The free press., July 13, 1893, Image 1

About The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??

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THE FREE PRESS.
_ POPLARVILLE, MISS., THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1893. ■ NO. 37.
the flock's Hands.
lfouid young Sbortem .tending there
L bptoe on the highest chair.
Sine the hands upon tbe clock
381 can make'em walk,
Ct, naught' Sbortem," I protest,
Jtt.be clock you .hould not climb."
.ifcaeht," said Sbortem, “it was best
‘'jura it roun’ to supper time.”
ndtben young Shortem danced away
Z went unchided to his play,
for Jo we not all love to climb
' d,Urn the laggard bands of time,
L whirl the slow-paced hours away
Id ionic tar, beatific day?
r, 10 the clock that ticks our doom
.. ,[j nke Sbortem love to climb,
i„d p^ from this "between meal’r
gloom
lndtum It round to supper time.
_[Snm Walter Foss, in Yankee Blade.
Hie Bravest Deed I Ever Saw
BT CAPTAIN' CHARLES KING, V. S. A.
It W a wretched morning—wet,
topping, with misty wreaths hanging
Ictr over every butte and crag. For
j,„ lfe lmd been marching with
•tatving horses over rolling prairies
from which the'' Indians liact burned
every blade of buffalo grass. Not a
uat had wo in the entire command;
jot a change of clothing, and—since
we c,wsed the Little Missouri and
struck the head waters of Heart River
-notafull stomach.
Katinas were well nigh exhausted,
ffewerc living on “quarter portious”
#f bacon, hardtack and sugarless
toffee.
It was the summer of the terrible
Cuter Massacre (1876), and night
taddsy we were pursuing the Sioux,
ppiug to overtake and punish them,
tit they seem to have scattered over
deface of the earth.
Siting Bull, with a great follow
had crossed the Yellowstone and
pilot'll). Crazy Horse, a brilliant
•lining leader, with a host of
Pallas and Unties at his back, was
iireiilo have made for the fastnesses
iftbeBiJ Lands of western Dakotu
Thiiher General Crook was now
Whig ns—a column strong in nutn
kffl, for we had some forty companies
«fregulars, as well as a goodly force
•fseou s, packers and others.
Our command consisted of the on
tire third cavalry, most of the fifth, a
bittiiion—four troops—of the second
Mtlry, and it detachment of infantry
Mien from three regiments. We
Wmcnenough to overcome all the
Indians in Dakota; but with starving
brfci and half-starving soldiers little
M be done in the way of aggressive
Hrfare.
Our rations practically gave out on
■ ilxthof September. For several
we lived on horse meat. The
tee wns between that or our hoots,
I*1 m we had been scouting, tramp
tetul campaigning ever since the
tej, our boots were worn as thin
#Mr beasts.
bom 7 o’clock in the morning of
timber ninth the news flew down
**coiainn like u flash, ■•Sioux village
Wfone—fifteen miles ahead!”
Lionel Mills, then a senior captain
with the third cavalry, had
wot forward by General Crook
sights before with ordors to push
thtoiha Black Hills with his
|*"iaii(l—150 picked horses and meu
* pack train—load up wiih all the
ff'ious he could buy, and hasten
P*t® meet us. This very morning
J reak he iiad dashed into the
j?e his scouts “located”
"H *bs night, and was now |
“gmg on to his prize until we |
N «acb him.
K i we got there pushing ahead
S ond, mist and rain. Being
I i"1’1 llaPP«ned to ride at lioad
, “m"M we "eared the scene, and
1,led a capital view and a lust -
* “Pressio,, of ,h0 situation.
llhe'b' hme being there was a lull
\ F°rty-°ne big lodges
isd about the ravines in a
*ZTToi tbe craggy biiis
Wtbe j,?- lUte?' Mills had scat
Hlah ' mn* Jllst at dawn, cap
tad j 1 of foiu' hundred ponies,
'!al *eve»th cavalry horses,
I beautiful silken
^ain Myles Keogh-sgaunt
B1 ophies which proved
" ow» had been concerned
t I'16’ a“d lbal 'hey must
e theiffUOrSfS big b8Ud
fiiends could not be
nt
ram J11100'1 ,be whole party
Ho‘se with hundreds of
his warriors—and a lively fight we j
had with them; bnt meantime oc
curred what seems to mo perhaps the
bravest thing I ever saw in Indian
warfare.
