Lincoln County advocate., May 24, 1876, Image 3

About Lincoln County advocate. (Canton, Dakota Territory, [S.D.]) 1876-1877

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

                
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Siiuolit (pimig J^oratf.
fSKINNEB TALLMAN, PUMJSHEPS.
CANTON, DAKOTA TER
THE SirEETXtKART Of THE PERIOD
I whjjapercd in my darling'a cir,
Sfeet, do you love mo yet 3
8hs bhuhed, then came in accent* clear
The eoft reply, you betl"
Oh, I could die for you," I cried,
1
"My charming, winsome elf!"
She lifted up licreyea and cighed
I know how 'tig myself."
My dar—," oh, hneh, for goodness sake,"
She cried, or pa will hear,
'And Buch a fun and row hell make
"v You'd walk off on your ear,'
IXo waited breathless till a creak
Wag heard up overhead,
"There, now,"aaid ahe, 'twill do to apeak,
He's in his little bed."
She nestled closely at my side,
W os on id in an
Said I, I want yon for my bride
Slid she, "That's what ails Banner."
Then let the blessed day be soon,"
I breathed with axious sigh
Bald she, we'll say the fourth of June,
How will that do for high T"
I clasped her to my throbbing breast
My heart o'erflowed with joy.
She sighed, her cheek tc mine close prest,
You area brick, my boy."
I told her she wag gweet and fair
Ag angels in the sky
She said. don't flatter, sir take care!
That all is in your eye."
I said she was the queen of girls,
The fairest girl e'er born
She laughed and shook her sunny curls,
I am, yes, in a horn."
I whispered, bending down my head,
"Yourlips are like a cherry
She took my meaning—latghnd and said,
Well, I'm your huckleberry."
The clock struck twelve while thus wo sat,
Breathing the old, old story
No, no," she said, don't get your hat,
Vfe are all hunkydory."
'Twas thus I wooed and won my Grace
With the charms that to adorn her,
And she says the wedding must take place
In the church around the corner."
LOSING THEM BOTH.
The clearest little rosebud of a girl,
with cheeks where the pink flush came
and went, and blue eyes, with long,
golden-brown lashes, and hair that waved
without the aid of pins or irons. I al
ways thought her name was the most
suitable that oould have been chosen for
her, though the only wonder is that old
Farmer Budd did not name his only
daughter Deborah, or Rebecca, or Sarah
Jane.
Bosanna had fortunately been her fa
ther's grandmother's name, however,
and so came aBose Budd into the world
for Mrs. Budd had made the Anna a
middle name instead of part of the first,
and dropped it.
When I began to like Rose Budd so
much that I seriously thought of pro
posing to her, Hiram Roper liked her
too. He was five years older than I a
plain man of twenty-nine, with faint
scars on his face, and a bald spot on the
middle of his head. A poor man, study
ing medicine late in life, because he had
not been able to study in his youth, only
hoping for his diploma in a year, with
the practice all in the future and I, at
twenty-four, had the Mosswood estate
for my own, and money enough to live
on comfortably. There oould be no
comparison drawil between us I fondly
hoped, that would not be favorable to
me and I coolly, though politely, took
my place before him, and cut him out on
all occasions with Rosebud. I, young
and rich and handsome, and, as I sup
posed, elegantly dressed he, plain,
poor and shabby, looking ten years older
than he really was. What chance had
he against me?
And so he slipped quietly into the
background, and I made love to Rose
bud, and one day kissed her on the
cheek and told her life would not be
worth having to me if I could not win
her and she said nothing, but out
blushed all the roses, and let me Han
her again. After that we walked boldly
arm-in-arm through the village, and
friends teased me, and the other beaux
dropped away, and one day I gavo her a
ring to wear on her left-hand forefinger.
Two weeks from that day I went to
London on business. I intended to
stay a week, but I was so successful that
I remained longer .finally I. went into
business in the city, and began to know
people. I visited at the houses of
Wealthy merchants, and met their wives
and daughters, and by degrees began
to understand that, though my Rosebud
was very fair and sweet, she was not a
hot-house flower. In other words, her
dress waa not like the dress of a fash
ionable belle Ker manners were home
spun, her education poor. She was
very good—excessively good, but not
an elegant lady. Then, too, she sent
me notes in big buff' envelopes, and
awd little "i's" for the personal pro
noun, which should have been honored
by the capital "I."
