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VQL 'filE CALIIIWELI-WATIAIMAN -
_______________COUM Iq L IINA FRID"AY MARCH 23, 1894, TrERMB:fl,5OPE, ANNM O.5
VOL1X COLCBIA
PROFESSIONAL CARDS.
S. H. CILBERT,
Attorney and Counselor at Law,
Oolimbia, Louisiana.
Will practice in the Oourts of Caldw.I1.
Catahouli, Jackson uni Win, and
the Supreme Court at Mcnroe.
&AL POIiNR58 INTRUIdTED To IM WILLt
SECEfVE PROMPT ATrENTION.
A. B. HUNDLEY,
Attorney at Law.
Columbia, La,
W ill practice in all the courts of the 4th
District and in the State courts. Will
also take cases hefore the Pensinn Buraau
at Washlngton, 1). (c., andt tha U. S. and
State Land otltes. ly 3 1. 1893.
DR. V. H. M ECOM,
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON,
Columbia, La.
Office--Main street, opposite court-house.
Residence-At S. E Thomas'.
Dr.W.L. VANHORN
PHYSICIAN 'AND SURGEON,
OFFICE MAIN STREET NEAIt THE fIVEX,
B3SIDENCE EAST OF COUBT DOUSE OPPOSITI
H B. BLANKS'.
Columbia. LM.
Keeps Constantly on Hand
A Full Line of Drugs and
Patent Medicines
DR. J. A. IilGGS,
BIGGS POINT, LA.
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON.
May be found at my ollice or residence
every day when not professionally engaigei
elsewhere. Office at store.
F2. h UMBLEL
Civil Engineer and Surveyor,
Columbia, La.
ALL WORKGUARANTEED.
Ouachi'ta River Packet Co
For Columbia, Monroe and landings on
Ousachita and Black Rivers, the fine and
fast passenger steamer
OUACHITA.
L. V. COOLEY, Master.
W. B, FOULKE, Clerk,
Will make regulir trips between New Or
leans and above points. Going up passes
Columbia every Friday evening. Going
down passes every Sunday.
For freight or passage apply on board,
Ha regular connection with packets for
Bayou D Arbonne, -.;rtololmew, Tensa4,
Mafon and the Saline anud1Little rivers.
RAILROAD FARE PAID
Wyatts Busines College,
ZEREDIAN, -ML ISIJSIPPI.
And positioussecured for grad
nates through the Employmnent
Agency of the College. Business
men needing reliable help will do
well to address Wyatt's Employ
ment Agency._ __
Judgment.
Fourth District Oourt, Parish of Cald.
well, State of Louisiana.
Mrs. Pattie J. Walker wife, vs. S. D. 8.
Walker husband.
This ease having been regularly called for
trial and trial had after answer filed, and
the law and the evidence being in favor of
the plaintiff and against the defendant, the
plaintiff having established ber'demrnnd in
open oourt: It is therefore ordered, ad
udged and decreed, that the plaintiff, Mrs.
Paths J. Walker wife, do ha'e and recover
of defendant, 8. D. S Walker husband.
t for theOsni oL.'ihree Hundred
with 5 per oeat interest thereon
Ir del nd, satsh. Ja 2d,1894,,
and aieeos o ift. :
gains hretofol.esiiatingbtwee plaintiff I
gad defendant, be and the same is hereby
die wd disolaved asiad. an.end, and that
1iaiatj is erbyauthosized to administer
~er4fas asa feme sole. .
Done, read and signed in open court on
this lthe1th d4y of JanuAry, 1894.
rEO. Wti r,
gudge 4th Distaict Court.
LF r i` DIZ OY, Barber,
Hair* Onttt 3oents; s having
15 ºts··i :*t ..
PiO- Pat -g Spiwiod.
~1;·- ~:.;::1 ur n.ThU ~ dger'
" O14r emOib tiaie~e b
wall" * -W OWttbat for thi
pru jL zrtwd pawsn
ffvaat Oolurnbia
S. i4U:~srr qan - a Deger, N~o. ;
W vi-gog sontJ ''rreta at 7:56
i-.
