could an
[ infant be subjected to than being thus
oppressed with finery, deprived of its
1 liberty, disturbed of its repose, tormentPfl
hv flfranoPA lunula on/1 infonfn/1
. ? ~j ; ? .
hips, in the closeness of a kiss by re'
pouted inspirations of tainted breath ? It
' is a cruelty to an infant to clothe it in
I any way by whioh its limbs are checked
1 in the freest movement, to which it is
' impelled by natural instinct. It should
havo the fullest lilierty to turn and roll,
, creep or toddle, as it may, without fear
of disorder from exercise or dirt from
floor. No superfluous swatliings of
' flurry should bo allowed to interferowith
any of its vagaries of motion. A baby
should be left very much to itself and
nature. The less clothing it wears, and
| the less this shackles its body and limbs,
the better. We need hardly iusist upon
its being allowed to get all the sleep it
will take, for a great deal of this, it is
, well known, is essential to its health. It
is equally obvious that its natural instinct
seeks for pure air, and not the
atmosphere corrupted by human' breath\
> A Mcruncher cat established herself
as a her ne by rescuing her kittens
I from s*> - ling stable, and having her
1 hair ac . y all singed off in ths exploit*
THE MONEY-VALUE OF A MAN.
Whnt It In, nn Social Hclcncc Ulnkra I lie ^
l'lKurcn?An Intercut ln? question.
A curious economical question, often
discussed, lias arisen incidentally in the t
recent American Social Science Con- <
gress, ns to the money-value of each in- 1
dividual to society. Mr. Wells states, t
as the English experience, that the cost ?
of bringing up a child in a public iusti- c
tuflon, allowing nothing for education i
or amusement, will amount, without in- 1
terest, when he is fifteen years old, to i
$800; and at eighteen, allowing for in- t
terest and all expenditures, he repre- t
sents a capital value to the community c
of *1,500. j
This is the value of a person brought ?
up in a public institution in England, a
Iu this country it must be considerably '
greater. But what is the value of a productive
laborer ? Dr. Engel estimates t
the cost of supporting a laborer iu Ger- >
many at forty thalers a year for the first
five years of his life, at fifty thalers for I
the next five years, and at sixty from the 1
| eleventh to the sixteenth year, or say f
seven hundred and fifty thalers for the 1
whole. It would be reasonable to esti- c
mate the expense of bringing np an c
American farmer or laborer for the first t
fifteen years of his life at one hundred
th;tiers per year, or a total of 1,500 f
th.tiers?say about $1,100 currency. An- ?
other statistician of eminence estimates 3
the average money value of the foreign o
laborer as $800. t
Sho statisticians, however, the New v
York 7'irnza says, muko one frequent
insdoke iu estimating the pecuniary value a
ot'?o human being. Value does not de- ?
peud alone on the cost of production,
bn? also on supply and demand. The r
cost of producing the best breeds of r
horses might bo no greater than that of t
raising poor breeds, and yet the demand *
might be so great that the value would w
bo proportionately increased. There t
might also be, for instance, an ovorpro- c
duction of sewing machines, or they r
might be of poor quality, so that thede- ?
mand would fall, and their money-value
to the community sink below the cost of
production. The same is true of aii articles
which belong to the capital of a
country. Tlris principle applies also to
hnnlan beings. An idiot may cost as
much to bring up as an intelligent boy,
but his money-value to the community
on the demand for his labor.
Bo with the wages or sahu v of men in
' the professions; these are measured not
alone by tho cost of their education, but
by the demand for their services in tho
market. The capital value, then, of a
human being is always determined by
two elements: cost of production and
demand. But the servicos of a male
laborer are nearly always in demand iu
the United States, so that his value, like
inat of gokl and silver, will depend j
mainly upon the cost of production, I
which is undoubtedly near the estimate 2
made above of one thousand or one
thousand one hundred dollars.
If this be compared with the money- t
value of a male slave in former years in
this country, it will be found to bo little '
less, inasmuch as'the pecuniary value of f
slaves was somewhat speculative, based f
on the expectation of profit from the
best cotton lands. i
Thero is still another way of estimating
the money-value of each laborer to the '
country. This must be the profits from
his labor after deducting the cost of his 1
support. Now the average cost of each <
laborer to his employor, including wages
and board, is about four hundred dollars '
per annum. The ordinary profit on f
common farm labor is probably from t
fifteen to eighteen and three-fourths
per cent.; this would leave the gain to '
tho country from sixty to seventy-five rdollars
anuually from each laborer.