Ahd Farmer Budd, with his uncouth
coats and wonderful bats and long strag
gling beard and. hair was not
slfect
the
Yiotettehad
spurn&
sort of
father-in-law that I should admire and
.there was Miss Hannover. Perhaps that
was the most powerful one of all the
Workings of my disenchantment for
|M}s# Hannover was beautiful, all milli
g&jmi. upholstery and Papa Hannover
|was. called Prince Hannover by his
friends, and had his dinner table set for
sforty every day, and wore a fortune in
ffiunonds on his bosqm, and made
friends whenever he went by his lavish
#ift4 and, was tfie greatest stock gambler
inLpndbn.
^Papaflennovcr had smiled on me,
andconnaeled me how to invest, and
iMB'-dme# me with lus daily forty
fcleato. and lad arid: "Violette, love,
thiais Mr. Markhant, one of those coun
fcy«antl«neo of. whom we are trying to
wfc?*
Since then howmaiiy tet*a-tetes had
I not had with licr—how many rides? I
was learning to dance with her, and I
had forgotten to write to Rosebud for
two weeks. Then 'came an anxious
little note on Jthin blue paper, beginning
thus:
DEAR HKNUY—i lnko up my pen in hand
muoh trubbled in my mind regarding you know
you would wiito if you waa not aiok—O, Henry,
if yon we sick do Ullygraff and let father
come ap and see you. Henry will not write
any moro until I hear from yon—i am too
trubbled in my mind. We aro all well and in
the hopes that you will enjoy the same bless
ings remain
"Yours truly, ROSE BUDD.
P. 8.—Do let pa come if you are sick, am
so trubbled inf my mind."
I hastened to reply, the awful dreap
of Mr. Hudd's fatherly care hanging
over me, so to speak, by a single hair.
I wrote to Rose, but how I
Bhall
not
copy that cowardly letter here. When
it »as in the box I did try to fish it out
again, but it was too late. It had gone,
and its termination, "Thanks, Miss
Budd, fcac your friendly anxiety concern
ing my health I am sure Mr. Budd does
not share it," was perhaps the worst of
all the lines by which I told her, not in
frank, honest words, but in a manner
that no woman could fail to understand,
that I did not choose to remember that
we were betrothed.
After that no more letters in yellow
envelopes came to trouble me, and I
paid attention to Miss Hannover, and in
vested my money according to Hanno
ver's advice. And days and weeks and
months rolled by, and if a thought of my
little Rosebud, fading because the sun
light of my love was withdrawn from it,
crossed my mind, I drove it away with
a sigh. I could not help it, I said it
was fate. Fate meant me for Miss Han
nover, for Violette, and we had met
that was all. No, not quite all one day
—I remember it was the day after a
splendid bail, md I called on Violette,
whose escort I had been the night before
—one day I made this latter statement
to Violette Hannover, and she, having
heard it, bestowed on me her most aris
tocratic stare, and asked me if I did not
know that she had been engaged to Mr.
Twentyplum for six long months.
"And be married next week, Mr.
Markham," added she. So you see
you must be mistaken about fate."
And you have only been flirting with
me?" I eaid, bitterly. Do you know
that you gave me reason to hope every
thing from you
"I know it is time for me to dress for
a drive," said she. "So you mqpt say
good afternoon and don't look so ridic
ulously tragic, Mr. Markham. I hate
scenes."
And I felt that I deserved it all, as I
went for the last time down tho steps of
the Hanno\er mansion.
In a fortnight Violette was Mrs. Twen
typlum. In a month Mr. Hannover was
a bankrupt—one of those who take a for
eign trip with plenty of money in their
pockets, while others lie crushed beneath
the fragments of their broken branches
at home.
My money went with his. I had come
to London with a moderate competence.
I had increased it by speculation untiji I
was absolutely wealthy. Now I found
myself suddenly almost poor.
There remained to me only the Moss
wood property, which must be turned
into a farm, and I myself must leave my
hope of being one of the city million
aires behind me, and become a plain
farmer—a man of the same social status
as Rosebud's father, without his com
fortable knowledge of money in the bank
to comfort me.
However, with the bursting of the
bubble fortune, the circle which gather
ed about Hannover had been seemingly
scattered to the winds, and people knew
that Miss Violette had jilted me and also
that my money was gone. The city had
lost many of its charms, and I wrote to
the old woman who had kept the house
at Mosswpod for my father until his
death, to make it ready for my return,
Then selling the furniture of my bache
lor rooiqs, and packing my smaller be
longings in a few trunks, I started home
ward.
I must go back to Mosswood and be
come a farmer. I should find Rosebud
fading gradually away, of course, and
yet I knew she would be prettier than
ever. How she had loved me—how un
grateful I had been for that love. Now
I would make amends. I would write
as many repentant letters as wore neces
sary, and she would, of course, forgive
me. No woman ever forgets or ceases
to love any man she ever lias loved, you
know. Yes, after a little maidenly -re
sistance, Rosebud would bloom for me
again. I was as sure of this as the train
bore me onward, as I was that the moon
would rise that night.
