The Somerset press. [volume], October 17, 1873, Image 1

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r POETRY.
"HOIE, IWEET BOIL"
Ta following poem by John G. Saxp, was
read by the author on the occasion of the u
Telllnj of the bast of John Howard Payne, in
Prospect Park, Brooklyn, few weeks ago:
Ts him who sang of "Home, 8weet Home."
In strain ao sweet the aimple lav
Has thrilled a million hearts, we couie
A nation's grateful debt to pay.
Yet. not for him the bust we raise;
Ah, no! can lifeless Hps prolong
Fsme's trumpet voice? The poet's praise
laves in the music of his song!
The noble dead we fondly seek
To honor wilh applauding breath;
Unheeded fall the words we speak
Upon the "doll, cold ear of death."
Yet, not in Tain the spoken word,
Nor vain the monument we raise;
With qnicker throbs our hearts sre stirred -
To catch the nobleness we praise!
Columbia's sons we share his feme;
'Tis for ourselves the bust we rear,
That they who mark the graven name
May know that name to us is dear;
Dear as the home the exile sees
The faireat spot beneath the sky
Where first upon a mother's knees
He slept, and where he yearns to die.
But not alone the lyric fire
Was bis; the drama's muse can tell
His genius eould a Kean inspire;
A Keoible owned his magic spell;
A Kean, to "Brutus' " self so true,
(As true to Art and Nature's laws)
He seemed the man the poet drew,
And shared with him the town's applause
Kind hearts and brave, with truth severe
He drew, unconscious from his own;
O nature rare! But pilgrim's here
Will oft'oest ssy, in pensive tone,
With reverent face ana lifted hand,
" Twas he by Fortune forced to roam
When, homeless, in a foreign land.
So sweetly sang the joys of home !"
The First Kentucky Rifle.
Says the Franklin (Ky.) Pan-toe.- In
tbe Public Library building at Louis
ville, Kentucky, hang, on a pair of rus
tic hooks, an old rifle and shot-pouch.
Near by is a piece of beech-log, sawed
a convenient length to set on end in the
relic case. Ported op is an old letter,
dated 1789. "Otly these and nothing
more." The old powder-horn is stop
ped up by a plug of wood, which has
been drawn so often by its former owner
that its end is chawed off close. But
what of that? Header, that stopple
bears the marks of the teeth of Daniel
Boone; that rifle was the first gun of the
battles on the "dark and bloody ground."
Though its lock is gone, its stock is bro
ken, and its barrel is rusty, that gun
used to be the terror of the aboriginal
inhabitants of Kentucky, who feared
and dreaded it, even when it and its
owner were temporarily in their posses
sion and power. A hundred years ago
that old hero, equipped by those trusty
deadly accoutrements, led a charmed
dramatic life, roaming over the forest
of which he was lord, from the great
"Conhowa," as he spelled, it to the Mis
sissippi. The beech-log, carved by his
butcher-knife, which hangs by a leather
string from the old belt, bears this in
scription: "Daniel Boone, 1774."
The Sort of Men that Women Like
Best.
We know that men naturally shrink
from the attempt to obtain companions
who are their superiors; but they will
find that really intelligent women, who
possess most desirable qualiti"., are uni
formly modest, and hold their charms in
modest estimation. What such women
admire in men is gallantry; not the gal
lantry of courts or fops, but boldness,
' courage devotion and refined civility.
A n- n's bearing wins ten superior wo-
me ." where his boots and brains win one.
j( a man stands before a woman with
respect for himself and fearlessness of
her, his suit is half won. The rest may
safely be left to the parties most interes
ted. Therefore never be afraid of a wo
man. Women are the most harmless
and agreeable creatures in the world to
vjt man who shows that he has a man's
soul in him. If you have not got the
spirit to come up to the test like this,
vou have not got that which most
pleases a highsouled woman and you
will be obliged to content yourself with
the simple girl who, in a quiet way, is
endeavoring to attract and fasten you.
But don't be in a hurry about the mat
ter. It isn't creditable to you. Espec
ially don't imagine that any disappoint
ment in love which takes place before
yon are twenty-one years old, will be of
any material consequence to yon.
. The Esquimaux Dog,
The most valuable domestic animal in
Kamschatka is the dog. During winter
they are fed with dried fish every morn'
ing and evening; but, while traveling
they get nothing to eat, even though
they run for hours. Their strength is
wonderful. Generally no more than five
of them are harnessed to a sledge, and
will drag with ease three full-grown per
sons, and sixty pounds of luggage.
When lightly laden such a sledge will
travel from thirty to forty miles in a
day over bad roads and through the deep
snow; on even roads, from eighty to one
hundred and forty.
During a snow-storm, the dogs keep
their masters warm, and will lie quietly
near him for hours, bo that he has mere
' ly to prevent the snow from covering
him too deeply and suffocating him.
The dogs are also excellent weather
prophets; for when, while resting, they
dig holes in snow, a storm may with
certainly be expected.
In a eotempoary we find the following
historical statistics regarding the influ
ence of wives:
It is not all a dream which made the
wife of Julius Caesar so anxious that he
should, not go to the Senate chamber on
the fatal Ides of March, and had he
complied with her entreaties, he might
'have escaped the dagger of Brutus. Dis
aster followed disaster in the career of
Napoleon, from the time he ceasad to
feel the balance wheel of Josephine's
influence on his impetuous spirit. Our
own Washington, when important ques
tions were submitted to him, often has
aid that he would like to carry the sub
ject to his bed-chamber before he had
benefit formed his decision; and those who knew
sLa Brr the clear jiulfslTTiil and elevated pur
Last y i pose of Mrs. Washington, thought all
by tr the better of him for wishing to make
her his confidential counsellor. Indeed,
the great majority of men, who have
acquired for themselves a good and
great name, were not only married men
but happily married both paired and
matched.
Promise. Keep your promises.
The man who forfeits his word, without
good or sufficient reason, on one occas
ion, will repeat it, and is unworthy of
our confidence. If American boys and
girls are trained to consider a promise
as a sacred thing, the men and women
will soon be more honorable. Every
day, life's worries are added to, and its
cares increased, by some one forfeiting
his word. I promised, but did not
mean it, is a remark as common it is
heartless. Never promise without de
liberation, and keep it strictly, even if
compelled to use great self-denial.
tn At a hotel table one boarder remarked
M to his neighbor: "This must be a healthy
lo plaB for chickens." 7hyt" asked the
h"er. "Because I never see any dead
-Ones hereabouts."
