The Wahpeton times. [volume], January 26, 1888, Image 6

About The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
S'i
•V:
js?
Jrrlngftl
Idhrom San Trandsco Argoniuit.'_ i$l\
^'Yes, sir! thebbythere, thbuflfr but
five yean oldandnot knowing a dash
iKm a^t^ipUnda upon the oom
astelegr^pb-oj^atftr,
pap month. 'How did
nitf* you ask. Just wait a
entsuntil my relief comes,
tfcikto tho house for supper, I
as
Tb® .iptaker was an old school friend
mhya Ihad hunted up after
meefrbm my natlvedty,
bjttUjr employed in (b»
bpatcher's office of tb
ai chief operator. Upon
instruments rested
,. ...i^pjce' -of the
•^^vfbovereplv.
t'JfcV "Here followed an introduction to
iifiijv
S!V:'
2i
remain all night at the post my friend
:fras just vacating, to whom was giv
en someseneral information as to how
the traina were running upon his di
vision, and what orders had been is
sued then, with a pleasant good night
we were off.
A 'Wow for the story!" continued my
friend, as we emerged upon the street,
and" turned our steps toward his
home^
"One year ago 1
was discharged from
the very position I now hold, forhav
ing, as was charged, caused the wreck
of two freight-trains at a small
station upon our line about thirty
miles cast of here.
"You must know that all regular
trains upon our road are run upon
schedule time, or, in other words, up
on that laid down in the/time-tables of
the company. But extras of any sort,
or regular trains when off their sche
dule time, must be helped' along by
telegraphic orders, issued by, or in the
name of, the train-dispatcher. This,
upor a single track road, carrying so
much traffic as ours, Is constantly,
occurring.
"As I might weary you by details, if
1 entered into too minute an explana*
tion of how this is done, I will give
you the system in as few words as
possible.
'For an example: we will say the
regular crossing point for No, 34 going
west and No., 45 going east is B—.
Now all trains are reported by tele
graph from each station as they pass.
We are oa^the lookout for these re
ports, and.before us is the traiu-sheet
upon which must be noted the time of
departure of each train from
:any station. Thus we can tell, at.
a glance, the position of every train
upon the road. We will say these re-
.jp, ,,, ports sfcow No. 35, going east, to be
Ir" thirty minutes late. Since No. 34
would be obliged to wait at the usual
^.,'fr08si«,8 Point for the laggard, we give
itan order to proceed to ten
miles beyond, and cross So. 35 there,
thus keeping it on' time while causing
no further.delay to the delinquent.
Of course, it is necessary to notify
both trains of the change in crossing
points, and right here is where my
trouble occurred.
"One day, sitting at my lustra*
iuents„busi]y employed as you saw
me a few moments ago, I discovered
that' freight No. 102 was losing time.
Boon it was thirty minutes behind,
Maud wishing t« hielp along freislit No
6$
Sfo.
mnliy crossed it at B—4,
fc. .«coU'ctudt'd to -, push it alone to
I', (crossing. Accordingly Icalled
^pD-—r-. jh'e next *'ationbey ond the
V«"a ii80al ci'Off^iiG-Doiiit. aud
x- upon re
|%$i-ceivine the response went ahead with
this order:'
'To CondiiVtor and Engineer No. 05:
'You will pr ices*) to and croaa No.
102 there.
(®8n®d) Robbs^ Dispatelier.'
"The next move was to protect
them in thus passing their usual cross
ing point, by giving the same order to
5o. 102 at A—-.
"Calling up A——, I said in the:ci-
her used on such occasions: '14 for
102,' which means, Put out blu^
signal, to hold No. 102.' This blue
signal, a Hag by day and a lantern by
night, conspicuously displayed in
front of a station, means telesraphio
i,..orders, alwl by this no train is al-
fe'r'''.'.lowed
to pass. Instantly came back
sthe"reply trom the operator at A
*15 tor 102.'
pM "Now every operator's' duty isto
v^fput out the signal before replying trith
W 15, which means 'blue signal is dis
played, and will hold thetrain.' You
':||j%|eee the use of the cipher figures is a
:ivgreat
saving of time and space. The
Jl^most imperative orders are issued,
and the utmost care taken in-moving
-1', train's by telegraph and to answer'
with 15 before the signal is displayed'
rontrary to all rule, as
|j^ptthere is a^ehance that some
como up, in the performance
the signal will be neglected, until-too
'tjs,
?rrespondinK
Mressed to No. 102.
v« nged according to
..•* C—. Soon
«5:
I
i*
-ft S'*-?- 1
fBBBSREWMSRH
t~-m
terri?1®
tor. UpOD :f UVHVS^ W|n/u
th*
mMmI "y
hwM*
M..: 7 oaoinet pr»yed for the poor fellows upon the
Mot«raph of a little boy, and my trains. How many ol them would
titnarking upon the smart appear- survive the wreck, which no wit was
im
little fellow elicited tbs
noB«ihl'
%»/&%»<
*«yU«, *v- Vv-
*-?Si. M.'
