Frostburg mining journal. [volume], April 20, 1872, Image 1

About Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913

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V. 11. WALK El? & J. 11. 01)Ell,
VOLUME 1.
The Ship Hells.
The tall white : hij;. uass <n nnd on,
Aud wane upon the sea :
And o'er the billow.*’ broken breast
Their bt lls steal back to me.
And break, in trembling. sobbing thr< ng.
Upon the sands in dim, sweet song
Of riven melody.
And sailing o’er sweet fields of gold
And clouds, and summer blue.
Through slanting sun, and haclow“ dun,
The sails slip through and through.
And throbbing bells that tremble ba *k.
Upon the fair ships’ fading tracks.
The waves with echoes strew.
And still the ships go on and on.
Out gates of hazy gray.
As dreams upon the slumb’ring sense
Pass, unfulfilled, away.
Ami leave but memory’s grieving bells.
That sob and moan, like ocean shell*.
Ever and alway.
And thus our lives go on and on.
Like ships, unceasingly :
Thro’ morning’s gold and shadows cold.
That cheek time’s varied sea.
God grant that, like the iweet shift bells,
'ihc good that in my being dwells,
May echo alter me.
Tile Merry Worker.
You wonder that I hum and sing
In such a, jocund measure?
Or that, amidst my work and care,
I snatch a glint of pleasure?
The law of labor, though severo.
Will not prevent the spirit
From ilutt’ring up with toil-elipt wings,
And making mirth a merit.
Let grumblers growl their throats adry
’Gainst trials hard and often :
For ine. I’ll trill a peaceful air.
My heart to soothe and soften.
And when the day brings snubs and sneers,
And snarling, and the rest of it.
I’ll sing the song that cheers my heart.
And trv to make the best of it.
OLD SADLER’S RESURRECTION.
“Talking about ghosts,” said the cap
tain, “listen while 1 spin you a bit of a
yarn which dates back some twenty-live
years ago, when, but a wee bit of a mid
shipman, I was on board the old frigate
Macedonian, then [Hag-ship of the West
India squadron.
“ It would hardly interest you to tell
what a clever set of lieutenants and
ward room otlicers we bad, and how the
twenty-three reefers in the two steerage
messes kept up a racket and a row all
the time, in spite of the taut Tein the
first lieutenant, Mr. Bispham, kept over
us. He wore gold-rimmed spectacles:
and I can see him now, with the buttons
shining on his blue coat, as lie would
pace the quarter-deck, eyeing us young
gentlemen of the watch, as demurely we
planked up tin* lee side, tired enough,
and waiting for eight bells to strike to
rush below and call our relief. He was
an austere man, and unlike the brave
old commodore, made no allowance for
our pranks and skylarking.
“ Among our crew, made up of some
really splendid fellows, there was an old
man-of-war’s man named Sadler—a little,
dried-up oIJ chap of some sixty years,
who had fought under Nelson at Trafal
gar, so he said, and had been up and
down, all around and criss-cross the
world so often that lie had actually for
gotten where he had been, and so bad
all bis geography lessons, learned by
cruising experience, sadly mixe 1 op in
bis bead; which alt* ough small, with a
little old, weazened frontispiece, was full
of odds and ends of yarns, with which he
used to delight us young aspirants lor
naval honors, as he would spin them to
us on the booms on moonlight nights,
alter the hammocks had been piped
down. How well do I remember the old
fellow’s appearance!—his neat white
frock and trowsers, bis low-quarter pur
ser’s shoes, with a bit of ribbon for a
bow; no socks, save the natural, flosli
tinted ones, a blue star, done in India
ink, gleaming on bis instep: his broad,
blue collar, falling gracefully from a neck
which, as we youngsters asserted, bad
received its odd-looking twist from hang
ing too lung by a grapevine, with which
the Isle of Fine’s pirates bad strung him
up when lie was (‘basing them under old
Commodore Kearney’s command. Any
how, old, sharp faced, wrinkled, mid
tanned to the color of a sole-leather
trunk, the whole cut of bis jib told you
at once that he was a regular man-of
war’s man—one of a class whose faults
1 can hardly recall while remembering
their sense of duty, their utter disregard
of danger, and the reliance with which
you can lead them on to attack anything
from an hornet's nest to an ironclad.
“ Well, so it happened, one hot day,
while cruising in the Hull'of Mexico, that
the news came to us that old Sadler was
dead; and sure enough it was so, for tlx*
old tellow had quietly slipped his moor
ings, and, as we all hoped, had at last
gone to where thesweet little cherub sits
up aloft who looks out for the soul of
poor Jack. I hen, alter the doctors had
had a shy at him, to see why he had
clean'd out so suddenly, his remains were
taken in charge by bis messmates, who
rigged the old man out in Ids muster
clothes, sewed him up in his clean white
hammock, with an eighteen pound shot
at his feet, and reported to the ofiiccr of
the deck that the body was ready for
burial. So, about six bells in the after
noon watch, the weather being very hot,
and not a breath of air to ripple the
glassy surface of the water, the lieuten
ant of the watch directed one of the
young gentlemen to tell the boatswain
to call ’All Lands to bury the dead*’
and soon fore and aft the shrill whistle*
were heard, followed by that saddest of
all call to a sailor at sea— ‘ All hands to
bury the dead !’