VOLUME 1.
SELECT STORY.
A SWIM FOB LIFE.
"Glorious! most glorious!" exclaimed
Capt. Chawthewind, rubbing his hands
with delight, as he placed the deck of the
smart Indiaman Skimmer of the Seas
with Col. Tyghtfy tte (in command of
troops) "only let this breeze hold On,
and we shall get sight of the Deserts
before nightfall! Mr. Workemwell
(chief officer), let them leave the log,
Land see what she is going."
"Aye, aye, sir! Heave the log," shouts
the mate.
"You know," continues the captain,
"it will be most satisfactory to get a
sight of the land before dark. Ah!
that's how one likes to see the line fly
out. What is she going?
"Twelve knots good, sir."
"Twelve knots good!" repeats the cap
tain. "Ah! ah! hoorah for the JJefer
tas!" The Skimmer of the Seas had thus
far made a most favorable passage, and
left the frogs of old England far behind..
We were now in a most lonely climate,
and only nine days out. Troops and
passengers, quite recovered from sea
sickness, had shaken down in their
places, and if appetite and good spirits
be a criterion, then had reaction entire
ly set in.
The decks were alive with animated
nature; cut off from the world, alone on
the ocean, the Skimmer of the Seas rep
resented a world in miniature. Detach
ments of troops to reinforce their respec
tive regiments in her Majesty's Eastern
Empire; officers, military and civil, re
turning from furlough, etc., grass, wid
ows, happy in the idea of soon rejoining
their husbands; larking cadets, a batch
of bright-eyed merry girls, "going out
on spec"--enough, one would imagine,
to make of India itself a Paradise; mer
chants, planters and others; the busy
crew of the ship; the lowing of cows,
bleating of sheep, an incessant chorus
from poultry of all descriptions, every
one busy about their respective duties,
or amusing themselves in various ways.
Capt. Chawthewind was a Scotchman
by birth, and cousin to all families of
note in the country. He was a tall,
bony man, with gray sandy whiskers,
small gray eyes, and red nose; and
though by no means a bad-hearted man,
was exceedinyly choleric. He was de
scribed by the sailors an half-alligator,
half-rattlesnake, with the strain of hip
popotamus sort of a man. He had
been niany years in command of an In-
diaman, was noted for making quick
passages, and never spared sails or sail
ors when there was a chance of going
ahead, in which he was seconded by Mr.
Workemwell.
The Skimmer of the Seas had now a
rattling breeze right aft, studding-sail
set on both sides alow and aloft; even
the royal studding-sails and main sky
sail were still set, although expected
every moment to be taken in, -as it ap
peared something must give way, such
a tremendous press of canvas was she
now carrying in a braize so strong, mak
ing the spars and ropes sneeze and crack
as she dashed along; but all the gear
was of the . first class, and the captain
not the man to spare her; and as tbe gal
lant vessel surged and rolled and flew
on her course, she appeared not less
anxious than her commander to get a
sight of the Desertas before nightfall.
There was a pretty good sea on, which
broke fiercely; but, as we were scudding
along before it, we felt little of it.
It was the fashion with Capt. Chaw
thewind, as with some other men when
running before the wind, to have the
wind up in case of the ship broaching
to from the negligence of helmsman or
from other causes; it is of course be
calmed by the other sails, and sweeps
over the jib-boom from Bide to side as
the ship rolls.
About 2 p. m., a seaman, by name of
John Neville a stout and powerful
west-countryman, twenty-three years of
age was sent to secure some hanks that
were adrift on the flying jib. As he
was passing out on the jibboom, the
ship gave a rather heavy roll, and the
jib by some means swept him overboard;
he was lightly clad, having on only a
blue flannel shirt, with canvas trowsers.
The cry of "Man overboard!" was
echoed fore and aft; a dozen voices
Bhouted out, "Put the helm down!"
The helmsman, who happened to be
Neville's own chum, and who had only
left him a few minutes before, immedi
ately put the helm hard down, without
waiting for orders from the officer of the
watch. Orders were at once given to let
fly tacks, sheets, halliards; in fact to let
everything fly, to cut away the life-buoy,
to clear away the boat, etc. All was
confusion; the ship was already up in
the wind, and soon came aback. The
row caused by the shaking of the sails,
he cracking of the boosna auict - xnastn,
and the general smash aloft, was some
thing terrific.
The life-buoy that hung over the
stern was at once cut away; it consisted
of two small casks connected by a bar
of wood about four feet along, that pass
ed right through the center of them; it
had no protection from the sun, no one
knew its age, it was regularly with the
ship, and looked all that could be desir
ed, bat on striking the water one cask
collapsed without hesitation. The
hoops started on the other, and in less
than two minutes the life buoy had dis
appeared. Many other things that
would float were cast overboard, and a
party of soldiers seized the spar on
which the carpenter was working and
launched it overboard. It would have
been a godsend for poor Neville, who
was a long distance off, but he saw
naught of any of the articles hove over
board.
The second officer, Mr. Welldon, who
had kept his eye on Neville (who was
now at least a mile away) sprang into
the cutter as she was being lowered, in
which he found the boatswain and six
seamen, and took command of the boat,
Capt. Chawthewind, who was below
at the time of the accident, hearing the
sails shaking, sprang upon deck, and had
taken in the situation at a glance. A
severe looking man at all times, he was
now fearful to behold. Ilia face was
pale (except the nose) with rage, he flew
at the chief officer and screamed, "How
dare the helm be put down; the ship go
ing before the wind with such a press of
canvas on her?" The mate said the
helm had been put down without orders
from the officers of the watch. The
Captain in two strides faced the helms
man, a stalwart seaman, and shrieked
You wretch! how dare you put the helm
down without orders? ' see what you
have done?" "Beg pardon, sir," replied
the sailor, "a dozen orders were given to
put the helm down, and I was certain I
heard yours above all the rest, sir." This-i
caused the Captain to stamp, and storm,
and swear, and how it would had cul
minated it is impossible to sav but at
moment a gust of wind blew the Cap
tain s hat off, and brought bis notice
that the Skimmer of the Seas was rapi
dly coming round on her heel, the jib
sheet not being fast, and would soon
again be heading for the Desertas. As
Neville got clear of the ship he was
seen by the ladies and others on the poop
swimming buoyantly, and as the fierce
crest of a wave caught him, and he dis
appeared, there were several suppressed
cries of ar.e lish, followed by exclama
tion of joy as he reappeared. But he
was evidently entangled in his shirt, as
he could be seen throwing his arms
about in a strange way, and the most of
ns thought it was all up with him, but a
veritable cheer rang out when he was
seen divested of his shirt, and striking
out bravely for the ship. Every now
and again he was seen to be overwhelm
ed by a sea, but as he constantly reap
peared, had given up swimming, and
was evidently husbanding his strength
by floating only, it was seen Neville was
at home in the water, knew what he was
about, and, provided no shark interfered
with him, great hopes were entertained
that he would be saved.