There is no adage more true than the
one that declares that misfortunes never
come alone, but always in troops. Then,
of course, one bring the other. In my
case, the anxieties that. had trooped so
thickly about me made me nervous, and
so led to a severe accident.
Raving alighted at a certain station, I
delayed my return to the carriages until
they had started, I remember running
after them, and then—what do I remem
ber then Darkness, dreams, pain, an
awakening in a little room, with white
curtains, and a toilet table, and a vision
charmingly dressed. The same one say
ing, slowly:
".Testes,'yes I think hell do."
And understanding this was my old
friend Hiram Roper, Tasked:
"Howdid Icome here.!" faying to
sit up and failing in the attempt.
Well," said Hiram, wife and I
fare at the station, and I saw you were
a good deal hurt.and we brought you
on. You know this is my house."
"Youra?" said I.
1
"And you arc
married, and in practice, I suppose.?"
*Yes sakl Boper. "Olv yea get
tinften famously. AN* you've bal
..
bad time, but you'll be on tho right
soon. Gome and tell him he will, Rose
bud."
And theie—yes, there was Rose.
After I hod ruminated on the fact a few
minutes, 1 felt that truth .WAS stranger
than fiction.
Are yon better, Mr. Markham!" said
Rosebud, bending toward me.
Here was a poetical story, being worked
out in our proper passions. A wounded
and repentant hero, I had been sent
back to Rosebud, to be nursed and for
given. Had she not forgiven me, she
never would have flown to my aid. All
that I could do just then was to squeesse
her hand.
She took it away rather quickly, but
that was very natural. I had not seen
her for three years. She did not know
of my contrition. But she has not
pined or faded she was, on the con
trary, stouter and rosier than ever.
Just then, Dr. Roper being present, I
said nothing, but afterward, as the even
ing shadows fell, she brought me tea
and toast and then I took her hand,
and said:
"DearRosebud, how good of you."
And she answered:
Oh, dear, no—don't mention it"
You are an angel of forgiveness," I
said. "And I—oh, have always loved
yon, Rosebud. 'Tis true, a siren laid
her spells upon me, but the hallucination
once over-—"
"I shall think you are wandering
again," said she, "if you don't stop
talking. Do take your toast."
"No," said I, "no, not a mouthful,
Rosebud, until you assure me that you
will forget the past, and onoe more give
me the love
Mr. Markham!" cried she.
Call me Henry," said "Rose, if
you had hated me, would you be here so
kindly ministering to my wants?"
Here?" said she. "Where should I
be but in my own house I'm sure I've
nothing to forgive yon, either. Since
you allude to our flirtation o! three years
ago, and since you,will talk of it, I will
tell you, once for all, that I don't think
we ever should have been happy to
gether. And I always liked Hiram the
best, only he was so shy. And, my
goodness, we were married as soon as he
got his diploma."
"Married!" criedL
Why, yes," said Rosebud. How
else should I he here You know this
is Dr. Roper's house? Didn't yon
know I was his wife before Dear old
fellow, he is—the best husband woman
ever had, I'm sure—and, Mr. Markham,
I know now that I never really loved
you."*
I don't know whether that was true or
not, but it did not matter. She did not
love me then, and does not now and I
had lost her.
I live alone at Mosswood now, an old
bachelor, with a limp and the dyspepsia,
and she and a bouquet of little blos
soms flourish over the way at Dr„ Ro
per's.
Some time, perhaps, I may marry.
Miss Flint would have me, and so would
the widow Wiggins but whatever I may
gather to wear over my heart it will not
be a rosebud. I threw that away long
ago, and Roper picked it up, and it
makes his life fragrant
I'OSTOFFICE CIRCUMLOCUTION.
Note the practical working of the
thing: A, in Oakland, Gal., writes to
B, in San Francisco, to attend his grand
mother's funeral, to take place next day.
In the hurry and confusion A neglects
to stfjnp the letter. Twenty days later
receives a circular from the Third
Assistant Postmaster-general at Wash
ington, notifying him that an unstamped
letter is lying in the custody of the dead
letter office, which will be forwarded to
him on receipt of a stamp and the circu
lar sent He writes at once, inclosing
stamp, and thus at the end of forty days
receives the bid to his grandmother's
funeral. It has cost him six cents and
an envelope, and the tronble of writing
a direction. What has it cost the de
partment? A letter has been re-envel
oped and sent eastward over fifty-five
degrees of longitude when it arrived
another letter was written and sent west
ward over the same route a third letter
is written and mailed eastward the same
distance, and the fourth returned west
ward, so that before A's note inviting
to his grandmother's funeral stopped its
wandering, it had involved a circuit of
three-fiftlis of the whole circumference
of the globe, 220 degrees of longitude,
14,000 miles.