‘•Our good old boatswain seemed to
linger on the words with a feeling akin
to grief t parting with an old shipmate,
and as the last man reached the deck,
he touched his hat and in a sad sort of
way reported, ‘ All up, sir,’to the first
lieutenant, who in his turn reported,
‘Officers and men all on deck,sir, to the
commodore, who thereupon gave an
order to the chaplain to go on with the
services.
il The courses were hauled up, main
topsail to the mast, band on the quarter
deck, colors half-mast, and all hands,
officers and men, stood uncovered, look
ing silently and sadlv upon the body as
it lay upon the gang boards in its white
hammock, ready for the last rites.
Solemnly and most impressive y were
the services read, and at the words, ‘ We
commit this body to the deep,’ a heavy
splash was heard, and poor old Sadler
had gone to his long home forever.
Some ot us youngsters ran up in the lee
main rigging to see him go down, and
as we watched him go glimmering and
glimmering down a mere we
wondered where lie was bound, and how
long it would take him to fetch Davy
Jones’s locker on that tack.
•* ‘ Pipe down, sir,’ says the commodore
to Mr. tiispham : ‘Pipe down, sir,’says
Mr. Bispham to Mr. Dray, who was officer
of the deck ; ‘ Pipe down, sir.’ said Mr.
Dray to the gentleman of tlx* watch;
• Pipe down, sir,’ said this youngster to
the boatswain ; and then such a twitter
of pipes followed this order, and all
hands were piped down, while poor old
Sadler was still off soundings, and going
down as fast as tlx* eighteen pound shot
would take him.
“Now. you know that people coining
from a funeral on shoie always have a
sort of air, suppressed it may be, but still
cropping out ; and just so is it vvitli
sailors at sea ; for, Sadler’s body coin
mil ted to the deep, all hands felt better;
the fore and main tacks were hauled
aboard, the main yard was filled away,
and the jib sheet hauled aft, and we all
settled down into every-day lift*, which,
after all, is not half so monotonous on
board a man-of-war as you might suppose.
** Well, as I have said, the weather was
very hot, the surface of the water was as
smooth as a mill-pond, the wind was all
ii]> and down tlx* mast, and so the old
ship was boxing the compass all to her
self and not making a foot of headway.
“At one bell in the first dog watch,
Hoyle, tlx* ship's cook, reported the tea
water ready, and after this came the in
evitable evening-quarters—and some old
men of-war s men would think the
country was going to‘Jemmy Square
toes’s,’ stern first, if they didn't have
quarters —then down hammocks for the
night at six bells, and after that just as
much of fun, frolic, dance, song and
yarn-spinningas all hands wanted until
eight bells, when the watch was called.
“John Moffit, the sailing-master, the
best fellow in the ward-room mess, and
a great favorite with theyoungsters, was
officer of the deck from six to eight
o’clock ; and my messmate Buckner,
the most dare-devil midshipman of us
all, was master’s-mate of the forecastle ;
Hammond, Marshall, Smith, and 1 were
the gentlemen of the watch; Rodney
Harlow was quartermaster at the ‘ con
tlx* lookouts had just been stationed:
tlie men were singing, dancing, spin
ning yarns and otherwise amusing
them-.elves about the decks, while the
old ship was turning lazily around in
the splendid moonlight as if admiring
herself.
“ Discipline, you know, is the very
life of a man-of-war, and this must ac
count for what now took place. Tom
Edwards, a young foretopman, had tlx*
lee lookout, and as seven bells struck
he sang out, ‘Lee cat-head:' but the
last syllable died away on his lips as his
eyes rested ui on an object—a white ob
ject—standing bolt upright in the water
before him, about a hundred yards dis
tant and broad off on the lec bow.
Suppressing a strong desire to shriek,
and recovering himself, he touched his j
bat, and said, ‘ Mr. Buckner, will you
step up lu re, sir, if you please?’
“ ‘ Where is she, Edward ?’ said Buck
ner, as he quickly mounted the ham
mock-rail.
“< >ne look, a dip down, a shiver, and,
O Lord ! what did he see but old Sadler
standing straight as a ramrod, and head
ing right for the ship !
“ It took Buck a full minute to re
cover himself, and then with one eye on
the lee bow and the other on the quar
ter-deck, he walked aft and deliberately
touching his cap, reported to Moflitt,
* Old Sadler bioad off on the lee bow,
sir.’
“• The d be is !* exclaimed Mof
filt: but checking himself, he said,
•Mr. Hammond, report Sadler’s arrival
to the Commodore ; and you Mr. M ,
report it to tlx* first lieutenant, sir.’