This, at six or seven per cent, interest, 1
would represent just about the value es- t
timated aboVft for a male laborer, or
about one thousand or eleven hundred f
dollars. ' F
Dr. Hill, iu his paper on immigration, 1
has touched upon the interesting con- >
elusion we may derive from tliis estimate t
as to the money-value of immigration. ^
ml i? <1 ? ' * - - ?? x
inns, estimating tnat one-nan 01 tno i
immigration of last year was of produc- *tive
laborers, it would make an addition s
to our capital in 1874 of one kuudred I
millions, a sum which appears in no 1
statistical records of importations. Mr. t
Wells in his paper makes a still more f
impressive use of this valuation. If a t
poor boy has reached the ago of fourteen, (
neglected 1?y the community, ho repre- f
sents a capital of nearly one thousand >
dollars wliich is unproductive; and if ho
lives out the term of life for which he
has a probable cliatco in the lifo insurance
tables?forty years?as a pauper or r
criminal, he ontails a loss upon his Stato j
of tive thousand dollars. On the other ,
hand, every youthful criminal mude iuto .
an honest boy by our preventive iustitu- t
tions of charity and reform is a clear ,
saving of Ave thousand dollars to the | '
community. It may be somewhat nn- I j
pleasant to regard the human being ] (
simply as a money capital, but the as- j j
pect has its peculiar and impressive lcs- >
sons.
Extract from a Young Lady's Diary.
?What are these thoughts that surgo
across my heart and wildly palpitate in
every crevice of my braui ? What is
this strange longing after the unattainable
? Am I what I really seem, or is it,
as it were, not so much tho infinitesimal
as tho unspeakable f Let mo bo calm,
t have reread Don Juan to day. Ah,
alas! will there ever be another llyron i
May there not lie somewhere coming
toward me from tho mist of the mountain
top or tho flowers of the valley* some
such crowned youth who? Here papa
called out: "If you don't oome down to
dinner it will be postponed till to-morrow."
Coarse idea ! I waa obliged to
go for many reasons, 1
THE DEATH OF BISHOP POLK.
11
In Account that DIDeri from thnt offlrn. v..
Hkeratii
DC
A? officer on Gen. Howard's staff at bi
he time gives ns the fallowing account
)f the death of Bishop Polk ? On June
4th, General Howard and staff left Qj
heir headquarters for tjie front, where r-(
Stanley's division of Howard's (Fourth)
torps had broken camp and were await- ,
ng the order to attack Pino mountain. w'
t was just after sunrise. A mile or two P1
n rear of tlio advance Howard met "c
Sherman, bnt the conversation between 01
hem I did not hear, as the two generals
jonversed aside. Howard and staff th
oined Stanley and his staff on the road, in
md in full view of Pino mountain, and nc
lh we drew rein and exchanged greetings w<
Stanley exclaimed :
" Howard, do you see that group up
here on the crest of the mountain ? I fr<
vonder who they are ?" in
Wo all brought our field glasses to f<>
>ear upou the point indicated and could re
)laiuly see three persons standing in
ront of a lino of breastworks and a ^
arger group in the background. We wj
otild not tell whether they wero officers ^
>r privates, but as it was evident that nn
hey were watching our movements
Stanley suggested that a few shots be ^
lred to drive them tinder cover. How- ^
.rd, who had suggestod that perhaps
Pnllr tuna 111 flio nnrtv ma^A nn
>bj actions, when Stanley turned to Cap- J*8
niu Simonson, his chief of artillery,
ritli the remark : "J?
" Simonson, can't you unlimlier, put 9?
shot into the group and givo the bishop
. morning salutation ?" F?