LXNCHING OF HORSE-THIEVES.
The Puello (Col.) Chieftain gives the
particulars of the lynching of two horse
thieves near Dodge City, on the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe railroad. The two
men were taken by a mob, to a patch of
woods on Saw-Log creek. They were
blindfolded, their arms pinioned, and
placed in the center of a circle. Then
one ofcthe vigilants" pulled a Testa
ment from one pocket and a bottle of
whisky from the other, and exclaiming,
Here, boys, is peace for the dead and
consolation for the living," proceeded to
read a chapter, while the bottle was
passed from mouth to mouth nntilito ex
tents were exhausted. At the flnnnnain^
of this interesting c«i$mony, the thieves
were stretched up to the limb of a Cot
tonwood tree, face to face, their feet al
most touching the ground. Both were
bnried on the spot in a shallow trenoh,
and then the avengers returned to town,
well satisfied with their day's work. The
names of the unfortunates are Cole and
Callahan. The father of the latter is a
minister at Topeka.
IT'S astonishing what a quick discrimi
nation dogs have in regard to the charas
tefdf callers. A tree agent called atSpil
ki&s' hoose the other day, and five minutes
later the litter's faithful dog caart and
laid afhifl master's feet a tattered rem
nant of the visitor's coat-tail.
fESX,V'SwTtfi.-..
t'&l.
TO SIGHT-SEE KB
Among the Centennial curiosities to
be exhibited at Philadelphia will be the
following rare oolleotion of historioal
relios:
From Maine—Th^oStgiflatpfik* trie*
the picture q(. w^ch was put on the
Revolutionary ah
identical spot
Massachusetts—The
where W«nen fell.
Connecticut—The hole from whioh
Qen. Putnam dragged out the wolf.
New York—A section of the fog which
enabled Washington's. an»y to escape
from Long Island.
New Jersd^—A specimen of the New
Jersey blues. pieoe of the Delaware
whioh Washington orossed.
Pennsylvania—A short streak of the
lightning whioh Franklin caught with
his kite.
Virginia—The identical lamp of ex
perience referred to by Patriok Henry
also one of the bowls of beet" immor
talised by him.
South Carolina—The seven-rail fence
which Marion's horge jumped.
Kentucky—The identical charge of
powder with which Daniel Boone shot
an Indian chief. (This powder having
been shot once, ladies and children
needn't be afraid of its going off.) Also
the identical coon who came down to
Capt Scott.
Ohio—The original tippy canoe.
Michigan—The identical stump., over
which Qen. Ca&brokq his sword.
Illinois—One of the "victims Of 'the
Ohioago massacre.
Tennessee—One of Oen. Jackson's fa
vorite oaths, preserved in a glass case.
Louisiana—The squint made by the
Kentucky rifleman in aiming at Oen.
Packenham, and one bootee of the
beauty he was after.
Arkansas—Hie other half of her origi
nal traveler, if completed in time.
Texas—One of the original cuts made
by Col. Bowie's celebrated knife at the
Alamo.
Rhode Island—Photograph of the
original Little Rhody at the age of
sixteen. —Detroit Post.
STORY OF A DISGUSTED GOLD
11VXTER.
A young man faamedJamfes McCune
reached Quinuy, III., one day last week,
direct from the Black Hills, and gives a
discouraging account of the condition of
the miners in that country. He started
from Central Ohio about the middle of
January, and made the journey to the
Black Hills in an emigrant wagon. He
remained there until about three weeks
ago, when he became completely dis
gusted at the prospect of getting any
gold, and utterly disgusted with the in
conveniences of life which he had to
undergo. He reports that he was only
one of huqdredsof miners who deserted
the Black Hills at the same time, they
flocking itito Crater City from tne inte
rior and returning to their homes as rap
idly as circumstances would permit
The price of flour ^as $60 in gold
sugar, 50 cento a pound, and other arti
cles in proportion. Many miners, him
self among the number, were convinced
that gold had' hot been discovered in
paying quantities in the Hills, or if it
had be6n the danger from the Indians was
too great to tempt any of them to go
where it lies. While there were plenty
of rumors of rich lodes, it was not often
that any one was found who had been
lucky enough to pickup a nugget of any
value. A large number of those who
have rushed to the vicinity lived entirely
upon the game they shoot, which, for
tunately, was plenty.
McCune reports great suffering among
the miners during February and March
on account of the deep snow.