TO?£fe&I
-F at A——..was com*
.. mtf niM,'a nephew ofan
influential member of our board of
director*, through whom he had ob
tained his position,and through whose
influence I wap soon to lose mine. His
deliberate falfehodd astqunded me, as
well it miuht,for allowing the train to
MMMailtlWUkMti iL. A..
soon as possible, to save delay tion.
to 65, which was rushing along ex
pecting to meet them at C-—.The re
sult must be collision.
'^The thought drove me nearly fran
tic. Further questioning only result
ed in further dfnial from the operator
of having received any orders to bold
the train, whioh orders be accused
me of having failed to send..
"With fast-beating heart, and a
possible to prevent, for between the
two heavy trains rushins toward each
other so, swiftly, no operator was on
duty with busily clicking instrument
"4Uv^ wvavn
Wllsf, a tileaeant-looking man of twen- to warn them of their
ty-one or two, whoso duty it was to
1!
er ...
reply
struments calling, I grasped a pen,
and with trembling fingers copied this
message. was addressed to the
superintendent from the conductor of
No. 65, and rau thus:
'Freight* No*. 65 and 108 met in head
collision one mile eut ol C—, apeed ol
fifteen miles per honr. Crews of both
trains escaped uninjured. Fiftton cars de
railed, five of the wrecked completely, bad
ly blocking the main line. Will report in
person by first train.'
"My greatest fear had been that loss
of life would result.
•As ia usual in such cases, all the
participants in the affair were called
before the superintendent. Each man
told his Btory. The operator at A—
firmly adhered to his falsehood, and I
as firmly to the truth, but to no pur
pose. The influence of his director
uncle saved for him his position, the
blame was attached to me, and I was
discharged, forced to give up my posi
tion, and move. Some time before
this, trusting in the security of my
position, I had put all our Bavings
together and purchased a small house
and lot in the pleasantest part of the
city. Ihad borrowed from our sav
ings-bank the sum of* two-thousand
dollars, and placed a mortgage for
that amount upon the place, believing
that with prudence ana economy we
should be able to repay and lift the
mortgage in due course of time.
"A pleasant little plaoe it'was, and
much pleasure we took in fixing it up
with flowers and vines, until it pre
sented a most attractive appearance,
and to our Belves, at least was the
very perfection of taste and home
comfort. Now it must all be given up.
This made the blow doubly hard, for
where could I obtain a position at my
business, with the knowledge that I
had caused a wreck?
"No! I must give it all up, and com*
mence at the foot of the ladder again.
"The company, having decided to
put in the wires and open a station at
C—p, as a measure for guarding
against further, trouble, very kindly
offered the situation to me. could
but accept. Soon we were moved in?
to our Aew quarters—in a modest
house near my station.
"Day after day came and passed
now, so uneventfully as nearly to de
stroy all ambition. Duties, there
were none to speak of. My station
was what, is termed a 'flag station.'
Trains made no regular stop there,
and when an occasional passenger,
wished to take the train, a very un
usual occurrence by tbe way, my red
flag by day, or red light at night,
'hauled up' the desired train. I grew
despondent. Every day I eat in my
little den of an office listening to the
business passing unpn the wire, busi
ness in wnich I took no active part,
for few,' indeed, were the opportune
ties I had to open the wire.
'•My little boy was my almost con
stant companion. He took great de«
lipht in the rural life which we were
obliged to lead, grew stout and,brown
as any little rustic, and his delights
knew no bounds, as he stood upon
the platform when the heavy freights
went rolling by, or the fast e^preps,
with a rush and a.screaih of the whis
tle, passed like a flash and he would
watch them out* of sight with great
round eyes, laughing and clapping his
hands with delight.
"We used to watch him in silence,
my wife and I, for she often came to
sit with us, and cheer me by her pres
ence and thoughts of the opportuni
ties he would miss, and the privileges
of schooling' he would .t£, debarred
from by my misfortune, were not cal
culated to make tfs cheerful.
"One beautiful summer day, when I
bad been some thrgt months at my
Btation, sitting as usual watching and
listening at my instruments, for want
'aintness upon me, I dropped JJ222L faiT? £?«.*
my head upon the instruments and 2, JSSSfviS
iUOl
WWp|IW*
«pon the instruments and
of somethingi»tT^toaorhPA.v^ 7h» eagw 'or an explanation. In as few
'Him nnowD. iaHawaiI v**. «n the superintendents inquiry, my sto*
him answer, fbllowed by an order
from the office to '14 for .special
trtigbtpvxtofc' beard th.»pl,S£t 3*3*3?* /HPnjy
—, 16 fof special
on the aav ot the wreck—'16 lot special
all ha^tv.. .,s•,
'•I heard the, superintendent's tele
graphic request to/the dmjjfmtftotf to
give them the,right of way as far as
practicable, and in:accordance.with
this instruction he waavnow holding
back the freight.