;Cu b~ oyrirht, I, by John Alexand©. Steuart.i
CHAPTER XI,
SETTLINO ACCOUNTS.
Bere was an unexpected turn of the wheel
of fortune, a new mystery to rack the mind i
or give an added relish to life, just as you i
might chance to look at it. I was not at
all sorry to find my companion gone, nor
In truth greatly surprised, but his depar- I
ture might portend more than it was pleas
ant to speculate on.
I knew my man well enough to under
stand at once that he had not left me upon
any trivial motive nor to do good by stealth.
Too much of a knave to be a fool, on his
own confession a consummate rascal, ig
norant or contemptuous of moral scruples, c
insensible to gratitude, insatiably avaril
clous, bold in planning and ruthless hi ex
ecuting, I felt he must be bent on some
scheme that boded neither me nor the brig i
any good. I recollected with peculiar and
not very agreeable sensations how he bad
pressed me in our bout on the evening be- 1
fore, and how on finding himself fairly I
matched his chagrin had broken through i
his well trained smiles and couitierlike air
of compliment.
To be deprived of his company was a
cause for rejoicing, for his absence relieved
we of a constant source of suspicion and
danger. But better a present evil than a
lurking enemy. With your eye on the foe
you can defend yourself, but when he may
spring upon you like a tiger in the jungle
at any moment from any quarter, back,
front, side or obliqte angle, why, the fear is 1
apt to fret the nervous. And indeed the
legions of black thoughts came trooping 1
back upon me with such disquieting effect
that, un-Christian as it may sound, Iwould
have given much to be able to run Abram
ben Aden through with my sword, and1
there and then make an end of him. But,
as it was, I could only conjecture, and con
jecturing on a matter of life and death is
positively the most unsatisfactory exercise
in which the human mind can engage.
You may be sure I kept a sharp lookout
that day, remaining constantly under my
awning, save when I ran below to douse
my head, which had a feverish tendency, or
swallow a mouthful of food or drink. But
the day passed, and no boat or other object
hove in sight. I saw neither landmark nor
watermark nor even so much as the flash
blinding glitter of the eternal ocean plain.
The darkness came, came at a stride, as
Mr. Coleridge says, for in the tropics there
is no twilight, but a leap from light to
darkness as if the night were lying in wait
and pounced upon-the world as upon long
expected prey. The stars came out, like
points of lambient flame in a fleckless,gray
blue sky, and by and by the moon rose
with a sense of sovereignty, a majesty and
magnificence never equaled on land.
Higher and higher she mounted, her white,
unveiled radiance nearly obliterating the
stars in her path, and she smote with
almost as cruel a stroke as the sun. There
is a promise to the righteous that the sun
shall not smite thenm by day nor the moon
by night. The smiting of the sun dwellers
in a temperate clime may partly under
stand, but the smiting of the moon never.
You must go to the east and experience
her addling, withering blight to com
prehend the fact that a hard Arabian moon
will drive a strong man stark mad in a sin
gle night if he lie unprotected from her
light. Even with me udder my covering
she seemed to be sucking at my vitals.
Weary with watching, and to say the
truth mor than a trifle worried, I fed my
rats and went to bed. I lay long awake in
spite of fatigue and the soothing lullaby of
lapping waters. At length I began todoze,
frequently starting up, however, with a
vivid impression of hearing Abram ben
Aden calling my name. Rising on my el
bow I would harken, panting with excite
ment. But.the great silence being unbro.
ken, saveby the low, sweetly blended voices
of wind and water, I would liedown again
to be honest, with something of the nervous
shivering of a frightened child.
Once I was constrained to get up and
look out, frst on one side, then on the
other. But the deep serenity of naturt
was undisturbed. The moon shone res
splenxently, tand the sea, gently crisped by
the breeze, sparkled like fretted silver or
glowed with phosphorescent fire. The night
wind, soft and warm and odorous, caressed '
my face and head with a wooing murmur
a of mind to esjoy it, and far
aloft the stars palpitated in their asure
setting with a sort of tender compassion.