WHAT WAS FOUX1) IS A SCHOOL'
GIRL'S POCKET.
We found one lying on the sidewalk
yesterday, and give an inventory for the
purpose of enabling the proprietor to
obtain the pocket:.: Two white, cotton
handkerchiefs, the hems of which are
bigger than the balance a candy fish of
many colors one short slate pencil,
black, chewed at the end, too hard at
the other one slate pencil, mode oolor,
chewed at both ends, and very short and
slabsided one bit of sky-blue ribbon
two bits in currency one piece of short,
black,' scillopod ribbon one garter,
without buckle, very elastic, but not
long two short pieces of barber-pole
candy, one of peppermint, the other
lemon one pair of small black kid
gloves one parasol tassel a camel's
hair brush one love letter, very tender,
praising the recipient and running down
another girl, hence very valuable one
horse-hair ring, unfinished three hair
pins one perfumery bottle Btopper a
box of breath perfume a ball of floss
and a broken crochet needle a «wi»n
piece of raw cotton full of white powder
the left heel of a No. 5 gaiter one
stocking with a hole in the toe a thimble
and a nut-cracker. Tho pocket is of
yellow nankeen,—Omaha Herald.
SOME PRESIDENTIAL LOME.
We have had fourteen regularly-elect
ed Presidents of the United States, four
of whom bore the Christian name of
James, and only three of the fourteen
double Christian njames. The surname
of eight of the fourteen ends in n, five
of them being the only ones ever re
elected. Five in on, and four in son.
The names of each of the four candidates
for President and Vice-President, in the
election in 1864, end in n. None of the
President!) have borne either a Christian
or surname with the initial letter G, al
though, within my recollection, the
names of some of -the' ntoet prominent
candidates or talked-of candidates, at
different times, began with that letter.
For example, De Witt Clinton, Lingdon
Cheeves, William H. Crawford, Henry
Clay, John C. Galhoun, Lewis Gass,
John M. Clayton, Thomas Gorwin, John
J. Crittenden, Salmon P, Chase—and to
ih«M night, perhaps beaddedtbename
ofChurcbillC. Gambreling, a
New York poli'icUn many years ago.
Among others accustomed to *'0 sharp,"
but destined to"B flat," Caleb Gashing
might be mentioned as somewhat talked
of abont the time of Pieroe's nominal
tion.—Washington Chronicle,
'v- ojtorzircF
ozi.:
V' w*,
It is the solemn thought connected
with middle life, says the late eloquent
F. W. Robertson, that life's last busi
ness is begun in earnest and it is then
midway between the cradle and the grave
that ill begins to marvel that he let
the days of youth go by so half enjoyed.
It is the pensive autumn feeling it is
the sensation of half sadness that we ex
perience when the longest day of the
year is post, and every day that follows
is shorter and the light fainter, and the
feebler shadows tell that nature is has
tening with gigantic footsteps to her
winter grave. So does man look upon
his youth. When the first gray hairs
become visible, when the unwelcome
truth fastens itself upon the mind that a
man is no longer going up hill but down,
and that the sun is always westering, be
looks back on things behind* When we
were children we thought as children.
But now there lies before us manhood,
with its earnest work, and then old age,
and then the grave, and then home.
There is a second youth for man, better
and holier than his first, if he will look
on and not back.
A MURDERING MACHINE.
The history of the Oatling gun is fa
miliar to all, but a stock company is now
being organized in Indianapolis to pro
vide for placing upon the markets of
the world a military machine that is
capable of firing over a thousand shots
per minute, and can sweep afield from
right to left, or vice versa, without hav
ing the position of the carria shifted.
There are six barrels (as with the Oatling
gun), but they revolve and are discharged
by the turning of a crank which propels
the hammer. The cartridges are strung
on a strap, seventy-five on each. When
one is exhausted it can be replaced by
simply slipping a hook. But one man
is needed to operate, the murderous
weapon, and if perchance the enemy
should storm the works, and the opera
tor should see that he oould not destroy
or delay the advancing columns until re
inforced, he could disable the. gun by
simply taking out the lock and putting
it in his pocket as he fled the field.
This would prevent his own gun being
turned upon him—a decided improve^
ment over the common cannons, which
have to be spiked.
A SHOWER Or WORMS.
During the rain-storm evening before
last there were showered down on and
about the premises of Mrs. McDonald,
near the corner of E and Washington
streets, millions of small worms of the
ordinary angle-worm species.' These
worms were from three to four inches in
length and quite slender. They came
down alive and wriggling. The shower
of worms only covered an area of about
fifty yards square, but within this space
they covered everything. There can be
no doubt about these worms coming
down from the heavens, as the balconies
were so thickly strewn with them that
they could be scraped up in handful*.