MI
sat idly. ^Watching the approach
special, and uatking the quick
were making,: as 4he tele^
'V' *te,iOne by one, succeeded
the train passed sta
nd atill beihoan-
mhiutes, and then w« #$1 eiie tbem go
flytog by.' I answer^ Jlim ^tb a
•mile, knowing now pRtfiodhe wbuld
be to nee the rushing tiratti.
"'No! now, papa, A6«r! Itj&hsee
the smoke—come outf quick I To
please bim I complied, and looked up
t— the line in the direction of the an-
proeeed isithout the orders meant for prOa^hing special, wKfch had passed
them to run by C—and endeavor to the last station Sast of me, ana must
reach tbeir usual crossing-place at*B' now be within Irr miles of our sta-
That way, papal jU^ok through
id trees—tmY"
the
"I turned, and saw riiteg above the
trees, the black smoke which denoted
the approach of a train. In a instant
I understood the- situs tion. The
height was approaching, the freight
which was orderecFto remain at A
to cross the passenger train. For a
moment I was dated, but only for a
be done, and that quickly, to avert
aa awful catastrophs..
"Below my station, some hundred
yards or so, round a curve which hid
It from sight, was aswitch which open
ed upon aside track running by the
station for another hundred yards,
and which would hold the freight could
I but reach and open it before the
must al
for fear
freight would not get on in time.
"Bushing into the station I grasped
my signal flags, put the blue in its
proper place, but not daring to trust
to that to stop them, for fear the en
gineer, having bis orders to run past
my station, and at the higb rate of
speed he was coming, might not see it,
I took the red flag and tbe boy in my
arms, and placing him in the middle
of the platform, put the flag in his
hands.
'Arthur!' I said sternly, 'do just
as papa '6ays, now, and we will save
the trains. Stand right here! Do not
move except to wave this flag, so!'
giving him the up-and-down motion.
'Wave it, mjr brave, boy, and do not
stop till papa gets back!"
"His blue eyes filled with tears at
my manner, and giving him a kiss to
reassure him, I turned and ran for the
switch. Gould I reach it in time? I
must! Over the ties I ran for life, for
lives for if the trains came in collision
at that high rate of speed, many lives
must be sacrificed^
"As I turned the curve I looked
back at the station. There the little
fallow stood,*.just where I had placed
him, and the flag, yest the flag was*
waving, up and down, up and down,
as fast as the stout little arms could
move it, and away down the line as
the eye could see the special passenger
train'coming. Now for it! Looking
and running ahead again I saw the
freight.
"'Thank God! I shall reach the
switch first,' I cried, and ran on. My
switch-key was out of iny pocket as I
ran, aqd in my hand. A moment
inore and the switch was reached,
and the train a thousand feet behind
In the race for life. To insert th/
key, unlock and throw the rails upon
the sidding, was the work of an in
stant.
"Yes! I was discovered by the engin
eer of the train—heard the*shrill whis
tle for brakes, the danger signal, saw
the engine reversed, the brakemen
scrambling over the tops of the cars
letting the brakes, and knew all was
done that could possibly be done to
slacken the speed of the heavy train
standing at the switch, ready to throw
the rails back as soon as they had
passed upon tbe siding.
"In a moment they were within hail
ing distance, the fireman was upon
my side, down upon the steps of his en
gine making ready to jump.
'"Stick to your engine,' I cried.'
'Run upon the siding. Tell the engin
eer to stick and stop her for his life.'
"It is wonderful that he heard me,
ihuch more comprehended my mean
ing through the rush and roar of the
train! and hiss of escaping steam, as
the engin&rolled by at greatly reduc
'ed speed buit I saw him climb back
and commence Betting the brake of the
tender. With a.terijbileroarandgrind
ing of the brakes upon the wheels, the
train passed.
"I closed and locked the switch up
on the main line, and started for the.
station. I knew th6 special'must have
stopped there, else, ere this, it would
have been upon us. Yes! Sure enough
—coming in sight of the station—there
she stood', safe and sound, and upon
the siding beside it stood the freight,
now come to a full stop.
"The platform in front of the little
depot was filled with passengers of the
special and train-men. I saw the boy,
Btill holding the red flag, in the amis
of the superintendent. Crowded
about him the president, board of
directors, and other notable^ invited
guests of the road, with their ladies,
numbering fully twenty-five people,
who certainly, some of them, if not
all, owed their lives to the little fellow.
Upon reaching the station .I was at
once theoentreof theexcited throng, all
eager for an explanation. In as few
the superintendent's inquiry, my sto
ry—how the baby had discovered the
approaching freight, how I bad in-
niru,
freight'—then this order:
"ToConductor and Enginier ol Special
Freight: •.,)
"You will ijiofc leave' A—-until special
passenger train,,Fairfield, 'conductor, has
arrived.'