‘ ‘Lock out for that ravine 1” said
Colonel Mills to me, as I was
riding in among the lodges. ‘-There’s
a wounded Indian in there, and lie has
killed one of my men.”
Sure enough! Out on the slopes
near the deep, brush-hidden depths of
the little gorge a cavalry soldier, Wen
zel, was toppled forward on his
knees, stone dead, and Sergeant Hass
had just got a bullet through the arm.
It was plain that there must be more
than one Indian in there, for two
quick shots suddenly rang out, and a
couple of scouts crossing the lowlands
near the mouth of the gully ducked
their heads and ran for shelter.
My orders required me to place the
fifth cavalry iu position facing the
blufls to the southeast and south of the
captured village. After this duty was
performed, and I had seen the various
troop commanders and given them the
colonel’s instructions, 1 had leisure to
luck about me. I did not dream what
a living volcano there was at the head
ot that little ravine.
I had found a little patch of gra*9
down in a sheltered nook and had
there picketed my poor old troop
horse and was coming hack afoot tow
ard tiie big “lodge” of skins beside
which the colonel had unsaddled,
when I caught sight of three or four
scouts and troopers crawling toward
the opening o! the ravine, evidently
bent on getting a shot at the occu
pants.
In a momeht those fellows wero
flattened out on the ground like a
hunted squirrel on the trunk of a tree,
and the moistnre-laiden air rang with
shots a9 the lead whizzed over their
heads.
Every one seemed to wake up all at
once to the realization that there was a
nest of redskins up at the head of the
gully. Presently a concerted effort
was made to fetcii them out.
Half a dozen officers and several
dozen soldiers and scouts took part
and, as though by common consent,
the leadership devolved on one of the
bravest, manliest cavalrymen it was
ever my lot to know—Philo Clark,
then lieutenant and aide-de-camp to
General Crook.
1 remember him vividly as ho looked
that day, the broad brim of his scout,
ing hat tossed back from his forehead,
tiie collar of his buckskin hunting
shirt loosely fastened at the throat—
no sign of uniform about him, for in
those days we rarely wore the array
blue on Indian campaigns.
He came striding forward, rifle in
hand, and waving the men to “go in’’
along the slopes to the light and left
of the ravine. He himself, to my
horror, coolly pushed straight for
ward into what might be called the
mouth of die gully—straight on past
the point where the venturesome
troopers had been flattened out so
short a time before.
In an instant, it seemed to me, the
clump of bushes at tins upper end
began to spit lire like a Fourth of July
mine. A blue cloud of sulphur smoko
]iung over the Indian burrow. I he
clatter of rifle shots was like that of
a Gatling gun. Several soldiers
dropped in their tracks along the
grassy slopes.
Jim White, one of our best scouts
and a groat friend of Buflalo Bill s,
gave one ghastly cry, “O my God,
boys!” clasped bis hands to ids heart
and plunged- forward on his face,
stone dead.
Keeling back from the sudden shock
our men at the moment scattered right
and left, for we had struck u formida
ble ambush. Not a vestige of an In
dian could we see, yet that ecooped
out shelter of theirs was evidently
crammed with them.
1 myself was over on the right bank
at the time, and ducked wnh amazing
promptitude when that storm of lire
and lead burst on ns. My next thought
when I found myself unhurt was for
Claik. We had been warm friends
from our cadet days at West Fointi
and my heart was in my mouth with
fear for him.
There lie stood, just whore 1 had
seen him the instant before, with tnc
same quiet smile on his face, never
bending, never swerving, if anylldng
rising higher on tiptoe, u3 though
striving to peer into that dark, lire*
flaskiug depths up the gully.
Mechanically he was thrusting an
other cartridge into the breech of his
rifle. Bang I bang I went the Indian
guns. Whiz! zip! spat the bullets.
“Down, Clark! Down I” shouted
dozens of voices in tones of agonized
dread.