” My eyes were as big as saucers as 1
rushed down the steerage ladder and
into tlx* ward-room, where I found the
first lieutenant quietly seated reading
over the black li*t : and when, with my
In-art in my throat, I said, ‘Mr. Bisp
ham, Old Sadler is on the lee bow, sir,’
he renelv replied, • Very well, Mr.
M , I’ll be on deck directly.’
“• 0 Lord!’ said I to myself-— ‘ to
tiki* a ghost as easily as that 1’ Bolting
up the bidder on my way Lack to the
d< ok. and trembling least I should see
tix* bo A popping his head in through
out* of the gun deck ports, 1 ran
into Hammond, who dodged me like a
shot.
“When 1 got on deck the news was
all out, for Tom Edwards couldn’t stand
it any longer, but had just yelled out,
4 Oho-t ho! ghost ho! Look out !
stand fiom under ! here he comes !’ and
bolti d aft, scared out of his wits.
“ In ten seconds all hands were on
deck—ship’s cook, yoeman, ‘Jemmy
Begs,’ ‘ Jemmy Ducks,’ * Bungs,’ 4 Lob
lolly boy,’ captain of the hold, and, by
this t me, all the officers, tod, with the
mid-hipmen scuttling up the ladders as
la t ;.s their legs and hands could carry
them.
“ Moflitt had hauled up the courses
and tquared the inn in yard, as much to
make a div- rsionas • nvthing else, al
thou.'h the men thought it was to keep
oldS diet* from lo rding us; and as
tlxy rush* d up on deck liny filled the
boom.-, lee rigging, hammock-netting,
and i vory available spot from which a
sight of the old fellow could be had.
“ V( ry soon they saw that he was not
approaching the ship. The old sinner
w is j list turning and turning around in
the water, liko a fighting-cock, dancing
away all to himself, while the moon
light. first on one side and then on the
other, in light and shadow, gave a queer
sort of look to his features, sometimes
sad and sometimes funny.
“After watching him for a few min
utes, Bill Ellis, the second captain of
the foretop, hailed him, thus : * Sadler,
ahoy ! What do you want?'
” No answer being received, one of the
mizzen-top boys suggested that the old
man had come back for his bag and
hammock, and that they ought to he
thrown overboard to him ; hut all this
was cut short by the appearance of the
Commodore on the quarter deck, and
upon him all eyes were turned as he
stepped upon the port horseblock,
where a good view could be had.
4 * Now, he was as brave an old fellow
as ever sailed a ship, but he did not fan*
j cy ghosts, and the knowledge that, ail
: hand a were looking at him to eec how
i It him fed * DtOe
An Independent Paper—Devoted to Literature, Mining, Commercial, Agricultural, General and Local News.
FROST
H/RR, ALLEGANY (’OI'NTY, MARYLAND, SATURDAY, APRIL -20, 1872
virus; but with a firm voice he called for
his night-gla.-s, and when tlx* Quarter
master, with a touch of his hat, handle 1
ii to him, be quietly arranged tlx* focus,
and, as we all supposed, was about to
point it at Sadler, who was still dancing
away for dear life all to himself. But
lie was too smart for that. He quietly
directed his glass to another quarter, to
gain a little time, and, gradually sweep
ing the horizon, brought it at last, with
a tremor of mortal dread, to hear dead
upon the ghost. Bless my soul ! how
the old gentleman shook! But recov
ering himself, with a big gulp in bis
throat he turned to the chaplain and
said,
“‘Did you read the full service over
him to-day, Mr. T V
“‘ I did, sir, as well as I can remem
ber*.’ replied Mr. T .
“‘Then, sir,’ said the Commodore,
turning to Mr. Bispham, and speaking
in an authoritative tone, ‘ we
must send a boat and bring him on
board.’
“ 4 O Lord ! O Lord : —bring a ghost
on board,’ groaned the men.
“‘Silence, fore and aft?’ said Mr.
Bispham, ‘and call away tlx* second
cutter.’
‘“Away, there, you secotxl cutters,!
away !’ sang out the boatswain’s mate.
But they didn’t ‘ away’ one step, and wo
youngsters could hear the men growl
ing out, * What does tlx* Co ..modore
want with old Sadler? This isn’t his
place; let the old man rip; lie is dead
and buried all right. We didn’t ship
to go cruising after ghosts ; we shipped
to reef topsails and work the big guns ;
and if he wants old Sadler on board he
had better go after himself.’ Some said
he had come back after his bag and
hammock, and the best way was to let
him have them, and then he would top
his boom and clear out. Others said
tire pursuer had not squared off bis ac
count ; and one of the afterguard was
seen to tickle the mainmast and whistle
for a breeze, to give the old fellow a
wide berth. But it wouldn't do; dis
oipline is di-cipline, and after a free ust*
of the colt and a good deal of hazing,
the boat's crew came aft, the cutter was
lowered, and the men, with their oars
up and eves upon the ghost, w re wait
ing the order to shove off, the bow oars
man having provided himself vvitli a
*?* xding pike to * fend off,’ as ho said,
If I • old mxi should fight.