"The special, passenger train re
ferred to was, a» I knew, for had 1 was called in with
prominent part
officers ad with their #ltres.
m., .i airof wbomhadbeen down uw ime
^*11, upon receiving the assurance on a pleasure trip, to inspect the new
flag was out at A——. I gave station and grounds at. Our -eastern
^responding to the one terminus,and were now returning with
.fpirie, I thought,
.-luckreserved
ratA——would
mmit' tbe same
me there wonld be
to~ attach the
1
Kition,
chief dispatcher.
ome.:time tilled with
and melees thoughts
tnrbedb
b*?»-
th«m, Th^i fiL
ping them how I had hastened to tbe
switch, arriving just in time to put
tbe freight upon the siding, and that
was all.
"All?—no! This was followed by an
impromptu directors' meeting my
little seven-by-nine station—a direct
ors' meeting, in which ladies took a
which brought the. blush to my cheeks
and tears to my wife's eyes, tears of
joy and pride in tbe boy.
"Yest sir! They voted me two thou
sand dollars 'for prompt action and
heroic conduct, in time of danger,' and
at the suggestion of the ladies—who
but a woman would have thought of
anything so romantic?—also voted to
place tbe boy upon the pay-roll as a
telegraph operator.
"A happy household we were that
evening, and with many a kiss the boy
was nut to bed at nteht. The next
day I was called to the general offices,
ana the dispatcher having told his
story,bbwtpeordersbad been prompt
ly given to hold the freight, there were
no doubts now as to the nerson who
had been remiss iu duty upon both
occasions. I was reinstated in mv old
and:*e immediately moved
into the little house you seeyon
der. whtehtbecompanys rift allows me
to freefrom debt and^ yes, that is t"
boy running to inset us now—a proi
little fsnow jpmn pay-day, as he go
to the office, and st am
taking their turns
-thepetjbf all.
si
Ob!
reer. His error lay, la replying that
tbe blue was dispiaypd.before putting
it out, and, then iti Wlien
he saw theirain pa&
:m
deliberately
tore up tbe ordersi ftr^stihgln bis abil
ity to shift trn blanie upon me, in tbe
first instanoe, but tbe second was too
much/' W. D. HOLm
Oovraga
In Paris lately at .a mseting of scien-
Who, it wasrHmouibsd, would lecture os
the cholera genn.
He was a littlkdetf and a litfle near
kls dedt, his
tpectaeles close to it, mnnonnoed that
&e proposed to illustrate his remarks by
the germs themseltes.
have ken the oholera badUi,
tried," he said, proceeding to untie a
tmallbox.
The assembled savans glanced anx
lonsly at the box and each other, be.
ginning te grow palsi
"I hear somebody cslling outside,"
Mid one nearest the doer, as he
backed
out of it
"I have a patient," gasped another,
he disappeared. When the lecturer
looked up, he was dene, with his box.
Every Beat* was vacant.
Yet these men faced contagious dis
eftses every day. It Was the novelty of
the danger that unmanned them. M.
Pasteur lately took a general officer
whobaspsssed through many bnllets
With the courage of a boa, to his labor
atory, in which were confined at the
time two dozen dogs in different de
grees. Pasteur approached a cage in
which one massive bull-dog lay dying,
•napping viciously at every shadow
that fell on liim?
"Just hold his jaws open with this
Iron, while I withdraw some of the
virus," said the experimenter, syringe
in hand.
"Oh, certainly!" replied the officer,
nervonsly. But before he could put
the foroeps into the mouth of the dog,
he bad staggered back almost in a
swoon.
Courage is, aftei all, very much a
matter of familiarity. A delicate wom
an is calm and self-possessed in a sur
geon's tent on the battle-field, if she is
used to wounds and deatns. Dorothy
Patterson, young and beautiful, became
the solitary nurse of a small-pex hospi
tal, canning out the dead in her own
arms. She was accustomed to small
pox.
Ws can train ourselves, by becoming
familiar with dangers, for increased
usefulness in life. But most' young
girls train themselves in terrors of
harmless, necessary objects to increased
helplessness with a certain incompre
hensible pride, too, in both these ter
rors and their worthlessness.—Youth's
Fun or the Railroad Company
"Balky horses, you say!" remarked
a talkative passenger "yes I've had a
little experience with them. They are
not easy things to handle. It-is mighty
hard work for a man to drive a balky
horse and be a Christian at the same
time. I tried it years ago, and gave
both up as a bad job. But say, did
you ever hear of a man having ahorse
tbalk on him in such a way as to make
him laugh—to please him all over and
make him right down happy? Well,
sir, I did, and I was the man. Hewas
a horse that I had traded for—got rid
of a spavined, blind stagger nag that
swap—and he was an awful balker.
There wasn't no use of doing anything
with him—there was nothing to do but
just sit down and, wait for him to come
around.. It generally took two hours.