Al, mystery of mysteries, how came all
those splendors to be above me, and how
earas [of all the millinas on earth to look
up at them from snch an utter desolation?
Did I need the lesson of human feebleness
more than any one else? Was my pride so
stubborn, my disobedience so sgeat, that I
had to be sent out here a second and lone.
lier Ishmael to be humbled and correoted?
If the sln were many, truly the gpnishment
was aora Faint and qulvering& I leaned
against the side for stipport, and at I
rubbed a clammy face there was wrung
from my heart that piteous ery that went
up from Calvary-the cry which vents the
,oonesntrated misery of a lost race, "My
God, my God, why hast tbou forsaken
And immediately, as if by celestial im.
poise, ue mind Rew back to, a heathery
beasside, san ITwas nestling from threat.
* alnR pervlf in arms bhat compassed me
lately about-as one *&hom his mother
somforteth. The woanded animalueekwits
- lair that it may die in peace; the wounded
spirit turns lomn that it may be strength
ened and soilaced, were it only by mere rec
oflhotion. But ftr that divine lasisory,
that swift flight tlikiigb sjpiac nd time, I
mighthi~a bre e that -nSit i dndelep3
from the lulivarks into the flood below. It .1
was an impotent mood, themood of a cow- ii
ard, if you like, but let those who have b-en c
similarly tried say if their 'hearts have o
l never failed them. And let thosewhohave 1
never borne the stress of misfortune be- d
ware what fate has in store for them, and C
remember that "they jest at scars who never d
felt a wound."
I I returned to bed by and by, failing c
asleep at length on a resolution to be up P
next morning with the sun. As it turned
out, I wvas astir in advance of my time.
Just as the first glimmer of dawn flickered b
on the sea I was startled by a noiseof ropes
upon the ship's sides, a scurrying of feet t
on the deck and a tumult of contending -
voices in shrill confusion all round. Quick
Sas thought I tumbled out of bed, threw on
Smy clothes, stuck a brace of revolvers in
Smy belt, grasped my sword and bounded
I up the companionway. At the head there
I was an abrupt and uncomfortable stop- t
- page, for no sooner did my toot touch deck1
r rthan a score of gleaming scimitars were I
Icircling about my throat, preventing the
r slightest chance of defense.
A throng of swarthy, fierce eyed, vocifer
ating villains pressed and brandished their
I weapons so truculently that I could have
i sworn to a chilly sensation of steel in my
I windpipe, though as yet no one had actu
) ally touched me. Divining that the rasctlI
were Arabs, I demanded in the Arab
tongue, and in rather gasping accents, what
this sudden invasion and hostile display
meant. At this a familiar voice called out,
"Enlarge thy turban, friend; great is the
bountifulness of fortune to her favoriteal"
GThere was a sardonic laugh from those
I whose blades were closest about my neck.
Then one who seemed to be the leader,
pushing a little forward, said sternly:
"This ship is ours. If thou art in love with
thy life, surrender; if thou art tired of it,
resist. Speak quickly."
The logic of this laconic speech being
perfectly irresistible, I immediately an
swered: "Since I value my life notwith
standing the difficulty of preserving it, I
surrender. Will my friends lower their
swords, for, to say the truth, they cause me I
an uneasy itching." t
"When thou hast given up thy weapons," t
said the spokesman curtly. t
"They who do me the honor of this visitt
rejoined, remembering Asian manners. '1 i
know their history, and the songs of their
poets, and the valor of their deeds. I anm a
stranger, alone and at your mercy. Myi
arms are my sole possession. I pray you
tlet me keep them."
"Nay, by Fatima's eyelash, arms in thy t
hands areas poison in the adder's tonguel" " I
9 cried Abram ben Aden, coming forward so
I that I now caught sight of him. There was
a diabolical fire in his black eyes, and his
face bore an insolent leer of triumph. The
B look of him put all my fear to flight, and ,
9 in its place kindled a sudden and savage
8 desire to be revenged.