M We youngsters knew that some-,
body else wa- needed in that boat, and
that somebody was a midshipman with
bis side-arms : but not a boy of us said
a word about it, and we were afraid
even to catch tlx* first lieutenant’s eye,
lest he should be reminded that no
young officer had, as usual, been or
dered to go; hut the order came at
last. When Moflitt asked the first
lieutenant, 4 What officer, sir, shall 1
send in that boat ?’we scattered l : ke a
lot of birds, but all too late; for Mr.
Bispham referred the matter to the
Commodore, who, with a twinkle in his
eye, said, ‘ Who discovered the ghost,
sir?’
“ ’ Midshipman Buckner reported
him, sir,’ was the reply.
“ ‘ Then,’ said the Commodore, ‘bv
piiorityof discovery be belongs to Mr.
Buckner, who will take charge of the
cutter and bring him on board.’
“ 1 heard all this from my place be
yond the mizzen-mast, and you may
guess bow glad 1 was not to have been
selected ; but a groan, a chattering of
the teeth, a trembling and shaking of
bones close by my side, caused me to
look around, and there was poor
Buck, with his priority thick upon him.
“ 4 (Jet your side-arms, si r,’ said Mof
fill ; 4 take charge of tlx* cutter and
c.uiy out the Commodore's orders.’
44 4 Ay, ay. sir?’ said Buck, but oh,
with what a change in bis voice! A
be buckled on his sword I could see
wlnt a struggle he was making to feel
brave. As be went over the gangway
to get into the boat I caught bis eye,
and if you could Pave seen licit forlorn
look you would have pitied him; for
there was old Sadler turning and turn
ing in the water, looking first this wav
and then the .other, and, as Buck
thought-, just ready to liQpk on to him
and carry him down among the dead
men.
“ It is no light matter to go up to a
ghost, front face, full face, and look
him in the eyes ; but what must it be
when you have to go up to him back
ward, as that cutter’s crew had to do
while pulling their oars, leaving only
Buck and the coxswain to face him ?
They just couldn’t do it, and at every
stroke they would suddenly slue around
on their thwarts and look at the old
fellow, who seemed to be as big as an
elephant, and just ready to clap on to
them, boat and all, as loon as they
turned to give another stroke. Poor
fellows! they made but lilt It* headway,
and what with catching crabs, fouling
their oars, blasting Sadler’s eyes, and
denouncing him generally (one fellow
fairly yelled outright when the bow
oarsman accidentally touched him),
they had a hard pull of it ; but still
they made some progress, and when
Buck sung o it, 4 Way enough,’ every
oar Hew inboard.'i vory man faced sud
denly around, and with this tlx* cutter
keeled over, and, her bow touching old
Sadler on his shoulder, ducked him out
of sight for a secon I, at which all hands
shouted, thinking tint lx* Lad gone for
ever; but in a moment more, up he
popped, fresh as a lark, higher than
ever before, and this time right abreast
of the stern-sheets, where he Lobbed
and bowed to Buck, at which, with a
yell of terror, all hands went overboard,
and, floundering in the water, begged
for mercy. The cutter had some lilt! >
headway, and this, of course, brought
Sadler astern on tlx* other quarter, and
then there was a wild rush to get hack
into the boat, for fear the old fellow
was doubling on them to make a rush.
“The Commodore, hearing the row
and fearing disaster, ordeicd another
boat to the rescue ; hut ere it reached
the spot, Buck had, in some manner,
quitted his men, a ho, seeing the ghost
still standing holt upright in the water,
and dancing away as if nothing had
happened to scare him, manned their
oars again and pulled cautiously toward
him; while he. with that changeable
moonlight grin on bis ftce, was bobbing
up and down to the boat’s crew, as if
Buck were the Contmodnrc himself
Coming to pay him . visit
“ ‘Stand by, there in the l ovv, to hook
on to him,’ sang out Buck.
44 4 Ay, ay, sir ! I’ll fix him :’ and with
that and a heavy expletive in regard to
the old fellow’s eyes, tlx* bow oarsman
slammed bis boarding pike light into
the ghost, just abaft bis left leg, and as
the sharp steel touched the body, a
whizzing sound, like the escape of
steam, was heard, and without a
word old Sadler vanished from earth
forever.”
“ But, Captain, tell us what really
brought the old gentleman Lack,” said
one of the auditors.
“ Well, just think of that t’ght white
hammock, the light weight of the shot,
and the very hot weather—think, too,
bow easily a fishing-cork is balanced in
tlx* water by a very small sinker, and
lastly, how confined air will buoy up
anything—and you have the whole se- ■
oret of his coming back. Let that air
suddenly escape, and you have the so- !
oret of his disappearance.
“ Buck used to say that 4 priority of
discovery’ was a good tiling in tlx* days
of Columbus, but if it was to bo con
tinued in force in the navy, hang him
if he should ever report another ghost,
even if lx* should see him walking the
quarter-deck with the speaking-trum
pet under his arm.
Current Items.
To maintain a yacht involves an ex
pense of $20,000 a year.
It took forty tons of type to print the
summing up of counsel in the Tichborne
case.