One day I was driving him along and
just as we got on to the railroad
track ho balked. 'Here's a go'
says I to myself 'what if a train
should come along?' At first I was
afraid a train would come, then after
awhile I didn't care a cuss whether
one cjmia or not. and in about 75
minutes I was afraid one wouldn't
como. I just ached for a train to
como. I prayed for one. Sureenough,
pretty soon I saw one coming. It
made me umile. When the engineer
whistled for me to gst off the track I
laughed. And when he got a little
closer I climbed out the hind end of the
buggy, leaned up against the fence and
prepared to enjoy the picnic. Oh, but
it was sport! Tliat balky horse had
sworn he1 wouldn't .go, but he went
that time. Ho was distributed all
along the track for twenty rods. And
the old buy and harness—it looked
too comical. Neverhad such fun since
I was a boy.
"Rather expensive, wasn't it?"
"Yes for the railroad company.
sued 'em for $?00, and the jury ol
farmers gave me $687.60. Oh, but it
was fun!"
Extent of Human Travel.'
tVom the Popular Science Monthly.
The movement persons has under
tone quiet a» important a growth as
that of goods. In the "Reviewing of
the World's Economy" the number of
passengers carried by all the railroads
in all parts of the world in 1882 is
Estimated at 2,400,000,000, or an
average of 6,500,000 a day, the ab
feolute number of passengers carried
on steamers iB smaller but here as
was the ease with goods, they are car
ried for longer distances and more
days' journeys than on railroads, so.
that, estimated by the mile or day,
tbe amount of both frieght and pas
tenger work the steamers do will ad
f«ar to much better advantage. The
significance of the facilitation of pos
6en«r transportation is
divided princi
pally from its effocts on social con
ditions civilizations and customs.
One ef the most important ot these
affects is illustrated in emigra
tion, which has assumed dimen
sions under the operations of
the new methods of communication.
Of twelve and a half millionemigrants
Who went to the United Statesbet ween
the recognition of their independence
and 1888, not more thana million be
long to the time previous to theestab
lishment of .regular jsassenger com
munications by ateamer with Europe
about1884. Aa a result of the es
tablishment of this method of com
munication, and of the building of the
railroads that opened the Mississippi
Valtey and the western put of the
-qtii^nt, imigration assumed oollos
portions. Besides the ameli
lofthevoyage,.which baa be
affair of not more than ten
^t#^.ve.sd«rs for an emigrant vessel,
t^ ia^p^vM iare tbe cheaper rate of
bt
•9
infill —Jii
'IVke •*—-f*
^AaavMdletais'SeaHh.
Wtom the IMw York 8an.
'.'Do I jbelieye clairvbyaQta|f^ imd
a w^ kj^wn fiiiua of fi«di|ray,ior-'
meriy. a medical student, recently "I
cannot say that I do, but I ynm '^iarc
almost ready, tq believe in them.|
the^'.yeajr 1845 tiw building at/the
soutlmwV^ Mrner of Barclay aiid
Chuicb streiU, New York, which is
now a factory", was occupied as a pri
vate boardir^ house. As the location
miited my convenience,' I engaged a
room there, and took possession of it
one Saturday about the middle of
January. Among my fellow-boarders
was Dr. Hathaway, a surgeon of the
United States army, who had been on
duty at the hospital on Staten Island.
During my first evening at the house a
young law visitor was present, who
was introduced to me simply as Mary.
She was blind. I had listened but a
short timetotheconversationof those
people before I learned that they were
almost monomaniacs on the subject
of mesmerism, and I afterward learned
that the bling girl Mary was aclairvoy
antsubject of Dr.LeGrand,, a well
known French physician, who professed
to cure diseases by mesmerism.
"Before retiring that night I went
out to a restaurapt in Park Row for a
plate of oysters. When 1 returned to
the bi
he boarding house, having been gone
little oyer half an hour, the front
door, which I had carefully fastened,
was wide open, lights were glancing
about, and there were sounds of con
fusion in the upper part of the house.
I was told that for. Hathaway had had
a fit, and that Dr. Va,n Duren,Dr. Par
ker and another physician whose name
I can not recall, had been sent for and
were in attendance. Finding I could
be of no service, I went to bed, and
next morning the landlady informed
me that the Doctor's fit was a slight
attack of apoplexy, unaccompanied
with paralysis, and that be would
probably be ali risht in a few days.
He was not all right, however, either
in a few days or a few weeks.
"Before the end of the month I mov
ed uptown, but about the latter part
of March,having business down-town.
I called at m\ ilace.: I
found Dr. Hathaway seated in his
room in an invalid chair, not quite
cheerful, but apparently not &Uing
much, although ne complained of a
slight pain in the right side of his head.
As I was leaving the house the land
lady drew me into her room and ask
ed me what I thought of Dr. Hatha
way's case. My reply was: 'TheDoc
tor is doing well. If he will get out
and take moderate exercise he will
soon be entirely well.'
"She shook her head mournfully,
and said: 'Hewill neverget outagain.
He will never leave that room alive.'
'What reason have you for such a
melancholy supposition?' I asked.
'Mary says so.'
'What! Has Mary been frighten
ing you with her flummery?" I asked.