On casting an eye aloft, a melancholy
sight met one's view. The wings of the
Skimmer of the Seas were horribly crip
pled, the main top-gallant mast, and
nearly all the studding-sail booms were
gone, and the main-topsail lookedaas
though it had been a target for the
"Woolwich infant."
The sailors were already aloft clearing
away the wreck, and the troops, headed
by some sailors, made themselves, as
they are ever ready to do, most nseful
in assisting on deck.
The fore and migen top-gallant sails
had been furled, and the mainsail haul
ed up, etc., as useless when running be
fore the wind. The spanker was now
hauled out, and the ship hove to, though
still drifting fast to leeward. Many an
anxious eye was on the boat as she pro
gressed on her voyage of mercy. The
sailors were seen bending to their oars,
and as she had to pull head to sea they
had a rough time of it. The boat, how
ever, was a splendid one.
Neville could be seen every now and
then as he rose on the seas floating like
a log. The boat nears him, and the
cheer that resounds fore and aft the Bhip
from those on the look-out made it
known to all on board that Neville
at last safe in the boat.
In about three-quarters or an hour
from the time he was swept from the
jibboom he again came over the side of
the ship, apparently little the worse, but
looking uncommonly washed. All hands
received him with a cheer, and many
passengers and idlers surrounded him to
hear what he had to say. Orders were
at once given to hoist the boat up;
and the Captain, impatient at losing so
much time, ordered the spanker to be
brailed up, and at the same time the
helm to be put up, the boat would be at
the davits ere the ship paid off before
the wind, and so become exposed to the
seas, and, seeing Neville, called out to
him, in a voice that boded no good, to
come before him. "You scoundrel!"
commenced the captain in a voice of
thunder, shaking his spy-glass, "how
dare you, sir, have the audacity to fall
overboard in a breeze like this, the ship
under such a press of canvas? You
ought to be ashamed of yourself, sir.
Look at the rnischef you have caused
alott Bir, and it was well known how anx
ious we were to sight the Desertas be
fore dark, sir. By God, sir, I'll teach
you to choose such a time to fall overboard-"
"Beg pardon, sir," replied Ne
ville, "but as I was passing out on
the jibboom she gave a heavish roll to
starboard, the jib hung awhile in the
port guys, and then came over with a
surge, sir, the foretop caught me some
how under the chin " "Chin be
d d, sir!" roared the Captain, don't
talk te me about chin! Whoever heard
of a man being induced overbroad by a
chin, sir, and in a thirteen-knot breeze
into the bargain, sir?"
Neville looked rather taken aback,
and showed his chin, red, blue and scrag
ged underneath. "Don't show your
wretched chin to me, sir?" shouted the
Captain. "I should advise you to leave
a chin of that sort on shore before ven
turing 'on another voyage, sir, Damn
such a chin!" Neville said he thought
his head was unshipped and .
"Head unshipped!" put in the Captain;
"better lose twenty heads, sir, than bring
a ship into this predicament; but I'll
make an example of you sir, or we shall
have all hands falling overboard through
their chins. Chin, indeed, Mr. Work-
em ." "By heavens!" shout a doz
en voices, "She's adrift!" "Down with
the helm! haul out the spanker! let go
the sheets!" cries the mate. The effect
of Capt. Chawthewind's impatience to
be again on his course was this: The
helm was put up too soon, for the Skim
mer of the Seas, ever obedient to the
slightest intimation from her command,
paid off rapidly, and bafore the boat was
well clear of the water she was again be
fore the wind. A rolling sea then
caught the boat, unhooked and capsized
her. As she passed astern the boatswain
arid another seaman who had remained
in her to hook her on etc., were seen
struggling on her bottom. Ihey were
almost immediately overwhelmed by a
fierce breaking sea, and for a few seconds
lost to sight. When next seen they
were still struggling, but soon assumed
an upright position, and remained with
their heads and shoulders above water,
comparatively quiet. Evidently the
boat had righted herself, and, though
stiil swamped, remained a fteur d'eou;
only coolness and the determined will of
powerful men in a death-struggle saved
them; neither of them could swim
(though not known on board till after
wards,) and both of them married men.
The sailors made a rush to the small cut
ter Neville among the rest. The boat
was slight, though a beautiful model,
but pain in her case, as in many others,
covered a multitude of sins. She was
defective and leaky, and by no means
SOMERSET, OHIO: FRIDAY, OCTOBER IT, 1873.
fit for such a sea as was now running;
in fact, the caapenter had already receiv
ed, orders to have her inboard, and give
her a thorough repair. The only other
boat oa board was the longboat, but as
she was a fixture, and Stted np as a cow
house, sheep pen, etc., with holes in the
bottom for the discharge of drainage, she
could not be thought of. As the men
were about to cast o9 the gripes of the
small cutter, the Captain ordered all to
be kept fast, saying he would work the
ship up to the swamped boat. The
mainsail was then set, the yards trim
med, and the ship kept "full and bye,"
but when attempted to be put about,
from the fouling of the gear aloft and
other causes, she missed stays. The two
men were now a long distance off, and
as they rose on a sea could be seen wav
ing a shirt one of them had taken off.
It was the general conviction on board
that they never could be saved by the
means employed. Mr. Welldon then
e tiled for volunteers, and choosing two
strong men commenced clearing her for
lowering. A bailer was called for, when
there was a general rush of the boys; the
smallest was chosen as being the lightest.