Laura Keene, in her new magazine,
Fine Arts , repudiates the woman’s rights
movement.
Cheyenne has raised SIO,OOO of the
$20,000 required to erect a fine hotel at
that station.
Mu. A. S. Abell, editor and proprietor
of the Baltimore Sun, is said to be worth
$10,000,000.
A butcher in Flint, Mich., has boy
twins, eighteen months old, weighing
seventy-five pounds.
Jos i e Mansfield lias sued Fisk’s estate
for $20,000. She alleges that six* holds
his note for that amount.
An Indiana wife worked four years to
piece a quilt, and then her husband got
drunk and tore it up in five minutes.
The codfish in tlx* wells of the fishing
smacks at New London are reported
frozen so still’ that their tails jye used
for bootjacks.
A Jewish hotel has been established
in Boston, where Israelites can find food
cooked after the fashion prescribed by
their religion.
Henry Niemeyek, of Columbus, Wis.,
raised 2,000 pounds of good Connecticut
seed tobacco on an area of little more
tluin one acre of ground.
A Justice of the Peace in the. Parish
of St. Bernard, La., fined Joseph Can
trell and Philip (uiiterez $1.50 each for
fighting a duel with shot-guns.
A horse in Norwich, Conn., is the pet
of the newspaper reporters. With iis
runaways and other antics, the Bulletin
man thinks he is better than a buzz saw
for items.
A Denver restaurant man recently
charged a traveler $9 for a little lunch
he put up for the latter to use between
meals on the road between Denver and
Kansas City.
A noted hoop-skirt manufacturing
firm of Bridgeport,Conn., having a large
and unsalable stock on band, have
chartered a shipload to Dan!zig, expect
ing to dispose of the same.
Mr. Robert C. Wi.nth rod has a clock,
still in good lunning order, which was
made 250 year* ago for his ancestor, the
(iovernor of Massachusetts, when that
State was a British colony.
In his recent trip to the Yosemite
Valley, Bierstadt, the artist, bad a ren
c nitre with a lynx, which he felled to
the earth with a club, leaving its death
to le accomplished by bis dwg.
Chestnut timber is sent in large quan
tities from Connecticut to St. Albans,
Vt., to l>e used in the manufictuie of
railway cars. It is said that tlx* best
chestnut growths are in Connecticut.
The new hotel at Saratoga, ’ *fc yet
named, has been let to Breslin A iisey,
of New York, for ten years, for $27,500
per year. 11 is brick, five stories high,
with 050 rooms, and will be opened
July 1.
Roswell Parker, of Detroit, caused
the arrest of his step .-on. ten years of
age, for stealing from him sl. Little
F ide pleaded guilty, and lias been
locked up with thieves, burglars and
murderers.
No question over brought before a
Pennsylvania chapter of Knights of
Pythias is as pithy as what to do with a
dignified female who had readied, un
detected, the -econd degree in their
in their organization.
The allegorical clock over the north
door of the old hall of the Hoii-e of
R piv.-cntative-, at Washington, has
never been paid for. The constructor
did, leiving no heirs, before the appro
priation was paid, and it is yet in the
Treasury.
A lady in Lyon c >unty, Ky., of the
name of Oliver, recently gave birth to
four children—two hoys and two girls—
all of whom are alive and doing well.
Thirteen years this same lady brought
forth three children at one birth, two of
whom are s ill living.
A workman at Brantford,Conn., lately
found attached to an ax a rat frozen to
death. The rat had evidently tried to
lap something on the edge of the ax,
when its tongue stuck tight to the steel,
and the creature was kept there till it
died an innocent but untimely death.
Chaplain John J. Kean, of the navy,
who was recently confirmed as chaplain,
and his commission dated back to some
time in 1861, has filed a claim in the
Fourth Auditor’s office for $13,000 back
pay, in accordance with the provisions
of the act of July 15, 1870, which pro
vide* that the increased pay of a pro
moled officer shall commence from the
date he is to take rank* ** *td.ed in hs
commission'
Farm ami Garden.
Leaves vs. The Sun - \ writer who evi
dently knows whereof In* affirms says :
“it is a mistake to imagine that the j
sun must shineon the bunchesof grapes j
in order to ripen them. Nature intin i- i
ed no such thi..g: on the contrary, it is
videot that the vines naturally hear
their fruit in such away as to screen it
from the sun, and man is most unwise
when lie rashly interferes with this in
tentif. ; what is wanted i the full ox*
I 'miio u! the leaves to the sun: they
will pr pan'the nutriment of the. grape,
they will feed and nurse it, and eventu
ally rear it up into succulence and lus
ciousness.”
Swine in Orchards. —A. M. Gatch, of
Milford, Ohio, stated at a, meeting of!
the Ohio Ilor icultura! Society that he
prevented his apples from falling, and
kept them on his trees into October, by
turning in swine. He kept from forty
to sixty lii ad of swine among his trees,
and they plowed up the ground so thor
oughly that he supposed that they de
stroyed all the insects as they fell.