'"No Mary has not been in the
house since the night you met her here,"
she replied. 'At Dr. Hathaway's re
quest I went to consult her at Dr. Le
Grand's office. She wentinto atrance
and examined Dr. Hathaway. She
says that the inside of the skull, on
the right side, is all sore and ulcerated,
and that there are three lumps on the
right side of his brain as large a& hick
ory nuts that he will never get over it
that it will all be over with nimby the
1st of May, and that you will be pres
ent at the post mortem examination.'
"'Me?'
"'You.'
'What suggested such an idea as
that?"
"I don't know. She Sometimes takes
great interest in strangers shecasually
meets. She knows a great deal about
your future.'
"The fortune telling charlatan-" I
thought. Of course I. was a trifle too
polite to express my opinion aloud,
and after a few commonplace remarks
took my leave.
"During the next month my mind was
otherwise so much occupied that I al-.
most entirely forgot the afflicted pliy-:
sician but ,on the last day of April,
when Tsat down to my dinner, Iwas
startled! to find on my plate a note an
nouncing Dr. Hathaway'^ death, and
inviting me to be present at a post
mortem' examination at 10 o'clock
next morning. When I entered the
death chamber at the appointed hour
I found several eminent physicians and
surgeons assembled there. Dr. Moses,
who was then demonstrator of anat
omy at the university of New York,
was conducting the autopsy: When
the top of the cranium was removed
from the brain, and handed around for
inspection what was my surprise to see
that the lining membrane on the right
side had been extensively inflamed,
exactly as the blind clairvoyant had
described, and further, upon cutting
into the substance of the brain on the
right side, three large tubercles were
found, a rare and remarkable patho
logical condition.
"That was very remarkable."
"Yes, but at the funeral I chanced
to ride in the same carriage with a rel
ative of the deceased, who told
me that a sister of'Dr. Hathaway had
died some years before, after suffer
about the same length of time with
similar symptoms, and that the same
pathological conditions had been found
on post mortem examinations.''
Proving His Honesty.
Ffcosi the Walker County, Ga., Messenger.
One day recently, Colonel F. W.
Copeland was called upon to persecute
an assault and battery case, which
had occurred between some dusky
damsels in the quiet village of Villa
now. On arriving at the place, a
negro man, Abe, by name, who hadn't
a thing in the world to do with the
case, but in behalf of his sisters, want
ed the court to know that he was
honest, hurriedly approached the col
onel, and while taking out his horse
said he had one request to make of
him. Mr. Copeland, being employed
on the other side, told him it was
useless as he was to appear against
his sisters. But the negro persisted,
and was told to go ahead, when be
said:
"I wants yer pa to be subpoenaed
in dvher case in behalf of my sisters."
"He doesn't know anvthin* about
tbe ease," said the colonel, "and if
I was to have bim subpeenaed, what
good could be do them?"
"Well," said Abe, "de reason datl
want bim fe About eight or ten
yearn back he owed me a dollar, an'
in payin' ov me he made a mistake
anrgim' me a ten dollar bill an* alter
I bad kep' about two weeks, I took
de nine dotlars hack to him j«*
Wk Tin^ ba 'Cbilil Govern
meht.
For whippingr are nob given in our
bouse for ivvenge they 've'not given
for spite nor even in anger: they are
giyen p^^y forpmtfAuen|,but main
ly .by way vf imptc—lye reminder, and
a protector against a repetition of 1'
offense. .The interval between
promise of a whipping and its infliu
tion is usually an hour or two.
1
By
that time both parties are calm, and
the one is judicial, the other receptive.
The child never goes trbm the scene of
punishment until it has been loved
back into bappy-heartedness and a
joyful spirit. The spanking is never
cruel, but it is always an honest one.
It hurts. It hurts the diild, i«rf«ginn
how it must hurt the mother. Her
Bpirit is serene, tranquil. She has not
the support which isaffprded by anger.
Every blow shestrikesthe child brus
hes her own heart. Themothec of my
children adores them—there is no
milder term for it and they wor
ship her they even worship any
thing which the touch of her hand has
made sacred. They know her-for the
best and truest friend they have ever
had, or ever shall have they knowher
one who never did them a wrong, and
cannot do them a wrong who never
told them a lie nor the shadow of one
who never deceived them by even an
ambiguous gesture who never gave
them an unreasonable command, nor
ever contented herself with anything
short of a perfect obedience who has
always treated them as politely and
considerately as she would the best
and oldest in the land, and has al
ways required of them gentle speech
and courteous conduct toward all of
whatsoever degree, with whom they
chanced to come in contact they
know her for one whose promise,
whether of reward or punishment, is
gold, and always worth its face, tothe
uttermost farthing. In a word, they
know her, and "I know her, for the
best and dearest mother that lives—
and by a long, long way the wisest.
You perceive that I have never got
down to where the mother in the tale
jeally asks the question. For the rea
son that Icannotrealizethesituation.