Buckets, tubs, and pons placed under the
roofs of houses to catch the rain-water,
also caught great numbers of the worms.
The sidewalks in the neighborhood were
covered with them.— Virginia (Ntv.)
Enterprise.
TOE JIABBEN LANDS."
N. C. Meeker, of Greeley, Col., says
that Oen. Hazen was wrong to stigma
tize as "the barren lands "all the re
gion between the 100th meridian and the
Sierra Nevada. Military men don't
know anything about the agricultural
value of the land, says Mr. Meeker
they have their grain and provisions
hauled from the States to the posts at a
cost of twenty cents a pound, wben they
could raise all they needed for two cents
a pound right under their own guns.
Irrigation solves the necessities of the
region, and he points to Colorado to
prove it, estimating that, when the irri
gation laws shall be definitely and
wirely" settled, Colorado can support
2,000,000 people, New Mexico, Arizona,
and Utah each the same, and Montana
3,000,000.
A NEW XVXL.
r'--
The difficult problem of utilizing coal
dirt for fuel seemB to be in a fair way of
solution, if we can credit the Harrisburg
Chronicle. According to that journal
the Superintendent of the Reading rail
road has been experimenting with an
apparatus by means of which a steam
Mast is introduced into the mass of coal
dirt through a perforated iron plate upon
which the fire rests. By this means he
has overcome the chief obstacle to com
bustion, the compactness of the
The experiments thus far have been en
tirely successful, and the Chronicle
prophesies a revolution in the coal and
iron country as the result of transform^
ing 1,000,000 tons of heretofore useless
dirt into fuel worth at the very-least one
dollar per ton.
AN unfortunate boy has been brought
to the notice of the Brooklyn Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Ghil
dren. He has been employed by the
keeper of a peanut stand in Fulton Mar
ket, where every day for six years he
has been kept seated on an old box,
turning the crank of the roasting
chine. His position was such that when
he left the machine oould not «tand
erect
-K m*-
S
ZrL S
THIRTY yean ago, William Fair, liv
ing near Black Lick, Indiana county,
Pa., lost his reason by an excess of ex
citement induced by attendanoe on a
Wdmitive Methodist revival meeting.
He is now over eighty yeiftp of age, and
baa bean exuiontty in
sinoe 1846. 'P&j
ARV«F?.«R
'rrfirlS?
UnfmvornM* Report* fnm Me MMHf Re
gUn-Nmt Mtteh Gold, hnt IHCIII* of In
Mm**.
A special correspondent sent out to
(he Black Hilla bythe.Chioago Tiibtme,
sends to thit journal the following re
port from Guster City:
I have read many articles pipers as
to the oondition of the Black Hills gold
diggings, but not one have 1 found that
told the whole truth. The fact is, that
on Guster Gulch or French Creek, there
are but two claims all told, that pay et
penses, and all but thirteen elaims have
been abandoned, or work on them
stopped. These re sluice-claims and,
of the thirteen, in fact but ten are now
boing "worked. The gulch is about
twelve miles ipt length, and has been
"prospected'' for the whole distance.
A few of the ciaims on tho gulch it
may pay to work, but the pay will be
very moderate. In some of the gulches
further north, it my pay a little better.
At Spring Greek and Castle and Rapid
Greeks, the oondition is about the same.
In these tho water does not dry up quite
so early in the season as at Gifeter-Gulch.
Seventy or eighty miles northward from
this city, at Deadwood, Whitewood
Bear's Gulch, Iron Greek* and Sand
Greek, there are claims that pay from
$10 to $20 per day and, at Deadwood,
claims sell at from $600 to $1,600.
Capital will be required to successfully
work the diggings, and little can be
made by the minor working single
handed. The gold is found in the beds
of extinct rivers, which fill the gulches,
and the bed rock is deep down. There
can be no doubt that there are rich dig
gings here, some of which I have myself
seen but as yet little progress has been
made toward overcoming the obstacles
that prevent their being developed. Not
only is capital, and a good deal of it, re
quired, but the lack of communication
with the rest of the world is such that
here, in Custer, we are hardly secure
against starvation. The supply of pro
visions in the whole town, which now
numbers about 1,000 inhabitants, is not
sufficient for moro than a week and
supply-trains en route hither have been
stuck on the road, or in the ron.l, some
sevety-five miles distant, for some time.
The Indians, too, throughout the whole
region, and on all the roads, are hostile,
and almost daily stampede stock, and
with their rifles pick off emigrants or
prospectors and numbers of parties
have lost their entire outfit on the way,
and endured terrible sufferings in mak
ing their way here on foot
Within the month, no less than fifteen
emigrants have been massacred by the
Indians in this vicinity, and, unless the
Government comes -to our relief, and
that quickly, there is reason to fear the
town will have to be abandoned, as the
savages can cut off our supplies olmost
wholly.
GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BILL OF
FARE.
The Oswego Times says: James
Gocbrane, a postmaster in thia county,
has kindly favored us with a letter writ
ten by Gen. Washington to the Director
of the General Military hospital of the
revolutionary army in 1779. He ha? in
his possession the original letter in the
handwriting of the General, which was
evidently written in one of his most
playful moods. It will be a matter of
interest to those who have not seen it,
also 6n account of its centennial quality.
We copy it:
Dui DOCTOB I have invited Mr. Coch
rane and Mrs. Livingston to dine with me to
morrow, but ought I not to apprise them of
their fan?
As 1 hate deception, I wilL It is needless to
premise that my table is large enough to hold
the ladies. Of this they had ocular proof yes
terday.
To say how it will be covered is more essen
tial, and this shall be the purport of my letter.
Since oar arriral at thi« happy spot we have a
ham (eoteetimes a shoulder) of baoon to grace
the head of the table, a pieoe of roast beef
adorns the foot, uid a small dish of. greens or
beans (almost imperceptible) decorates* the
center. When our cook has a mind to cut a
figure (and this, I presume, he will attempt to
morrow) we have two beefsteak pies, or crabs,
in addition, one each side of the center dish,
radiioiDg the distance between dish and dish
to about six feet. Of late he has the good (nick
to discover that apples will make pies, and «mia
his effort* wo may get one to-morrow, instead
of both beef. If the ladies can put np with
such entertainment, and will submit to partake
.of it on plates once tin but now iron (not be
emne so by twpuijpg), I shall be hapftr to see
ttiera. I ain, dear doctor, your 'most obedient
tierrant, GEOBOB WASBIMOTOH.
LIGHTING LONDON.
The total amount of capital invested
in the eight Lond gas companies is
$50,000,000. In midwinter some of the
largest works have to send as much aa
17,000,000 cubic feet of gas in the cotirae
of a night, the gross quantity consumed
during the year being 14,000,000,000
cubic feet, or about 28,000,000 feet per
day. To produce this, 1,200,000 tons of
coal are required, each ton of Newcastle
coal yielding on an average 10,000 cubic
feet* and two and one-half bushels of
coke to the ewt The cost of the coal
alone amounts to $8,750,000, and the
value of residual products, such as poke,
the breeze, tar aind ammonia liquor Is as
much as $8,500,000 per anncia. llw
gas rental" of the entire metropo
lia is nearly $15,000,000, including
$1,350,000 paid for'public lamps «o
that about $13,750,000 are paid for gaa
anpitiy. The length of the streets is
2,500 miles, and the total nnmVt of
mains throughout London 5,000 miles.
The number of street-lamps is slightly
over 56,000, the gross cost of erecting
whioh is not less than $675,000. The
street-lamps oonsume 1,000,000,000 cubic
feet during the twelve months, at a gross
cost-of $750,000
JOHN 8. G«AT, of New York, has*'n
tanted a torpedo-boat It is made of
iron, shaped like a cigar, and contain
motive power to drive it three milei. The
machinery is controlled by an electric
S&L.'-RAESA&I&I-
JVM*
i-
w"Nfr sMiar mixaarsf1
confinement battery It moves under water at such revolting manner" at oncelo punish her
depth that no shot can readi it. I aiH to jjonr their •baoe.
THM ncMAN AUCTION. -,n
'ff
ilol her#
uta
lhroa by IhaaooN to sail,
Up to (he platform, RMrt*, a»4 tld
Make me aa offer, they'H pay jem well
All qt 'em ripe for the coffin ltd.
Here la a wemaa plashed aad pelt,
Flying her needle tot daUjr bread
(Mre me a ehlrt for her—era* oa sale, -,
"l)jrtng! gen'Iemea—dying t—dead I tfr
A family, aix in number here,
rttth from
a
cellar
la
lemem' ttown}...,
Mother her aitth eonanemeat near,
rather and brata with (aver down.
Twas PeatJlence tpoke then, waa It not 7
An open aewer," I think Hi aatd
Well, hla offer (ball bar the lot,
Dying 1 gentlemen—dying I—dead
Kow, good onatomere, here's a chance
A thouiand men In.the prime of life,
Wieldera of mueket, eword, aad lance,
Armed and drilled for tha deadly strife.
Ckn. Warfare lifts hla hand—
A ballot for each," ctlea the geat in wdl
No offer, bat hla—fast flows the sand,
5
TVvlntr! aentlemcn—dying!—dead!