“Come out of that, Philo, for
heaven’s sake I” yelled a second caval
ryman close beside me. But just as
placidly and unconcernedly as he
would have strolled into his troop
stables, smiling the while at the con
sternation lie was creating, even find
ing time for a half-laughing rejoinder
to the appeal of a comrade from onr
side, Clark pushed ahead until he
could peer in through the veil of
smoke, raised his rifle, aimed and
fired.
Then ns coolly, lie motioned,“Come
on! Come on!”
It was too much for the crowd.
Everybody seemed to make a simul
taneous flash then. Ill vain the hid
den Indians fired and strove to sweep
the ravine.
A moment, more and brave old Lap- I
tain Munson had leaped in from one
side and was half-dragging, half-lift
ing out some terrible squaws. Other
willing hands were passing out some
screaming little Indian children, so as
to get the women and papooses out of
harm’s way before closing accounts
with the warriors.
Then finding their “non combat
ants” kindly treated, iustead of being
slaughtered, as would have been the
case hud we been the besieged, the
Sioux called out for quarter and sur
rendered. One old villain who went
by the name of American Morse was
already shot through the body and past
praying for. Another fellow, who
called himself Charging Bear, subse
quently became an Indian scout in our
service, and behaved very well. The
others were kept as prisoners until we
got to the agency at Red Cloud.
I had seen some Indian fighting
before this affair, and have been ih
owe or iwo campaigns since; but I
recall no piece of individual daring
and bravery ami consummate coolness
under fire to eclipse Philo Clark's ex
ploit at Slim Buttes in 187(5.
Gallant fellow 1 lie became a cap
tain a few years later, and was serv
ing in Washington City on the staff
of Lieutenant-General Sheridan, who
thought the world of hiru, when
death, which hud spared him a hun
dred times over in Iudiau warfare,
cut him down m the midst of peace,
security, and in the very prime of a
vigorous life. — [Youth's Companion.
Fooled by an Artist.
Ernest P. Neville tells this good
story of an artist’s prank at the Na
tional Academy of Design in New
York Life:
Jones was sauntering about and
chanced to meet a friend, a deaf
mute, who was conversing with a
companion in sign language. Greeting
Jones cordially, the deaf mute drew
out a note book and pencil, and, after
a brief pencil and paper conversation,
introduced his companion by the samo
moans, and shortly after withdrew.
Jones and the stranger discussed the
pictures pleasantly for twenty minutes
or more, meanwhile coveriug the
backs of sundry envelopes and scraps
of paper with their pencillngs, when
a fourth character in this little drama
canto upon the scene—a friend of
Jones’ new made acquaintance.
‘•Hello, George!” said the dumb
man to ilie newcomer, familiarly;
“how do you like the pictures this
year?”
“By Jove!” exclaimed Jones in sur
prise; “can you iaik?”
“Well, 1 should smile,” said tho
gentleman, equally surprised, as lie
hastily put away pencil and paper.
“Aren't you deaf and dumb?”
“Not by a big sight,” Jones replied,
thrusting into Ins pocket an envelope
nearly covered with pencil marks;
“but I'll kill Dummy next time I see
him!” __
A lender Spot.
Mrs. Sere leaf—Go away I I give
nothing to tramps.
Tramp (wiping uway a shimmering
tear)—Ah, lady! Tonce had a wife
as good looking as you are, but —
Mrs Sereleaf (affected)—Go around
t0 the kitchen, poor fellow, and wliilo
you eat dinner, I’ll listen to your sad
story.—[Peek.
T ic United Stales has about 1700
different and distiuot railways.
NEW WORLD GATES.
The Ellis Island Immigrant Sta
tion Has Many Oddities.
How the Arrivals from Foreign
Shores are Received.
The immigrant station at Ellis Island
comprises a little world all in itself.
The steerage passengers are brought
to the island on barges, and are led to
a large room upstairs in the familiar
building, where they are asked to
register. The physical examination
which follows is searching and thor
ough. If the subject passes, he and
his family are permitted to move.
In due course the new arrival is
brought before the officers at the dc
tention desk, where lie must answer j
another list of questions and show his
money. The money changer does a
pstrange business, handling the cur
rency of the civilized world. He Will
take Bank of England notes with the
same readiness that lie handles S >uth
American currency. South American
money is about the same size and.
shape as American paper, but it is j
printed in cinnamon brown and slato
blue. German currency is printed in
black and green. Italian notes are of
many sizes and shapes, printed in pale
blue and carmine. Russian rnbles aro
gridiroued witli as many lines a3 there
arc colors in the rainbow. The notes
of the Bnnque de France are made of
white paper, printed in black and
bine, with numerous allegorical pict
ures on the face and back.