As the little fellow jumped into the boat
the triumphant look he gave his ship
mates showed that though small in sta
ture he possessed a stout heart. A light
bucket and tin pipe were passed into the
boat. The ship being now hove to, as
the boat was being lowered the Captain
said, "Mr. Welldon, when you see the
ensign displayed steer more to starboard;
when a distinguishing pendant, more to
port; when, there is no display, keep as
you are going" (when a boat is in the
water and a sea on, nothing can be seen
floating at any distance except under ex
ceptional circumstances.) The boat was
now anxiously watched. At times she
was lost to view in the hollow of the
seas, again as she rose in sight our little
friend, who had lost his cap was seen
bailing most vigorously.
On coming up to the two men they
were found to be much exhausted, the
continual washing of the seas over them,
and the strenuons exertions they had to
make to prevent themselves being wash
ed out of the boat, had told upon them.
Mr. Welldon being aware a very slight
blow would stave the boat they were in,
dared not venture too near the sunken
one; the boat's painter was therefore
hove to the two men, and one by one
they were hanled into the boat. All that
was taking place could be seen from the
ship through the glasses as the boats rose
on the seas, but with the naked eye noth
ing particular could be made out. The
sunken cutter was now abandoned, and
her frail companion commenced her
perilous return. She could be seen rap
idly nearing the ship. The youngster
was now assisted in bailing by one of the
rescued men, for the straining of the sea
had caused the boat to leak to that de
gree that the two together could' barely
keep the water under. The other man
had taken an oar. Soon they are along
side and aboard; the cheering was great,
and none cheered more heartil vjthan the
troops.
WISTEEMUTE.
His Probable Defense Statements of
His Friends.
From the Sioux City Journal.
In all that has been written or said in
regard to the horrible affray at Yank
ton, the story of Wintermute, one of the
principal actors, has not yet appeared in
print, and as a matter of justice to all
we submit the following as it was given,
in substance, by his friends to a repor
ter of the Journal, who failed to obtain
audience with Wintermute himself:
They say that from the time that Gen
eral McCook first struck Wintermute in
the saloon until the evening of the next
day, Wintermute was in a demented
state, having been so stunned by the
blow that he was not conscious of what
was passing, or responsible for bis ac
tions in proof of which they refer to
his returning to the meeting and inter
rupting it, and using the unnatural lan
guage he did there as saying he had
been badly whipped, etc. It is also
said that McCook's language was insult
ing and unbearing as it could be before
the encounter; that to a gentleman, it
was very humiliating to bear such treat
ment from one who was physically so
much larger and stronger; that any one
would be justified in seeking redress af
ter such an encounter, even though in
possession of all of his faculties, and
that McCook's attack on him was un
called for and unprovoked.
Instead of waiting for him near the
hall door, as stated by the press gener
ally, it is said that Wintermute took the
same seat he had occupied when he was
first in the meeting, and that he could
not see the General approach through
the hall at all; and there was no shot
fired in the hall, and he could not see
McCook until he was in the Court-room
where the meeting was being held.
They further claim that McCook came
to the hall the second time armed, and
that, by accident, the first shot was fired
by some one unknown, near the door,
which roused Wintermute, who was sit
ting near the stove, and who sud
denly arose, and, as he did bo, drew his
revolver and fired, missing McCook,
and then advanced and fired the second
fatal shot, laboring under the impression
that General McCook was firing at him.
To substantiate this they bring re
sponsible persons to say that before the
affray had fairly begun a ball was heard
to pass over the heads of the crowd, and
that the same lodged in the end of the
room directly opposite the door.
They also state that, contrary to re
peatedly published statements, Winter
mute was not, or never was, a candidate
for the office of Secretary of the Terri
tory, or any other office, since his rest
dence in Dakota. It is also claimed for
him that he is a man possessed of a high
sense of honor and untarnished charac
ter.
His friends deeply deplore the sad
and terrible ending of the affair, and
say ah, how truly say! that whisky
was at the bottom of it all.
The Minnesota law compelling saloon
keepers to pay ten dollars annually to
the supporter of the State Inebriate
Asylum has yielded twelve thousand
dollars this year.
An Iowa editor wrote: "During the
past week we have been visiting tbe
Solona of the country;" and his constant
subscribers think that is a funny way to
spell "saloons."
JUISCELLANY
THE GRAPHIC BALLOON.
For the Old Country via Canaan.
The Graphic balloon, patched curtail
od and repaired at last, left New York
on Monday, caring with it Professor
Donaldson, Alfred Ford, and John A.
Lunt. They started with cries of "All
aboard for Europe," but landed at Ca
naan, Connecticut. How it fared after
the ascension, is thus stated:
The first course of the balloon was
due north until it had reached a proba- j
ble altitude of nearly a mile, and then
it turned east. The prow of the boat
pointed Furopeward. Fifteen minutes
from the start the course had shifted to
the northeast, veering eastward again
when it was last seen from the Capitol-1
ine Grounds. The surface wind was
blowing from the south, but the balloon
seemed to have already- risen above it,
and struck some sort of an easterly cur
rent. From the highest points of New
York and Brooklyn it was visible until
after 10 o'clock, and at that time it seem
ed to be just penetrating the dense cloud-.
When last seen from the signal service
room in the tower of the Equitable
building through a powerful glass it
looked like a black dot in the clouds.
Its distance was then estimated to -be
forty miles, and it was going northeast
erly at a height of about a mile.
ALL SORTS OF CUBKEXTS.
Two of the carrier pigeons arrived at
the farm of their owner in River Cliff,
Connecticut, ' before 11 o'clock. They
carried the following despatches from
the balloon:
Is the Clouds, 10:05 A. M. We are
forty-seven hundred feet high, going
northeast. We all feel verv happy.
Donaldson says: "The dream of my life
is now realized." Lunt is busy doing
something with the ballast, and stopping
every moment to admire the surpassing
grandeur of the scene. It is very hazy
all around us, and light clouds are float
ing below. We have just heard three
cheers below, and have given a "toot,
toot," with the fog horn in reply. We
have just struck the lower portion of the
eastern current. We have just passed
over Norwalk. Alfred Ford.
Later It is now 10:20 o'clock, and we
are two thousand feet high. Lunt is
raising "the old Harry" with the horn,
and we all feel jolly. The scene is mag
nificent. The sun shines splendidly, and
Donaldson has just been singing, "Do
they miss me at home?" Ford.
The balloon crossed the Sound at Glen
Cove at 9:50, and . went northward over
the lower corner of Westchester county.