"I'll try!" was Simonson's laconic
eply. And away he galloped to the
ear. A few minutes later a section of ro
he Fifth Indinua battery (Simonson's) th
>ras unlimbered within twenty feet of wi
is. The lieutenant sighted the gun and wl
h?. shot exploded over and to the right th'
?f the group. Here my memory fails th
ne, but my impression is that a second fiti
hot was sighted and fired by the lieuenant
with no better effect. Simonson, ed
vhou the gun had l>een reloaded, dis- to
nonnted and said : "Here, lieutenant, wj
et mo try it." H^ took the range and th
ho messenger of death sped on its mis- or
lion. Our glasses were bent upon the to
jronp and wo observed a commotion as
,he shot took effect in the group that ar
mattered to the rear. While Simonson *
seas upon his knees sighting the gun ol
for another discharge, Captain Leonard, ar
rhief of Howard's signal corps, sitting j
>n his horse beside me, read the Con'ederate
signal code that our officers had _
nterpreted at Lookout mountain, and
mught the words: " j.
"QeuoralPolk is killed!" With a jn
ook of amazement Leonard turned to
Toward and Stanley and exclaimed : ?
" Bishop Polk is killed! "
" What?" exclaimed Howard; "have
roil interpreted the signal correctly ?"
"Yes, general; Simonson'B last shot
i illed him. They are signaling it along r<J
;holino."
The young men of the staff who were
:rackiug jokes instantly ceased, aud for
i moment none spoke. Then Howard ?
said : ft
" Well, a Christian has fallen. Such
.. ' ar
s war."
Just then Simonson caught the words,
4 Bishop Polk is killed 1"
He was sighting the gun, and, lifting
lis eyes, tlint glared fearfully, exhumed
:
44 What is that, Leonard ?"
44 Bishop Polk is killed ! Your last of
iliot did it. They are signaling it over n<
lie mountain," I replied. ri
Simouson's head dropped upon the cc
4 vent," \Vhero it rested for a moment, m
rheu, raising his eyes, ho exclaimed : hi
44 Thank God ! Yesterday they killed fo
ny dear brother; I bavo killed a lieu- in
tenant general and am avenged !" ot
Without discharging the piece Simontou
arose, remounted and joined the di
itaflf. Silently ht repaired to his regu- of
ar dut ies, and, the line being formed,
ve advanced slowly against the moun- in
nin, every one of us feeling that we af
vonld have rejoiced liatl some other
lian Louisiana's fighting bishop gone
lown before Siraonson's first and only
hot. The enemy was so demoralized
hat he evacuated the mountain, and ti
rnlf an hour afterward we stood upon it
he spot where Polk fell and saw the oi
ground stained with his blood. A day
>r two after poor Simonson, the only one '*
>t us who rejoioetl at the bishop's death, le
ell, shot oil the Hkirmisli line in Ack- qi
vortli woods.
88
Preservation of Wood by Lime.
M. Lostal, arnilway conductor, ofFer
niny, has commnnicated the results of
lis observations on the effect of lime in
ireserving wood, and his method of apilyiug
it. He piles the planks in a tank,
md puts over all a layer of quicklime JV1
vliich is gradually slaked with water. "
Fimlier for mines requires about a woek
;o become thoroughly impregnated, and
ither wood more or less time, according
;o its thickness. The wood acquires re- fit
narkable cousistenoe and hardness, and ?x
fc is said, will never rot. Wood has hi
aeaii prepared in this manner for several jy
nines, bo that the plan will shortly be fi]
nested on a considerable scale. Beech- w
vood has bean prepared in. this way for h,
inmmars and other tools for several iron p]
vorks, and it is said to become as hard ft]
is oak without losing its elasticity or a
onghness, and to last much longer than ft
vhen unprepared. It has long been 0]
mown that wood set in lime or mortar r(
s preserved from decay, but no system- ft]
itio i>lan for its preservation has until M
io\v been attempted. p
ai
Mrs. Gaskins, of Carter oonnty, N. C., a
treighs six hundred and forty pounds, si
md one of her stockings ean hold a t<
iiushel of shelled corn. n
*
Items of Interest.
A shirt dealer has given up coaxing and
illying the pablio and despairingly anmnces
on a placard: '' Buy or I will
1st."
The Baltimore American says it has
ldom known a season when the ladies
Baltimore appeared on the streets in
olier attire than at present.
Borne of the greatest benefits are those
liich we are slowest to detect, and a
an who moves into a quiet neighborKid
with a family of boys is perhaps
\e of them.
The actor who supported Miss Neilson
is season has the satisfaction, acoordg
to a Western paper, of having
hieved a national reputation -as the
irst Borneo on the American stage.