Fertilizers for the Potato. —Ashes are
great fertilizers for the potato ; apply in
the hil;. A little guano is an additional
help. Some also use lime to advantage
—all applied in the hill. A good sod,
well rotted and mixed with the soil, is
usually sufficient, with manure of some
sort or the fertilizers mentioned, in the
hill, ihis secures the crop, and will
not grow too much vine, which is apt
to be the case where the land is quite |
rich.
W here the soil was of ordinary fertil
ity we have found benefit in applying
manure, spread broadcast. After a while
it was worked into the soil, and made a
fine mellow thing of it, benefiting the
crop greatly, but making it rather
coarse and w .tery, fit only to feed to
stock. Ihe better sorts might be made
to do for the table, but we. prefer a dif
ferent kind of pabulum for this pur
pose. Ashes and old vegetable manure
will supply this, and if the growth is
not quite so rank, it will at least be
highly remunerative and satisfactory.
/ low Varieties are Improved. —The Amer
ican Agriculturist says : Mr. Lane, of Ver
mont, who lias been so successful with
his sugar-beet culture, sends us an ac
count ot his processes. He commenced
twelve years ago, selecting for seed the*
best, six beets ot those that approached
nearest to the particular type he wished
to produce. From the crop raised front
this seed the best six were again select
ed, and soon until the present time,
when he claims to* have produced his
ideal of a good beet to raise for the
dairy—a beet that lor uniformity oi
shape, color, solidity, quality, size and
yield is not excelled by any beet or
mangold that is raised in this country.
The largest beets raised the past
season in our vicinity weighed from
nineteen 10 tvventv-one pounds.” The
specimens exhibited by Mr. Lane at the
time of delivering his address weighed
respectively six pounds and ten pounds.
Grown at eighteen by thirty inches
spaces, roots averaging six pounds
would make a crop of nearly thirty-live
tons per acre; roots averaging ten
pounds would make fifty-eight tons per
acre. Mr. Lane has also made experi
ments of the same character with
onions; and he thinks that instead of
tsying to get better vegetables by pro
ducing new varieties, if we would im
prove the best old varieties we would
attain more uniformity and better qual
ity. He thinks he can take the peach
blow potato, and by selecting a few
specimens for seed the nearest the type
he s. i iies to produce, continuing this
selection for ten or twelve years, ‘‘pro
duce peach blows either round or oblong,
white or peachblow in color, and uni
l‘>rm in cither of the e characteristics.” '
Ihe same is true of other vegetables
I'.s.des roots; tomatoes and Indian
corn are examples in which we can
most strikingly see the good results ot
selection. .So with tlowers. By choos
ing lor seed those specimens only that
piesent desirable characters, we can
each year improve upon their beauty.
Many varieties will deteriorate without
tliis care.
Bronze Turkeys. —A writer in the 1 Tart
ford Times tells what he knows about
Bronze Turkeys from practical experi
ence: ‘‘Bronze Turkeys aio a cross be
tween the domestic or tame, and wild
turkeys, and make tiie finest and
slum jest birds. They resemble as
closely as possible the original stock,
and look not dissimilar to wild birds,
and next to them weigh the heaviest,
fatten the most rapidly, and can he
reared with much less trouble than any
other variety.”
A Girl’s Revenge.
Edward I>. Waltz, of Staten Island,
who was shot on Thursday night by his
slighted sweetheart, died on Saturday
morning. The girl hud sued him for
breach of promise, and the Richmond
County Court on Thursday decided
againsl her. The same day Waltz
crossed to Eliz ibethport in a row boat,
and on his way back in the evening
was met by a boat containing a man
and a woman. When the boats came
together, the girl, who proved to be
W.-Lz’s discarded s.veetiieart, fired six
bails at him from a revolver, several of
t urn striking him. After the shoot
ing, tim boat containing the girl was
rowed hack to Staten Island. Waltz,
after three hours’ sutlbrim:, got hack
to Eliz-ibethport wharf, and was then
rowed back to St iten Island.
Another Mine Disaster.
On Monday afternoon a terrible acci
dent occurred at the Lackawanna break
er, C irbondale, Pa. The trestle work
of a coal breaker, 100 feet high, broke
down, carrying with it a number of men
and boys who were at work on it at the
time. The crushed and broken timbers
from some cause almost immediately
caught fire, and it was with the greatest
difficulty that the. breaker was saved j
from de traction. Two men, named |
John Clark and Dwight Moses, and aj
boy named William Palmer, are fatally j
injured. Pis b* loved, but not known,
that several boy* perished in the tlameo
The breaking of the trestle was caused
by ti furious gale.- A miner named Ros
acf) in the mine at the eamo place, was
almost instantly killed by a fall of coal.
The New Homestead Hill.
The Washington correspondent of the
i Chicago Tribune writes under date of
| March 27 as follows:
j The inquire regarding the exact
j terms of the Soldiers’ Homestead hill
are very numerous from all quarter*.