Then it shied northeastward over Bethel,
Connecticut, at II, having occupied an
hour and three-quarters in going about
seventy miles. Its next vagary was a
southern bolt of fifteen miles to Bridge
port, and then a northwesterly one of
about forty miles over New Haven and
Waterbury. Thus far it had drifted
about one hundred and thirty miles in
two hours and a half. . During the next
two hours it floated slowly to the north
west, reaching New Canaan, Litchfield
county, at 1J.
AN ACCIDENT ON THE AIR LINE.
New Canaan, Ct nn., Oct. 63 P. M.
We have met with a terrible misfortue.
In the midst of a terrible storm of rain
we were trying to effect a descent, when
it was thought advisable that we should
leap out. Donaldsen and myself leaped
twenty feet from the boat to the earth.
Mr. Lunt, however, was not quick
enough, and was carried away clinging
to the anchor ropes. We fell 'on the
farm of Mr. Charles Lewis, at North Ca
naan, Litchfield county, Connecticut. I
was driven over to the town of Canaan,
and there, to my great surprise and joy
I found that Mr. Lunt was all right. It
appears that he went up the side of the
mountain in the balloon, and that as soon
as he found himself near the earth, he
jumped into a tree and fell down through
the branches upon the rocks beneath
He then walked over to a farm house
near at hand, and was brought over here.
Of course the balloon and everything
was lost. We had a very pleasant time
of it up to about 12 o'clock, when we be
gan to get into a stormy area in Litch
field county. After passing over a moun
tain we came into a valley, where all
motion of the balloon was suspended,
and we were for a time shrouded in a
dense cloud of mist and pouring rain.
The balloon ws caught and shaken with
violent gusts of wind. Donaldson was
uncertain what to do. At first we thought
we would wait until the balloon came
down, and then cut all the ropes and
drop the boat, letting the bag escape.
The storm, however, had increased with
such violence that this seemed utterly
impracticable, and Lunt advised that the
valve should be opened. We were now
suddenly shaken iu a gust of wind and
sent to an immense height over the val
ley.' The rain, which was now pouring
in torrents, however, soon rendered the
balloon so heavy that Bhe came down
again, spinning over the tops of
the trees, across a small brook, and
toward a bank at the bottom of the
mountains. Donaldson said' "You had
better all make ready to jump out," and
placed himself at the side of the boat.
I followed his example, and thought
Lunt had taken care of himself. When
we were about twenty feet from the earth
Donaldson and I jumped simultaneous-
ly.
The balloon was found about a mile
from Canaan.
Could we but live our life over again
starting from boyhood, how many errors
how many mistakes would we try to
avoid! Men and boys make mistakes.
We wonder they do not commit more.
Many a spot in the road of life would
be avoided. We should try to be more
brave; more earnest in defence of the
right, and to protect the weak. There
is not a boy but who can do better than
we have done. There is not a man but
who can, by beginning at once, bnild
himself up to a glorious position.
The Athens Manengtr of Sept. 25th
says: Geo. W. Hill, of Albany, in
forms us, that in June he cut from two
acres six tons of timothy and clover
hay, and from a second mowing, during
the present month, four tons more.
anybody in Athens county or elsewhere
can beat this, Mr. Hill would be pleased
to hear from them.
The eighth juror was obtained in the
Stokes trial Saturday.
THE NATIONAL DETECTITE.
The "Secret Service" of the United
States.
It is well known that there are in the
different departments o the Federal
Government employed "various forces,
such as the Inspectors of Customs, spec
ial agents of the Internal Bevenue
Bureau, sepcial agents of the Pot Of
fice Department, etc, etc., and in the
me manner, the Secret Service Division
of the Treasurv Department, which,
however, this that it does not confine
itself or its range of labor to any cer
tain specialty, but makes cognizance of
all frauds perpetrated against or upon ;
the United States Government, while at
the same time it takes the purpose of ar- j besides furnishing the necessary infor
resting and preventing the crime of j mation and keeping the officers posted
counterfeiting more specially the object
of its organization.
The extent to which these efforts
prove successful must, of course, neces-
sarily depend upon the adroitness of its
attaches in anticipating the depredations
of evil-doors, and lead to the discovery
of the machinations and plottings of the
dangerous and criminal classes of socie
ty. The old adage that "it takes a thief
to catch a thief," has been long since
exploded at least, in its literal sense;
and the method pursued by" the United
States Service only in part partakes of
this principle. It might be termed, not 1
inappropriatively, a combination of J
Fouch's and Vidocq's famous methods,
differing entirely from the cumbersome j lv three or four years ago, is to-day vir
systems of detection employed by the ) tually at an end; the counterfeiting now
secret police of Prussia; the Inpeeteurs ;
and Cabinet Noir of the late French Em
pire; the Crwn-spiea of Spain; the
KaUerliche Spione of Austria; and the
Oriental-Russian style of setting one
man to do a piece of work, detaining a
second to watch him, and theu a third
to watch the watchman. The system
adopted by the present Chief of the Se
cret Service division is more in accor
dance with the Bow Street svstem of Lon-
on; although somewhat modified to
suit the demands and contingencies of
the United Stales, with its much larger
field of operations.
The neccessity of some vigorous meas
ures on the part of the Government to
suppress counterfeits on the national
securities became apparent very soon
after the first issue of fractional currency.
The issue were followed by the counter
feits with such rapidity that hardly had
tbe public had time to become familiar
with the former when tbe latter would
be in, circulation, doing incalculable
damage, and making havoc principally
among the poorer classes, who could not
so readly detect the spurious article.
The evil soon became so great as to
claim the attention of Congress, and an
ppropriation of one hundred thousand
dollars (since increased to one hundred
and twenty-five thousand per annum)
was made by that body, and placed at
the disposal of the Secretary of the Treas
ury for the purpose of effecting measures
for the suppression and eradication, if
possible, of the crime of counterfeiting.
This fund was immediately turned over
to the Solicitor of the Treasury the law
officeT of the department with instruc
tions to use it to the best advantage for
the purposes for which it was designed.
This led to sundry experiments, termin-
ting finally in the organization of the
Secret Service Division, iu the summer
of 1865, consisting of a "chief of division"
and a number of subordinates, termed,
tecanically, "operatives." As at present
organized, the force consists of the chief,
Colonel H. C. Whitley; chief assistant,
T. C. Nettles! ip, and a large number of
chief operatives," "operatives" and "as
sistant operatives," distributed all over
the country one. at least, in each ju
dicial district and all reporting regu
larly to headquarters. The chief of di
vision is the executive officer, and guides
and directs his subordinates; but the So
licitor of the Treasury must approve the
acts of the chief to render them valid.