A body of toilera worn and weak,
Olerka and curatea and writing men
Look at the fltuh on each annken cheek,
Mark the linger* that graep the peal
Come, good gentlemen, cant we deal
Han Drudgery'* eye for bargains fled 1
Ho often at laet, the price of a meat—
Dvlng, gentlemen—dying 1—dead 1
PLEASANTRIES.
A HEAD CENTER—a barber.
CONSOLATION for old maids—"mis
fortunes never come singly."
A KISS on the forehead means rever
ence' but there's no fun in it worth
mentioning.
THE wife shonld always hold the pockr
et-book. Men are always shiftless
women rarely so.
EV£HXBODS is expected this Centen
nial year to plant a tree. If you can't do
that, make a bough.
I don't liko winter," said one pick
pocket to another. Everybody has bis
hands in his pockets."
THIS is a broad country. They are
living now on strawberry shortcake in
Georgia, and frozen laketrout in Duluih
A MAN mny be raitl to have been drink-',
ing like a nsh when he finds thai he has
taken enough to make his head swim.
WHAT is your business, sir!" asked
the court in a sharp voice. "Aconchol
ogist." "What's that?" raid the judge.
"I open clams."'
A ROGUE lately advertised that for $1 he
would send to any address a handsome
package containing 100 presents. Each
package turned out to be a paper of
pins.
A WISCONSIN editor illustrates the pre
vailing extravagance of the people of the
present day by calling attention to tho
costly baby-carriages in, use now, while,
when he was a baby, they hauled him
around by the hair of his hesd.
"My poem is rather lengthy," she
said, and may be you won't have om
for it this week." The editor yawned
and replied: "Oh! yes, we oould find
room for it if it was twelve times as long.
Our stove is a large one,' you see."
OLD lady (holding a very small cab-.
bage)—" What! Ten cents for such av
thing." Polite grocer's clerk—"Yes,
ma'am but it's because of the Centen
nial, ma'am. There's so many furriners
a-oomin' that smoke, cabbages is riz."
ALECK is a six-year old boy, who is
very fond of ice cream. He was per
mitted to dine with the family the other
evening, and, as usual, wanted more ice
cream but, as he made his wish .known
he added: Can't you hotten it a little
Two TBAMPS in Westchester county
stopped at the house of alone widow,
and one went in to beg. Very soon he
came out with a bloody no.?e and a first
class black eye. "Well, did you get
anything, Jack?" "Yes," growled the
sufferer, I've got the widow's might."
A IOPNG gentleman of this city sent a
note-to a lady-friend, inviting her to the
theater to see Richelieu." He closed
by saying, Don't fale to be at home
this evening." The lady answered the
note by saying, "There's no such word
as 'fale' in my lexicon—Webster's."—
Chicago Tribune,
THE YOCKO WIDOW.
Her amllea are tempered by. her alghe.
Her garb aoarce veil* her glory
The tender glamour of her eyes
Enahrlnea her aad her atcry!
No gteenllng
girt,
nor apbuter thrt,
She'e all thinge that becoaae her
.Her life, her beaaty, and her heart
Are In their Indian inmmrr.
As THE shades of evening gathered last
night, little English, the boot-black, sat
down on the post-office steps, polled a
silver three-cent piece from his pocket,
and solemnly remarked to the boys
Specie payment hain't such a big thing,'
after all. When a feller has lugged
silver around for four or five days he^
gits sick on it, and he just as lief trade
it for scrip.. I think the Gover'ment is"
all right, and I'm going to trade this for
peanuta."—Detroit free Press. 't
KLOMIDA FRUITS. Jt'
A romantic correspondent, writing
from the Florida coast, says that in the
month of February, on Key Largo,
riity miles from Key West, he saw a
tropical fruit garden which contained
470,000 doxens of pineapple plante,'
£00,000 of which were in bearing condi
tion 1,000 banana ifeea#d.800 orange,
trees. On one of the tract sir. bunches
of bananas were growing. He eat fruit'
directly from the trees, and «xp»*fd f
his sense of the great difference in and
improvement on their taste, as compared
with the/ritit after it is stripped, kept
Mid retailed in American cities.
THE remains oMP young woman who
was buried alive have been found in a
sequestered spot about twelve miles
from Constantino, Algeria. An exami-
l~
nation of the bxly proved that the utifor
tunate female had died of hunger. Tbe
prawnted a frightfal appear
woe, being in part gnawed aw^y. An
inquiry by the authorities showed that
the murdered girl had dishoDoced her
family, and that her brother and sialsr
had resolved to dirpoae of h* j* that
aLs
WBfc*.