As it goes to the President for his signa
ture, it provides that every officer or
soldier, seaman or marine, who served
during the rebellion and was honorably
discharged, shall, on compliance with
the Homestead act, receive a patent for
100 acres of public land —not mineral
including the alternate reserved sect ions
of public lands along the line of any
railroad or other public work ; provided
that said homestead settler shall be al
! owed six months after locating his
I homestead within which to commence
bis settlement and improvement *. and
provided, al-o, that the time which the
homestead settler shall have served in
the army, navy, or marine corps, afore
said, shall bo deducted from the time
heretofore required to perfect title, or if
discharged on account of wounds re
ceived, or disability incurred in the line
of duty, then the term of enlistment
shall be deducted from the time hereto
fore required to perfect title without
reference to the length of time he may
have served; provided, however, that
no patent shall issue to any homestead
settler who has not resided upon, im-
I proved, and cultivated his said home
stead tor a period of at least one year
after he shall commence his improve
ments as aforesaid. Any one entitled
to enter under this act, and who lias
heretofore entered less than 160 acres
under the Homestead act, may enter
enough under the present act to make
100 in all. If anv person entitled to
the provisions of this act has died, his
widow, if unmarried, or in case of her
death or marriage, then his minor or
phan children, by guardian duly ap
pointed, shall be entitled to all the
benefits of the act. If any previous
entry under the Homestead act has
lapsed h/ reason of absence of the pre
emptor in the army or navy, the entry
shall be restored. Any soldier, sailor,
marine, oflicer, or other person coming
within the provisions of this act may as
well by an agent as in person enter
upon said homestead,provided that said
claimant, in person, shall within the
time prescribed commence settlement
and improvements on the same and
thereafter fulfill all requirements of this
act. The Commissioner of the General
Land Office is to make all needful rules
to carry the act into effect.
Ail Eventful Career.
The reinterment at Louisville of a
young man named Charles M. Swagar,
elicits from the Courier-Journal a sketch
of his career, which was singularly event
ful and romantic. He was little more
than a hoy when tin* war broke out, but
be joined one ol‘the first companies that
left that city to serve in the rebel army.
He was wounded at Yorktown, and sub
sequently was mustered out, but while
In* was returning home he was taken
prisoner and sent to Indianapolis. Upon
being exchanged he immediately re-en
listed and fought in several of the se-,
verest battles of the war, receiving a
number of serious wounds. Finally In*
was taken prisoner again, and sent to
Chicago, but upon his arrival in that
city In* eluded tin* guard, and entering
a clothing store, told the proprietor that
unless ho immediately gave him a
change of clothes he would give himself
up and report the clothing dealer as
having aided his escape. This threat
secured a hurried compliance with his
demand, and tin* garb of rebellion was
replaced by a citizen’s suit. After re
maining in Chicago two or three days
Swagar went to Canada, and soon after
joined the St. Alban’s raid, and was
once more a prisoner. When the war
closed he went to Far is, and became con
nected with a banking house there.
Subsequently be was appointed consular
agent for lie* United States at Etienne,
and served in that capacity until 1867.
Then he returned to his home in Louis
ville, and remained until dune, 1870,
when he went hack to Paris, and was
killed during the siege by a Prussian
shell which entered bis room and explo
ded. With all this remarkable end va
ried experience he died at the age of
twenty eight.
Anecdote of Colonel Colt.
The following story (says tin* Wash
ington Chronicle) is told of Col. Samuel
Colt, who in his lifetime was sometimes
inclined to be a tritie pompous. When
lie was building dwelling houses for the
workmen employed in his great pistol
factory, he one day encountered a boy
picking up chips on liis grounds.
“ What arc you doing here?” he asked
gruffly.
“Picking up chips, sir,” replied the
youngster, evidently unawed by the
great presence.
“Perhaps,” exclaimed the Colonel,
<lrawing himself up with dignity, ‘‘von
don’t know who I am. I’m Col. Samuel
Colt, and I live in that big house up
yonder.”
fhe boy straightened up, swelled out,
and answered, “Perhaps you don’t know
who/am. I’m Patrick Murphy, and 1
live in that little shanty down yonder,”
pointing in the direction.
“Sonny,” said the Colonel, blandly,
patting the boy on tin* head, “goon and
pick up all theehips you want, and when
you get out, come back for more.”
An Arkansas paper says that in Law
rence county, as some persons were
clearing some, land, they set fire to a
large oak log lying on the ground, when
they noticed a rattlesnake crawling out
from the log. They turned it over,
when they discovered a den of seventy
two rattlesnakes, two green snakes, and
one king snake. Twenty-two of the
rattlesnakes had from fourteen to
eighteen rattles, and measured from
seven to nine teet in length.
A curious freak of nature is to be
seen at the Pittsburgh bolt works.
| There is a man working in this estab
lishment named George Parsons, thirty
nine years of age, who had his front
teeth extracted some time ago, and he
is now cutting a full set of teeth in their
place.
London is known to have existed as
a town more than two thousand years
ftgO
Editors and Proprietors.
NUMBER 30.
Don’t Crowd.