° "That man," I said, pointing in scorn af
2 and anger at him and forgetting the fate ; I
9 that was so imminent; "that man has be- I
trayed me. He has brought you hereto' ;
plunder. Is it not so?"
a Perhaps it was the unexpected audacity
of my mien and question that made them
Sanswer so promptly and frankly, but in
stantlyadozen of them called out,"It is so."
r "I have taken this viper tq my breast," I
S cried, "and he has stung me. It is abase
thing that stings the hand that helps It.,
e By your love of vengeance, I charge you to
' leave him to me. Let it be seen this day I
° how treachery and ingratitude can be re.
fquitted. We two have eaten salt together.
I took him in, giving him of my best, and
now he clamors for my life. It is his if he
°can take it. You will grant the prayer of I
a forsaken stranger that no hand but his
enemy's be raised against him. I trust to!
your honor to see justice between man and I
B man."
All this while the Arabs were swarming
upon deck and pushing and crushing and
1 craning to see me and catch my words.
Their looks encouraged ma e The ship is
yours," I went on, still more boldly. "I
b yield it without a murmur, only let me put
my life against the life of this son of a
y dot do we waate time?" demandedj
t Abram ben Aden salagely. "LIt his in
Aidel throat feeltiie edgp of a believer's
Jp ~,tht..tb~r~at .1 l ,~banrdy l
we s? 'OftWith his head,to th.
r sharks withhis careass, and let tstothe
B spoili"
"Thy tongue is too fast for thy wit,
I Abram ben Aden," said the man whom I
F took to be leqder. "He has yielded the
c abip to us. Hels readyto pnthislifeupon
p thy blade point il thou will grant him4a
· like privilege in return. A fair bargain, by
· the inemory of Sikandar-el-Rumi. Manya
[ time hast thou boasted of thy skill with
the sword; thou lovest revenge as well as
p any man. Here is thy opportunity to
t show thou possessest one and canst take
I the other. What think ye?" addressing
[ his comrades. "Is It not as I say?"
"It is as thou sayest," came quickly in
t chorus from the twoeacore egen men.
* Judging it best to takepromptadvantage
of thisohange of sentimentinmy favor, I
Sstrode forward, and before he oould rmise[
a finger to prevent me osught Abram ben
Aden firmly by the beard.
S"Last nlghtwe ate selt together," I said.'
. "It wasr the vorw of friendsl4p. Today I
* spitz thy ileo tes It isthe vow ofetes
r nal enmity,".antl saiting the action to the.
g wordlI spat fullinhis face. Itisthegreat'
a et affront ybu can. offer hn Arab, or In
·. deed to any man of the Moslem faith.
' "Thou shalt rue ill" he abhduted, stamp
ing with rage, while he wiped his. mae.
i "By the holy prophet, thou shalt rue itt
d 14arlr mpmsan of an infitdl dpg, mye sqowd
will slakaits thirst in thy blood. Twill E
hew thy.; pieces. I will scatter thee to
the winde" that no mian can gather the B
fragments. D
In an 1nslt I was back, with my sword
drawn re dy for the attack.
"Thou hot there the sword I gave thee," hi
I said. "Crown thy baseness and scatter a
me." ir
"Thou art a fooll" he hissed. "Thereare of
better thiug than letting the blood out of it
th fou att___
thy foul Christian Iody. I will take re tJ
venge for ttldeflileent; yea, revengetbat et
will not s5much as leave thy name among b
men, bu ot fnow."
"Hear bdi a coward can speak," I said f d
to the cro. "But give us room. Either
She takes revenge now, or I take mine." to
"Yea, Yre them room!" roseon all sides,. ft
and the qMe. pushed back, making a va- b,
cant spa the middle. On the one side bl
t stood Al' ben Aden, his lean dark face h
Slike a Ik 's, and his fingers nervously N
rr clntchin e handle of his sword. On the n
e other I, motionless, deadly white, I am tl
e sure, b .with a fixed 4leter;dination to
:die or v ernde. I was
calm, b the hazipl was so
r despera gaze 'of all those alien eyes ci
was as hing; as nothing, too, was the
g chance 0 ing killed. Thought and pur- n
p pose and liug were concentrated onpa the U
d man opp te.