She was beautiful, but she had large
et, and when she was just recovering
im illness and said, in response to an
quir, that she "could just put one
ot beforethe other," the spiteful friend
sponded: "And that is a great deal."
An adventurous little boy undertook
cross tne pain 01 a nuge eiepnant
lich was walling in a circus profession
rough Detroit the other day, when Use
imal seized him in its trans, held him
ng enough to frighten him well, and
en set him down about three yards
>m the starting point.
Ex-Gov. R. O. Powers of Mississippi
is foreman of the grand , jury of Noxue
county, ?nd found an unusual nnmr
of true bills for larceny. After the
and jury adjourned, the ex-Governor
jnd that one of his brother jurors had
ieved him of bis pocketbook containJ
seventy five dollars.
A Chicago jury being confined in a
om without anything to eat or drink,
e other day, lowered a string from - a
ndow aud - pulled up a bottle of
lisky that somebody bad ready for
em, and one of them got so arank
at he was unfit for duty. The judge
led nine of them five dollars each.
The following appears in k will recordL
in the surrogate s office in Binghamu,
N. Y.: A word of advice to my
fe. I think yon had better sell everying
you do not need for your own use,
i a credit. Take good, reliable notes,
be paid when you want it. Be are1
how you trust blood relations; they
? apt te be blood-suckers.
A dashing Pacific slope scamp has an
ltflt consisting of four spotted horses
id gilded wagon. He drives into a
aoe with a flourish, makes extensive
rang emeu ts for a mythical circus
-usually calling it Van Amburgh's or
arnum s?borrows several hundred
>llars on bogus checks signed by his
1 aginary employer, and rides away.
JaniAfl Viflt fnflinv fVia InVa Tamna
isk, Jr., and formerly known thrqogh
e Hoosac and Connecticut valleys, in
mneetion with his son, as A fiedcfter of
y goods and notions, is gding to Etiipo.
He will also visit the Holy Land*
id will publish letters concerning his
ur in a newspaper ot western Mascunsetts.
Mr. Iisk is sixty-six years
d, and of late years has been somewhat
roken in iniud. He has lived much of
e time at Maple Grove, South Adams,
id it'liios been quite a common incident
r the old man to be at the 'depot inuring
about " my son at New York."
He Never Saw. . t i
Two gentlemen from New York, one
whom had been iu California for
>arly a year, and the Other just arved,
were overheard in the following
nversntion at the Sutter House, Saoraento.
The uew-eomer was lamenting
a condition, and especially two beastiil
daughters, who were just budding
to womanhood?when he asked the
her if he had a family.
" Yes, sir; I liave a wife'ahd six chilren
in New York?and I never saw one
them." **
After tlii? the con pie sat a few momenta
silence, and then the interrogator
fain commenced:
" Were you ever blind, sir ?"
"No, air." r ,
Another lapse of time.
"Did I understand you to say, air,
int yon had a -wife and six children Hvig
in New Tork, and bad never seen
le of them ?"
" Yes, sir?I so stated it."
Another and a long pause of since.
Then the interrogator again inaired:
" How can it be, sir, that yon never
iw one of them?" ,
"Why," was the response, "onq.of
lem was born after I left"
" Oh ! ah I" and a general laugh toti
wed.
After that the first New Yorker was
11 v? i * :_i j it i
tpociniiy uiHuuguituiwu ju> sue mw wuo
iid six children, and never saw one of
lem. , lt
Darning Iron.
A Berlin experimenter has demonrafted
the combustibility of iron m a
iculier manner. He takes a straight
ir magnet of some power, andspriaUee
on filings on one of it* poloe.. These
lings arrange themselves in aooordanoe
ith the lines of magnetio foroe; and
r>wever closely they may appear to be
laoed, of course no two of the metallic
laments are parallel, and consequently,
certain amount of air is inoloeed as in
metallic sponge. The flames of any
rdinary spirit lamp or gas buthOr
eddy ignites the llnely divided iron,
nd it continues to burn brilliantly far
>me time, the combustion being, aparently,
as natural and easy as that of
ay ordinary substance. If the experiicnter
with this operation stands on a
ight elevation and waves the magnet
> and fro while burning, a magnifloenl
kin of fire is said to be prodooedL
l ..