Don’t crowd, the world is broad enough
For you as well as uie :
The doors of art are open wide—
The realm of thought is free.
In all earth’s places you are right
To chase the best you can
Provided that you do not try
To crowd some other man.
Don’t crowd the good from out your heart.
By fostering all that’s had.
But give to every virtue room—
The best that may he had ;
Be each day’s record such a one
That you may well he proud :
Give each his right—give each his room,
And never try to crowd.
Charlen Dickent.
Gossip for the Dear Creatures.
Toe first day of Adam’s life must have
been a long one, as it had no Eve.
Men and women differ. You may,
perhaps, convince a man, but you must
persuade a woman.
“ What should you be, dearest,” said
Walter to his sweetheart, “if I was to
press the seal of love upon those seal
ing-wax lips?” “ 1 should be station
ery.”
Tiif. May of a Syracuse January re
cently eloped with said January’s son,
and to counterbalance which an Indi
ana father has marrie 1 his son’s divorced
wife.
The editor of a cotemporary writes
that “ the woman who has smoothed
his rutiled bosom for years called to say
she could not do it hereafter under nine
shillings a week.”
A Western editor’s editorial state
ment, “We are living at this moment
under absolute despotism,” is explained
by his cotemporaries by the fact that he
has lately been married.
Miss Ei.len L. Fletcher, of Charles
ton, N. 11., having learned the trade,
has opened a jeweler’s shop, and the
watches of all the young men in town
are out of order in consequence.
The Austin (Tex.) Gazette says: “A
bride in this county advises against
making bridal tours across the Gulf.
She says it causes sea sickness—months
after the trip is made.”
The following congratulatory telegram
was received from Cincinnati by a wed
ding party in Nashville: “Congratula
tions on your nuptials; may your future
troubles be only little ones.”
The latest fashion at weddings is for
a gentleman to present his daughter
with a check for a large amount, which
is displayed with the other presents,
but taken back by the indulgent pere at
the close of the reception.
A handsome and aristocratic young
lady in reduced circumstances has been
appointed keeper of a toll-bridge over
the Neuse river in North Carolina,
whereat an editor down there says :
“ There wLI undoubtedly be more
young men than ever tolled over that
bridge; and many a love story will bo
told over it too.”
A fellow lately started a store in
Kansas. The following was the .sign ho
hung out : “ Dry goods by John Smith,
who wishes to get married.” This sign
i drew all kinds of custom. The single
ladies went, of course, and the married
men all told their wives to go, under
tho impression that they could easily
cheat so great a fool!
A gentleman of Indianapolis whose
wife died eight or ten days ago has since
erected at the head of her grave a pine
board with a cross painted on if, and
presented a fine piano to the girl he
has his eye on. Such beautiful devo
tion to the memory of the loved and
lost is not uncommon among the wid
owed hearts of Indianapolis.
National Debts.
The National debt of England has
been reduced some $40,000,000 dur
ing the past two years, but it is still a
tolerably good-sized blessing, amounting
as it does to about $3,964,000,000. The
annual interest charge is near $119,-
000.000 or about $9,000,000 more than
the yearly interest on our debt. Not
long ago England led the world ir. the
magnitude of her debt, as in some other
things. Now she is surpassed by France,
\vhich has a blessing of $5,500,000,000,
including the war indemnity. Next,
comes England; next, the United
States, with about $2,350,000,000; next,
Austria, with 5T,550,000,000 ; next,
Russia, with $1,500,000,000; next Italy,
with $1,425,000,000; next, Spain, with
$1,185,000,000; next, Germany, with
$850,000,000; then, Turkey, with $520,-
000,000. Of these countries, all except
England, Germany and the United
States are increasing their debts con
stantly, at rates varying from $25,000,-
000 to $110,000,000 per annum, aside
from the increase resulting from wars.
England is paying slowly. Germany is
paying very fast, and bids fair to be clear
of debt soon after the payment of the
indemnity by France.
A Windfall.
Riley and John Springer, of Putnam
county, link, are heirs to the Springer
estate*, on which tin* city of Wilmington,
Del., is situated, ll .seems that, genera
tions since, one of the ancestral Springers
rented an 800-acre farm in Delaware to
a German for a term of ninety-nine
years. When tie* lease expired by limi
tation, no one was on hand to claim the
property, and it was disposed of for the
public good. Recently, the ancient
lease caim* to light, and a little investi
gation into the matter has made the
Springers a happy family. The old farm
became the site of Wilmington, Del.; the
property is now worth $80,000,000; and
it is said that the title is perfect.
The Place for Old Maids.
A lonely pioneer writes as follows
from La Coma, Wyoming: “ J sin
cerely wish that many hundreds of old
maids and widows who cannot get hus
bands at home would come out here,
where they could speedily get a choice
of good, honest, hard-working men,
who could make them comfortable and
independent. There are, I really
think, five men here for one woman,
in fact, very many of them have been
compelled to live with native Indian
women, who, to my eyes, are perfect
frights, and worse in their conduct than
appearancej although that is bad
enough,”