All commissions issued to operatives
must also have his written approval; and
any very important movement, involv
ing the expenditure of unusual sums of
money, must first be submitted to him.
The ramifications of the secret ser
vice division of the Treasury Depart
ment extend as has already been stated
all over the country. Its agents are
operating on the Canada border to pre
vent smuggling, and in Florida and Key
West in the endeavor to stop the impor-
tation of cigars and tobacco from Hava-
na without paying duty. there is a
branch office of the division in every city
of importance, as a commercial or mone
tary center, in the United States, and
each of these branches is under the im-
mediate supervision of a chief operative.
who is required to take charge of and
give his exclusive attention to the dis
trict to which he has been assigned
The New York branch, mV No. 52
Bleecker street, is virtually the head
quarters of the division, although all re
ports and the results ofaptures, such as
plates, counterfeit money, dies, stamps,
etc., etc., are sent to the Washington of
fice and there put on record and preserv
ed
So much for the organization of the
division, and now a few words in expl
nation of the peculiar system adopted
by its chief in tbe detection of crimi
nals.
In the successful detection and convic
tion of counterfeiters, which is the spec
ialty of the division, it is absolutely ne
cessary, says Colonel v nitley, to use
counterfeiters against their confederates.
Long experience has demonstrated the
fact that a spy in the camp, as a defec
tive confederate, is more to be feared by
an organized band of criminals than all
the other machinery of detection com
bined; and it is well nigh impossible to.
detect leading counterfeiters, and, when
detected, procure their conviction, with
out the use, as an entering wedge, of
men tarnished with the same crime in a
lesser degree, as none other can as fully
have the confidence of the great criminal.
The criminal who ha had a dozen
illegal transactions with his confederate
enters upon the thirUenth with tbe same
good faith which characterized the pre
vious twelve, and finds himself within
the meshes of the law through the defec
tion of the party with whom be has been
dealing. It is true that a great many
people find objectionable points in this
mode of proceed u re, and therefore are
opposed to it; but to them Colonel Whft-
ley pertinently puts the question: "Is this
effective mode of detection a wrong done
to the criminal or a right done to society?"
In the experience of the very best detec
tives of the present day, modern crime
has become a science, with which it re
quires the keenest intelligence and the
most subtle ingenuity to cope successful
ly. Politics, religion, art and all the
appliances of steam, the telegraph and
cheniii-try are pressed into its service;
nothi g is too sacred or too vile for its
purposes. It is the same old story over
again "Desperate cases require desper
ate remedies."
Hence, in the detection of counter
feiters, it has been (since May, 1869,
when Colonel Whitley was appointed
Chief of Division) and is now, the aim
of the force to secure the co-operation of
one of the gang to be broken up, who,
as regards the movements of the parties
who are being "shadowed," may alter-
wards serve as State's evidence against
his former confederates. The inangura-
tion of this effective system somewhat
similar to the plan after which the Bow
street detective police operates has
created distrust and can sod more alarm
among the counterfeiters, as a class, than
could have been accomplished by any
other agency. The defection of a con
federate strikes consternation into the
ranks of criniivand opens the door for
its final extermination. No better proof
is required of the effectiveness of this
system than the fact that counterfeiting
on a large scale, as carried on extensive-
going on being confined to the compara
tively email operations of "boodle-carriers"
and second-rate "cony-men."
Apjjlftnn'n Juurnal.
An Astonishing- Fix. .
Old Mr. Mugridge, who has a cottage
up at Shadyuook, invited a few of his
friends to go and stay awhile and enjoy
the country air. A? they were all fond
of good beer, lie sent up a keg of new
ale to be put in the cellar to remain un
til his arrival. Saturday afternoon he
and his friends went up. Afier opening
the parlors and making things comforta
ble, he thought a little beer wouldn't go
bad; so taking his gimlet and lantern he
went down to fill the flowing bowl.
Arriving in the cellar, he found that
the keg was leaking through an old vent,
so getting his lantern down, he com
menced to tap it, putting one of his
thumbs over the old vent, but finding
that the light wasn't good where the
lantern set, he took the handle of it in
his mouth and continued boring. Pretty
soon the gimlet went through, and the
beer came out whizzing, and as he had
neglected to provide a plug, he had to
put his other thumb over it. He had
the beer all snug enough, but discovered
that he himself was in a fix he must
either stay so or lose the beer. His.
mouth being in use, prevented his cal
ling anybody. He turned his head to
the left, then to the right, and then he
would drop it in a devotional manner
and make a noire between a snort and a
growl. About this time he began to feel
something damp under him, and found
by investigating, that he was sitting in a
pan of soft soap. Above him he could
hear his friends enjoying themselves in
the parlor playing the piano, and his
daughter singing, "Father, dear Father,
come home with me now," followed by
"Thou art so near and yet so far." His
jaws began to ache holding the lantern,
and the drool was running out of each
corner of bis mouth, which made him
nearly frantic. His feet and legs ached
too from the cramped position which he
was in, and he had decided to let the
beer slide, when he heard footstejw ap
proach, which proved to be the servant
girl coming down after coal. As soon
as she got sight of him, she dropped the
coal hod which fell into a tub contain
ing a nest of pet kittens, killing three
of them and causing the old cut to light
up stairs, landing in a pan behind the
stove. The loss of his pets made Uie
old man so irate as to drop his lantern
and rehearse that part of the dictionary
which is left out. .fter scraping off the
soap as well as he could, he wended his
way up the back stairs to his room and
changed his raiment. Returning to the
parlor, he told his friends he had been
out to see a man.
Game Laws.
The game laws of Ohio, make a staple
article of local literature about this
time, when so many sportsmen are
scouring up their pieces for the fall
shooting. ' The following is the sub
stance of tbe game laws of the State:
All kinds of wild duck may be killed
any time from the first day September
until the 15th of April. Wild geese
are not protected by law.
Meadow larks and kill-deers may be
killed from October 1st until February
1st.
Woodcock may be killed from the 4th
of July until the 1st of February.