I ma movement forward, and Abram
d ben Ad. ried to squeeze back, saying it n
6 was of re consequence to secure the
,t booty t to turn aside to put a toad out i
g of exist . But the circular human wall
k was soll d he could not get away. As
n he strug ignominiously I advanced and
n struck h on the cheek with the fat of h
d my swor
e "If th1 be aught else I can do toaffrout
. thee," I ld, "name it."
g He glathd madly as I stepped back a
! little; th% thinking to rush in and end the
le encounte*at a blow, he sprang upon me
with the adlong ferocity of a tiger. But
n-i
e a
Lt
ss
10 1 -
hi
S .le apr4ug upon me with the headlong
ir I fergtty of a tiger.
1e he had pscalculrated. Swerving slightly
to the side, I caught his blade on mine, and
"the shar, fell ringing of steel announced
to the rotest.of the spectators that two
!an twv eir lives,
.I 11 nier~fer& Ter
Ir was uo otion; the drama of death
a went on wtout a sound save what was
y made by the whistling, clashing swords of
u the combatants, for, the Arabs being un
demonstrative, take the sight of blood and
the issues of life and death without excite
lt ment or horror or pity.
I have no recollection of the particulars
I of the fight. I only know that for my part
is I went at it with a single, simple purpose;
10 that I had no thought of fancy swordsman
d ship, nor indeed of anything else saye not
: to yield while I could draw breath.
My opponent had the first blood. By
Ssome accident or clumsiness on my part
his sword in glancing off mine struck my
e. hboulder, peeling it. But the wound,
' though it b'ed freely, was a flea bite, and it
It had any'effect at all it was to spurme
y on. I phessedhard, forcing my antagonist
a back inch by inch to larboard, the crowd
. giving way ia that direotion.
He fought like a beast of prey, but in
I spite of his fury, or perhaps because of It,
,' I kept pushing him steadily before me till
1, atlast his heel was against the vessel's side.
to Finding himself at the wall, he uttered a
,y I great oath, the first word be had spoken
· I since we engaged, and plied his weapon
ir with such swiftness and force that it was
Id amsrvellescaped beingslain on thespot.
be No doubt it was my reckless calm that
of i savedme. At any rate,by drivingin and
1s i slashing and guarding and thrusting as
to if I had the eyes of Argus and the hands of
ad I Briaretl wasableto maintainmy ground;
ay, wasable to keep his back glued to the
S Bodpowed tfreely on both side.,
, yet the ight of tdid not relax my meeolu
is; tion, if lolution it can be called, which
! was a d decision to have my sword in
ut myop ent'svtala orhisin mine. One
a ofas t austdia . That was the oell ver
dict. efoght not to show our scienee
ed. bat as .ight who are bent on killing
in- eoch o in the shortest poselbleapace of
r's time& b btto look into hlsesto see
dy the fa ~i~rPe~dcrbmdJlar~ia
he leiednomine andread wi~th uaclr
he hml' tI`iaheant for him.
no device known to .tther of
i.ben Aden mask have oursed
I mnt e ny dgxtarity-to whtih we did
he t rs Yet the advantage hung in the
on balance.- Terrlo as the blades rang and
la glauoed~they somehow failed to And their
by pointo*Slther side,
ra The Lsathi was becomjng hal and
th fast, ai there was some risk weamght be
as deprive of the satisfatioon for which both
to f us pilhted by ourvery sear and vio'
ke lnoe is~ying to getit. Asouadach
og thoughbSnus have flashed across Abram
bah Ads mind was qaickly stiade maui'
In faist b1tbs maneuvering. Blowing and
staggedas itin the last stage of exhause
ge tion, bauddmnlyswerred,appeantly with
',I the intAiio o*.llght, at the same time
het making very feeble defense.
early gave him may IIa ,Sor
rIllih In- Ieye anad mytnl~ eot
Sr RI .ways' speedily put~meDon yp
he lgouar&m and restraned my ~ll timend
th Well for ws that they did.