The spectacle of that treacherously
reared boy, and that wordy, namby
pamby father, and that weak,namby
pamby mother, is enough to make one
ashamed of bis species. And, if I
could cry, I would cry for the fate of
that poor little boy—a fate which has
cruelly placed him in the hands and
at the mercy of a pair of grown-up
children,to have his disposition ruined,
to come up ungovernea, and be a nui
sance to' himseltand everybody about
him, in the process, instead of being the
solacer of care,the disseminator of hap
piness, the glory and honor and joy of
the house, the welcomest face in all tbe
world to them that gavehim being—as
he ought to be was sent to be, and
would be, but for the hard fortune
that flung him into the clutches of the
paltering incapables.
In all my-life I have never made a
single reference to my wife in print be
fore, as far I can remember, except in
the dedication of a book and so after
these fifteeen years of silence, perhaps,
I may unseal my lips this one time
without impropriety or indelicacy.. I
will institute one other novelty: I will
send this manuscript to the press
without her knowledge, and without
asking her to edit it.. This will save
it getting edited into the stove.—
Mark Twain in the Christian Union..
Glimpse of an Attractive Mur
derer.
New York Correspondence Albany Evening
Journal.
Jere Dunn is one of the bad men of
New York city. He is a man of invin
cible courage, and gamblers and fight
ers of every degree are in absolute fear
of him. It is not only because he killed
Elliott and Hughes, but because he is
known to be always armed, quick as a
flash, and' utterly ignorant of the
meaning.of the word fear If Dunn
happened to be a little more refined in
manner, he would be a double of the
flarte
ambler John Oakliurst, whom Biete
introduced in so many of his
early sketches. He is usually called, a.
handsome man. He has a square face
a well-trimmed dark beard, parted in
the middle, and he always wears a
perfectly- fitting frock coat and
a high hat. The expression ol'
his face is stern, albrt and fixed,.
He is astranquil as a wooden Indian.
The first time the writer, ever saw him
was immediately after the killing ol'
Elliott in/Chicago. Aparty was goin?
to a prize fight in- Flushing, and
among fifty or sixty persons present
there were about forty of the toughest
citizens of New York. On the way
down to the grounds on. the boat th«.
one subject of conversation was th«
death of Elliott, and, vengeance loud
and deep on Dunm was pronounced
everywhere. It was said that he
would never dareto-cometo New York
again. While the crowd was waiting
for the principals to appear,, tberi
was a, rustle, a whisper and a move
ment among the toughs as their eye*
turned on Jere Dumii.wbo suddenly
walked in among them as calm, col.
lected and unmoved as ever. He wai
correctly dressed, evidently in admir
able health, and he looked around at
the scowling faces without a trace ol'
embarrassment or apprehension.
"Bewareof the Viddenb"
Mr. Dud. Moblsy of Coffee' county,
Ga., wishes he had heeded the elder
Welter's advice to "beware of the vid
ders."- Mrs. Judy McCook, a sprightly
widow, cast a. web of fascination over
Mr. Dud and made him believe that she
loved him and wonld marry bim. Ditto
Mr. Bird Mobley. Arrangements for
an early wedding were made by both
parties, and Mr. Bird Mobley, to keep,
things quiet, asked his betrothed to
meet him at a certain point on the
Ocmulgee Biver a&d they would get
married. Meantime the other suitor
had his suspicions aroused, and at once
went to the-house where the lady re
sided and besought her to come out and
wed him. The lady shut herself up
and refused the invitation. The disap
pointed wooer sat by the door* waiting
for day and his doom, but, to his. sor
row, when day came the house was
searched, Mrs. McCook waa wanting,
and later information leaked out that
•die had escaped through a window,
went to the river, and married Bird
Hobley according to prow*
At Toledo^ Ohio, VV H. Ketdram Jr.,
twenty-twa, year* ot&hae ceesatiy corns
into precession of a pMperty worth 93.?
000.0k Hs baa Mganlie* a tenets
tninstwl troops, with wMch k* will take
toe read in a lew dam Mr. JMttni'i
fha"Oraer*l"«f«kal
Bonte—Th* Anty ef
Prom the New York Herald. fi%
Each circus hafr ftagencraL Talkio
him of any city or town in the coun*
trv, and the thought immediate]yroo
almost to a unit the population and
how much can be made out of it. Us*
knows alBO the character.of the
inhabi
tants, and hs is acquainted thorough
ly with the. railroad and other facui
tiesforgettingintotheplace. Hemapa
out^M route at tho beginning of the
Mmmt.ot course changing it aa much
asspsible every year. Then are
twenty-four advance agents,, who
follow each other in regular ro
tation. They look after tho ad
vertising, the provender for tho ani
mats, the lodgings, and contracts of
various kinds. These agents-are pro
vided with checks. They gives checks
on the show for the amounts con
tracted for. The treasurer takes up
and pays the checks so that when the
show arrives it has no trouble in any
direction. It has happened a few
times that the firm has been swindled,'
but it never refuses to honor a check,
"to keep up the credit of tbe circus.''