Quail, pheasants and wild turkeys
may be killed from the 15th of October
until the 1st day of February.
Doves and rabbits mav be killed from
November 1st until February 1st.
It is unlawful to catch, or attempt to
catch, with a net, snare or trap, any
quail or Virginia partridges.-
It is unlawful to kill the following
birds at any time: Sparrow, robin,
blue-bird, martin, thrush, mocking bird,
swallow, oriole, red-bird, cat-bird, chew
ing or ground robin, king-bird, bobo
link, yellow-bird, pewee, or fha-ba,
wren, cuckoo, indigo-birid, nut-hatch,
creeper, yellow-hammer or flicker, war
bler or finch.
The penalty for violating the law U not
less than twodollars nor more than twen
ty dollars, or imprisonment in the county
jail not more than twenty days or both,
at the discretion of the court.
i)io Lewis rays: "Training men fur
the prize-ring, they are not allowed to
touch lager beer, tobacco or any other
such stuff. Billiard players, training
for a match, carefully avoid all such in
dulgences. When not training, these
people are likely to indulge pretty free
ly in spirits and tobacco; but when seek
ing tbe highest health, they are compell
ed to deny themselves. And yet we
constantly hear the healthfulneM of
lager and the meerschaum seriously dis
cussed. It is stated as a historical fact
that no man who has graduated at the
hend of his class in Harvard College
within the last fifty-five years, hns used
either spiritror tobacco, la any form.
NUMBER 27.
AGRICULTURE.
Why Young Men have Deserted It.
Exrrarta from tbe Address of W. H. Murry,
at the New England Fair.
It cannot be denied that agriculture
in its relation to young men of New
England has not held and is not now
holding iu own as against other callings
and pursuits. Even in this audience
are hundreds of men who deserted tbe
industry that their fathers followed and
directed their efforts in other directions.
And while ibis would naturally be the
case to a certain extent, still it must be
admitted that it has been true in so
many instance- as to almost form a rule;
so much so that the agricultural inter
est are passing out" of the hands of the
native into those of an imported popu
lation. The subject challenges investi
gation, and the question which clamors
for an answer is, "Why is agriculture
deserted by our young men?"
One reason why the youth of New
England have deserted agriculture to
learn other trades and follow other pro
fessions, is because agriculture did not
pay.
The young men of New England left
the farms on which they were born and
which in early life they helped to till,
not because they would not yield them
vast wealth, but because they
would not yield them "that reasonable
amount of wealth which every man
needs for his own development and the
support of those who would in the course
of nature look to them for needed pro
vision. It was not because farming did
not mean riches, but because farming
meant poverty, tliut our young men in
so many instances have refused to be
farmers.
Looking upon poverty as a curse,
as it has always been and is to-day
the world over, that form of industry
which made rightfully, hateful to them.
Their rebellion was not against the soil,
but against that narrow and painful
condition of life which under its then
method of cultivation was in separably
connected with it. This, ns I feel and
understand it, is the true analysis and
proper statement of the case.
Another reason of this desertion, on
the part of our young men, of agricul
tural pursuits, is to be found in the fact
that agriculture .as conducted in the past
has not supplied them with ei:-':er the
intellectual opportunity or stimulus
which they craved, and craved too wilh
reason.
The last forty years in this country
have been years of intense mental ap
plication. I doubt if any future gener
ation of Americans will ever be bora
that shall equal the two represented
by this audience in intellectual energy.
They will excel us in culture, but not
mental activity. For forty years the
American intellect has been driven at
jxpress speed. Like the chariot of fire
in ancient story, the flame that illumi
nated the path of its progress has been
generated by the rapid revolutions of its
own wheels. Look at what it lias
achieved in the way of subjugating and
directing physical forces and shaping
material forms! Its inventions are the
marvel, of the world. It would seem
that the American mechanic and ma
chinist never slept. The opposition of
nature has been so gigantic that noth
ing less than incessant application to-day
could clear the path to-morrow.
Under such conditions, no wonder that
the brain force of the nation has lieen,
in the aggregate, astonishingly develop
ed.
The branch of industry that lias shar
ed least in this general mental activity
is beyond doubt the agricultural. .Un
der the old method of farming there
was little necessity or provocation to
think. It was a life and pursuit in
which the hand played the most import
ant part and the brain was left in the
back ground. In that old order horti
culture, arboriculture, horiculture, sci
entific breeding of the domestic animals,
and those other branches of agriculture
that call for ingenuity and enterprise,
and result in culture, were nearly un
known. Farming was only a dull rou
tine of planting potatoes and corn, hoe
ing and haying, and reaping and gath
ering the crops in the autumn. This,
with the handling of the winter's wood
and repairing fences, composed the an
nual round. Now in all this the brain
played no part. The hands did it all,
and were able to do it all. There was no
recreation, no culture; and almost no re
ward. The arms and legs did all the
work, and got all the profit. The mind
did nothing, and gained nothing but
rusted through ignoble disuse.
From such a life every active minded
young man naturally broke away. Jt
was a life in which labor was only a
kind of base physical toil. There was
no spring, no elastricity to it. There
was no chance to rise or grow. The
great, wide, stirring, progressive world
was only a few miles away, wilh its
splendid opportunities to amass and
achieve, fcven its lower grades of in
dustry were instructive and expansive.
How could he stay on the ancestral patch,
and be content? He could not, and I
claim he had no richt J.o remain. No
industry is worthy a young man's fol
lowing, unless it ministers to the higher
and diviner side of his nature. A pur
suit that merely takes the body and sup
ports the body is base, and should be de
spised. This was one cause why farm
ing was despised by the young of th
land. It was a mere manual toil. In it
the hand was of higher use than the
head. Muscle was absolutely worth
more than brain. A man with one idea
was as valuable as he whose niihd was
quick with suggestion. A fool of Web
ster's size was as good a man on the fnrm
as Webster
While the mechanic of the nation were
perfecting themselves in their several
trades, and the machinist of the nation
belting the globe with their ships, mid
the manufacturers bringing the skill of
the Old World to our shores, and every
other form of industry was racing along
with emulation, the New England far
mer continued to plod on In the path
which led him year by year Into deeper
discontent "and poverty. In this way
ambition and enterprise, wealth snd cul
ture were alienated from the soil to
which they should be most warmly at
tached, and in the cultivation of which
whatever is best in man's mind and heart
can and should find its highest exercise
and most enduring pleasure.