In I zecovered mlyself when
~bram ~be MAen, with a great r and
IP sts that fell like Xfjbtuiln dirgded
e upon U'paushing me back and nearly umn
itti ninglmder my sword. Bat hehadde
!d I#YS4 e ionet just a second too )onig.
Sadhe made Las ruiih i e]i lately on -tie
heels of his retreat, I had been a dead man. u
But he took too much pains to mislead me. jbi
Deception had o'erleaped itself and opened
m he was quickly to make amends for lit
hismlstakeintactics. Hehadbeen a sav- it
age before. His failure turned uim into a
fiend. His sword sang inmyears like a nest P1
of hornets, and he seemed to be striking te
from all points at once. Overborne by of
an onslaught that was the very fury of
the pit, I went steadily back, though ex- Ce
erting all my strength and skilL Abram to
ben Aden had got his second wind, which
was stronger than the first, while I was
done. The end must be at hand. ci
This curdling thought had just been 'r
forced upon me, when in one of our most
furious moments my. antagonist's sword 1a
broke without warning in his hand. My nj
blood leaped afresh at thbe sight, and Imust
have swelled with the idea of vengeance.
Now in very truth I had him, for he could gi
not escape. With a despairing cry upon
the name of Allah, he threw up his hands T
I taut
eleave him in two, but the blow never tell.
Even with all my passions aflame I could h,
not take such advantage of a defenseless
man. 1
"I have broken your sword," I said in a
hoarse rattle; "now I will break your
1neck,"anddropping my weapon j sprang CI
at him. The next instant we were reeling W
in deadly wrestle. He was a grown man, ct
1 strong, sinewy and uncommonly active. I
was but a stripling, soft of bone and mus t
l de; yet my hands were no sooner about tl
him than I knew which of us was master.
We rolled and swayed to and fro, I doing
Smy best to squeeze and shake the wind out %
of him, and he striving like the foul fiead t
to get at my throat, but my hold was firm d
Sit mybreat should be short, andbesides
e was at famniliar exercise, whereas the game a
,mnst have been strange to him, t]
When I f5iged thewindto be pretty weUll
out of him, I drew him close to me witha S
sudden jerk, my elbows hard on his ribs,
my left knee at the point of his right leg;
then carefully maintaining the bearlike
Iembrace while putting forth my whole ti
strength I bent him back, and he turned g
overlike a willow sapling. Then, clutching
his throat and the lower pait of his body
before he could recover, I lifted him high a
in the air and brought himrdown with lU
my might on the edge of the bulwark. go
yelled in fright and pain that his back iis
broken, but it was death ornothing. In o (t
instant he was up again, but finding him
limp and listless in my hands, instead of
bringing him down with a pecond crash I I
cast him from me, and he fell into the ses
with a splash llke log. -
To be continued next week.
He Took Two. 1
id He walked into the book store
Sand stopped before the Bible de
FO partment. He leaned over the
m, Oountet and said to ,i
" terial looking salesman:
S "Is them Buffalo Bill's books
of over thar?"
a "Nope. Religious works."
0 "Don't nun o' them read about
chasin' Injuns an shootin' wild
, varmints?'
e; "Not exactly."
on "Nothin' about a feller that
ot could knock 'em out likeJohn L,
)y ner a feller 'ate slick with er Win
r chester, erbed thenerveto tackle
d, er b'art"
It "Oh, yes. One better than
Sthat."
ad " Who's he?"
I "Samson."
"What'd he dot"
ill "Oh, he had a fight with a lion.
* "Laid 'em out, did 'et"
"Yes, he killed the lion."
on "Jes' bored 'im with er Win
a chester?"
at "No ,e."
ud "Biffed 'im in the head with er
ax, I s'pect?"
Id; "Nope."
he "Jes kyarved 'iU with his old
., bowie?"
"No, he just caught the beast
I by the throat and choked him to
a death."
"You don't say?"
n' "Yes. He was. the strongest
of man that ever lived."
"W nasser'n Jobhn LI"
"An' wusser'n Jimnkielorli1
S"Samson couild kmiock them
ud both out at once."