Not one of the great exchanges in New
York is better posted as to the mone
tary condition of any town or eity
than the managers of the circuB. The
circus managers well know it is useless
going into a place where there is much
commercial depression. The character
istics of a town are studied before go
ing into it. For instance, it is known
when the miners Qf Pittsburg are paid
off, and right on top of the event, comes
the "show." It very rarely happens
that a miscalculation is made, but if
money is lost anywhere that place is
given a wide berth &ext season.
The weather too, is watched almost
as carefully as it is by the signal-service
bureau. The circus never goes farther'
Bouth that Omaha, ganmm City
St. Louis, or farther north than St.
Paul, Minn. There is no money out
side of those limits. The great aim of
the circus is to strike fair weather
everywhere. When it is extremely cold
in the north the circus is enjoying the
warmth of the- south and the dollara
of the genial southerners. When it be*
comes too hot hi tbe south then it
wends its way irothe opposite direction.
Moreover, it never attempts to com
™*te with a cheaper entertainment. If
arnum is billed for Maryville, Miss.,
anda25cent show gets ahead of it the
big circus' passes on. Hie general
knows, too, now long it is profitable
to stay in town..
The army of employes is divided
into five- divisions—the performers, the
ring attendants, the stable and menag-'
erie attendants, the trainmen (in cir
cus parlance "razor-backs"), and the
eanvasmen. Tho canvasmen number
200 out of 700—a large number, but
not too_ many to- cope with the huge
tent which is 'put up in tbe country.
On the trains there is a special place
for everything and everybody. Indeed,
the trainmen could load the train al
most blindfolded, the arrangements are
so-precise, and have been so long* in
smoothworking order. The canvas
men are the first to be packed off.
They touch nothing until the teamsters
have arrived
otv
Taming Liona With Electricity.
The latest application of electricity is
an invention made in the interests of
lion tamers whioh oonsists of an ap
paratus of great power, shaped like a
stick, about three feet and a half in
length. M. Rauspach, the inventor, is. a
lion tamer himself, who has been "a
good deal worried"- during a long and
successful professional career. He has
already experimented with it upon the
denizens of the cagee in his managerie,
and relates the different effects upon
the brutes.. Three of his lions receiv
ing the shock iinmediately showed signa
of the greatest terror. They were seized
with trembling and growled fit
fully. The tiger was more
quickly subduedj, fteeune stnpified, and
crouched in a corner of the cage.
Bruin wa» more-refractory to electrici
ty, which seemed' scarcely to effect him.
He would growl and show his1teeth, and
was subdued after repeated, discharges.
The most astonishing effects, how
ever, were perceptible the boa con
strictor. On receiving the discharge,
the specimen from Cayenne, nearly
twenty feet in length, became at once
paralyzed and remained motionless for
six hour* afterward. When he recov
ered, he showed signa of numbnesa for
three whole days. Finally, the ele
phant, on being electrified by a touch
of tbe stick upon the tip of his trunk
set up a series of wild cries, and be
came so strange that the tamer feared
the brute would break his heavy iron
chain.. M. Rauspach ia said to intend
addressing a paper upon the experi
ments to the academy of Sciences.
Pall Mall Gazette.
Clifnese Forethought.
Although we look down upon China
iirom tbe lofty, pinnaclo of our civili
sation, there are very many points in
fc'hich we may learn lessons from her..
Districts in China, as in India, are
liable. in seasons of unusual drought,,
to suffer from famine, and to prevent
the disastrous consequences of such,
events, the Government, in plentiful
Seasons, stores up vast magazines of
grain.
In a'late ,jjunber of the Imperial
Kazette it isRated that the attention
of the Government has been drawn by
one of the censors to the fact that, the
Storage of corn had been neglected in
several districts, and astringent edict
is published calling the attention of
governors of provinces to tbe matter,
and ordering then to see that the
magazines were kept. fulU. A similar
course in India would do away with ',
the possibility-efthe terriblecailamitiea
which, from time to time, devastate
whola provmees. The cost to the
Government, would be but small, as
Ihe wheat,»time of scarcity-could be
sold at a pcfoe at least equal to that
which it was purchased in years of
plenty. We know \rith what racoon
a simitar-experiment waa carried out
in E&eytBome thousaada of years ago,
and there can be nodeubt that instM
of aloss the Govemaaentolthatcoun*
Unmadeahandsome jroAt
1
to him: "Ah, yea a town of $8,- I
000, $5,000, $10,000 or $18,000, a*
the case may be, profit."
lHe
knows
•AJ
f,
I
A1\
/#?*v
$
1-1
&
lKV
A
I
j*
the ground with the
canvas, and then, when the tent is up,
they sit down and just watch the others
"doing their bit."* So it is with the
trainmen when they have loaded or un
loaded the cars they will not put a hand
to anything else*, and perhaps if they
did th^y would be only in the way.
JSvery employe has a special duty to
•perform and does not consider bimself
engaged for anything outside of that.
Mi
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