Riches as a means of beneficence to
one's self and others are desired, but
the object of life to be despised. Riches
may come, but they do not express the
object of individual or governmental ex
istence. Our fathers did not fight that
we, their children, might be rich, but
that we might be true. If the Republic
stands for laws wisely framed and im
partially administered; for economy in
administering the government and hon
esty in collecting the tuxes, for virtue
protected and intelligence spread abroad
amid the people; and in the personal
rectitude of those who are elected to
honor. No one so silly represents the
republican idea as the man who gains
and uses wealth only for selfish ends;
who having been elected by the people
to frame laws for their protection filches
money from their jiocketB with one hand
and votes to legalize the villainous trans
action by holding up the other.
No, never let it be said that the worth
and dignity of any pursuit are measur
ed by the money standard. There is
that in every honorable calling which
makes it dearer to its followers than the
coin it brings them. And agriculture is
full of what might be called these com
pensations. In bodiely health and men
tal peace; in the absence of temptations
and tumult; in the domestic joy and
home privileges that it allows and in
sures; in the frank, honest companion
ships it enconrages; and in the knowl
edge and love of Him who presides
benignly over hill and plain, house and
fold, in these the agriculturist finds a
wealth which rust cannot corrupt nor
thieves break througlit ami steal.
Wf can not afford to allow agricul
ture to pass into decadence. When the
farming class shall be considered as un
inferior class we have revived the disas
trous distinctions of the middle ages.
It is because the New England farmer
has not been a serf or a peasant that New
England has become what she is. I
doubt if a Republic could endure in any
country where agriculture is not the
prime industry. When wealth and cul
ture and civic honors have been divor
ced from the soil of the country, the
country itself will have sunk into la
mentable debasement. For it cannot bo
denied that the forces that originated
and secured for us our free institutions
came as directly from the soil as the
si res tn s flow down from our unlive hills.
The land-holder ii all civilizations Las
been a noble. A part of the country
was his; his to love, to improve, to de
fend. Having rights himself, he was
easily educated to regard the ric;lil
of others. IVing a lord himself he could
not become a slave. Calm of judgment,
economic in expenditures, fervid in his
patriotism, bringing to the dir-ctission of
every question the presem e ot all true
scholarship. Strong common sense re
garding civic position as a duly, not us
a sinecure, the early ngrietiltui int of the
country was, of all others, tin; very man
to stake out the foundation of a temple,
in which, when I.uildi d, liberty might
gather aiid pour out her treasure up
on all mankind. It is not on the farm
that little children are worked fourteen
hours each day the year round, deprived
of school and home infliienccs. It is not
on the farm that men learn to "coiner"
great interest and impoverish the many
that unprofitable wealth may be added,
to the few. It is not on the farm that
men learn how to manipulate caucuses
and then celebrate the success or their
trickery with a supper at the city's ex
pense. Nor is it on a farm that a man
acquires that hardened .indaeify to steal
the money of the man whoso guest lie i,
and then, when the neighbors tire aroused
go forth to the steps of the hoiHe nod
coolly defend bis act as in perfect a. -cordancc
with the constitution nnj t In
laws of the land. No, gentlemen, such
men never could never have founded a
Massachusetts; nor can such men ever
perpetuate her honor.
But I will detain you no longer, and
yet I linger in closing as one whose pen
has found a congenial if riot a familiar
theme. ISeyond the walls of this tent, look -ing
over your heads anil fur away, 1 rc
hold the hills and vales of New Englsuil.
In those vales tind undiy the shadow f
those, hills most of us were born. The
roads along which we run to school; the
little streams where we learned to fish;
the fences we helped to build, fields
where we learned to toil; the dripping
well where we eagerly quenched our
thirst, all aro there."" We have chunked,
but they remain the same. Our faces
fade, the rose withers from the cheek and
the luster deserts the eye, but nature
seems immortal in her youth ai! reni n s
her beauty with the coining of every
Spring. Ther is something soothing and
sustaining in this jiermanence of nature.
Life is a shadow and our eyes ncho in
watching it, so rapidly does it fly, but
the "soil beneath our feet and the sky
above our heads, these pass not, but re
main and abide as nourished and upheld
by tbe hand of their Creator.
Wanton Slaughter of Cattle by In
dians in Colorado.
St. Lorist, Octolwr 9. A letter from
Pueblo, Colorado, October 5, gives the
details of the wanton slaughter and scat
tering of cattle by the Indians iu La-tent
and Southern Colorado along the
upper waters of the Arkansas River. It
appears that on September "2 n parly of
some three hundred Indians, t-on-Uiing
of Cheycnnes, Arapnhoes and Kiowas
came into the Arkansas Valley from the
south, and camped opposite Fort Lynn
and near Las Animas. The command
ing officer of Fort Lyons had a talk with
the chiefs; but could learn nothing of
the intention i f the Indians. They
claimed the country as their own, find
said they projwised to rotim over it us
they pleased. They were all warriors,
each armed with breech -loading Gov
ernment rifles, one or two good revolv
ers, bows, sjienrs, Ac, and each "lending
an extra horse. The commandant ot
Fort Lyon requested tbe band ( return
to their reservation, to which they re
plied they would go when ready, niul
talked very inipiiduiitly. Two days af
ter they left, proceeded lip the Arkan
sas River throngh the srllleiiicnts, srnt
lered in band" along the various tribu
tary streams, and Wgsn indiss riioiiuni
slaughter and stampeding of cattle, com
pelling tbe herders to look fr then-.
This continued alxmt a week, duriitm
which time seven 1 hundred cuttle cic
killed, and great excitement and conti -i -nation
created among the settlers, 1 ii
IiuiuIhts of whom Hocked Into I'm -hi"
and other town-. At lat necot:iiH lh
Indians were going toward a s-n lenient
on the 1ji Animas River Ih low Trine
nan, niui cn i-n- m-n- flnmi-n ,o o
Severn! small coinpnnies have alrendv
gone out to defend the settlements. 1 o
or three herders, who attempted to de
fend their herds, are repotted ki'U.1
The Indians came frowi th" re- r-nti.
- - s . . 1 1 f ' t -. . : i I . I
ni'ir r ill roil. .tiniTiirr nni I m e
asked for, but none revived tip to .Ui
r Th most certain wheat binds in t ali
f fnmis lie Jn th mountains.