;he "Whoopee! Aint he tbstti0f
a I'rll take two o' tbi qupodn
books.-Atlanta _ onstitUtion.
ath
Ah Adiscovery of nseuaidinterest
ahas been made by -Mr. Mioganit
n who is directing the excavations
ne- now in progress in the interior
-,ofthel-Pyriam ids. It is nothing
less than the treasury of one of
rw the several Kinrs of the Twelfth
SEgyjptian dynasty, who wbre
aot knownabythe na eof Ustirtese b.
he 1h. -treasure was hiddeain a
Sroval tomb, and conlsts-of nu
as merousgoldoriiaients inrernted
with precioos stones, including a
. crown. TI the aneient King put
de
r115
,by the board for the benefit of
his posterity he was only too
successful. !His heirs have been
rkept waitini nearly 5,000 years,
it is true, d the King would
probably f to recognize his in
ttended bent ciariesinthe tinders
of the treasure. The nineteenth
century is, nevertheless, indebted
to this King Usurtesen, of the
Sthird millennium B. C., for his
careful disposition of his wealth.
The historic value which the
i lapse of time has attachedl to the
r articles discovered is many times
rin excess of their intrinsic value,
i great as this may be.
'The Pos~an-oujf Aqn.
I, - 4e
Although the cotton market
Shas fluctuatedl frequently of late,
prices Ihave generally gravitated
Sback to the neighborhood of 7
cents per pound, a very low figure
Swhen compared with what the
Scotton trade has been accus
. tomed to for years past. Low as
this figure is, however, there is
Sreally no assurance that prices
wt ill not go even lower, although
d the present statistical position
Sdoes not warrant such a decline,
Le and in the opinion of some au
thorities even an improvement
n would be justified.
o. The future of prices is, how
( ever, gptirely in the hands of cot
ie ton producers. Should they re
di solve to increase the acreage de
Ivoted to cotton so that the total
rh area would prove larger than
e last y ar by even a moderate
Snamou*t, it is more than probable
ia that it' would be impossible to
o maintain even present prices,
I unless there should be an unex
* pected revival of American trade.
On the other hand, however,
bhould the rarmers restrict them
selves to last year's acreage, it is
likely that the present price
would be thought to have dis
re counted all unfavorable features,
e- and there would be, at least, a
be steady market, if, indeed, an a4
place.
ks The question of acreage js,
therefore, the most serious prob
lem confronting the cotton in
at dustry at the presentmoment. It
Id is scarcely reasonable to expect
that the farmers will reduce their
acreage from what it was last
at year, but they certainly shbold
L, be advised to avoid even the
n- smallest increase in the area deo.
le voted to cotton. The proper pol.
icy would be to give more atten
an tion than ever oefore to food
crops and to general diversaled
farming, with a view to decrease
the cost of growing the cash crop
rather than to increase its pro.
in. duction.
By pursuing this last-named
policy, the farmers will not only
n- saddle themselves with a smaller
burden of debt, but they will be
actually providing a better mar
er ket for the season's erop, thus
preparing the way for a more
prompt return to prosperous con.
rid ditiobs than is at all possible in
the case of any of the other great
met agricultural industries of tbe
to country.-Picayune.
An Irish Seolemon.
set A opee came up once before
the yreocourt (Ireliand) petty
sessions in which the decisito
handed down by the magistratem
am habitants of a world.9oWPq red
by the presence of Solomon.,TJto
jf dispute was between two broth
on ers and related to the ownership
ot a codple of duocks. Onebroth
er charged thQ other with bay-.
ing stolen both birds, pad a
latter flatly claimed t
** were his own. The magistiites
iD, resolved to leave the question to
us the superiorsagacityofthedocks.
or By their order a .pollesan took
ag the bids in uaIbag toa point on
of the road midway begwpoe the
Fth homes of the contestants .ad
Bre there released them. Itho ducks
*b. separated, one going to the
1 a plaintiff's house, the other to the
mI- defendant's, and, in the vo*ds of
ed the ofilcial report of the oue4
i a "the case was settled acoordiaq
mt ly,"-New York Se,,