As soon as a ship arrives, and the
men, women and children are fairiy
within the receiving room, an attend
ant, mountiug himself on a table, in a
conspicuous position, calls out his
list of letters, The immigrants eag
erly crowd about him Expectancy,
hope and fear are written upon their
faces. On days when the German
steamers come in, the mail is German ;
on French days it is French; on Ital
ian days Italian, and so on. Strange,
rude foreign names resound through
the wide hall. Those who get letters
retire to convenient nooks in the de
tention room, to read messages from
their friends in America.
One of the most interesting places
at the station is the food section.
Many of the strangers bring with
them food of various sorts, hard
bread and bologna, blit for others,
who have a cent or two to buy, the
counter comes in handy.
Once in every two or three days,
over the seas, come a pair of fleeing
lovers, who, after due consideration,
resolve not to eater the land of the
free until they iiave been made one.
Ellis Island weddings are one of the
unique features of the well-known
station. Thero is one room where the
prospective bride and groom usually
go when the ceremony is to be per
formed. It is reached by a long hall
in a corner of the nuilding. Many a
couple has been united here. If the
young woman desires the rites of
some church, she is sent to one of
the numerous mission houses along
State street, where sho finds a pastor
to marry her in prompt order.
Sometimes, too, a girl marries in
order to stay in the land of her clioico,
America. Very often she cannot pass
the financial examination, and, having
matters explained to her, she finally
decides sho will marry some good fel
low', who will be her protector, guide
and friend.
Sometimes a child will cross the
sea under the care of a stranger. At
the immigrant station the couple must
part. The child is to go to one part
of the country, the friend to the other.
Sad scenes of this sort are almost daily
enacted. If the waif is too young to
be trusted to remember her destiua- j
tion, one of the officials places around
her neck a tag, telling the story, and
she is forwarded much after the
fashion of live baggage. There is a
telegraph office, where delained peo
ple communicate with friends. They
are fed, free of charge, at luncheon
time, by the authorities The meal
consists of a bowl of soup and dough
nuts.
Recent statistics show that fully one
tenth of our agricultural laborers are
Immigrants. Estimating the source of
wealth of euch immigrant as equal to
that of a farm hand, $875 per head,
it would follow that the value of the
6.000.000 people who left Km a land.
Scotland and Ireland in the years be
tween 1887 and 187G was $1,400,000,
000, or an averago of $176,000,000 a
a year. During the past year the
French have brought tlie most money
on the average, the Hungarian the
least, the sum being $66 per capita in
the former instance and but $11 in
the latter. Occasionally Hie authori
ties find a traveller who has from $600
to $1,000 stowed away when he ar
rives at the Island, but the majority ol
the immigrants have barely $60.—
[New York Recorder.
A Butler Who Stood on His Dignity.
A man who helped to make a
curious diplomatic episode in the days
of Louis Philippe’s reign, died a few
days ago in P.ssy, a suburb of Paris,
lie was known among his neighbors
simply as Francois, and for half a
century or more he lived, at leisure on
the profits accruing to him from a
duel which ho had fought in his youth
with the father of tile present Earl of
Roseberry. Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs in Mr. Gladstone’s j
Cabinet.
Francois liatl resigned his place ns a
non-commissioned officer in the French
cavulry to ussuine the more lucrative
duties of butler iu the house of a con
spicuous French statesman. One day
old Lord Rosebery came to see bis
master about the business of the Brit
ish government. Francois declared
that he could not deliver Lord Rose
bery’s card to his master, who was
then engaged, and advised Lord Rose
bery, whom lie did not recognize, to
secure a letter granting au audience
ami return letter.
This was too much for the British
statesman, and thrusting his card into
Francois’s band, he commanded hiui
angrily to dcliverit. at once. Francois,
after starting away with the card,
stopped to read the name on it. Lord
Roseberry reproved him so sharply
that Francois replied impudently. Au
exchange of angry words followed,
aud the master of the house came to
the reception room to learn the cause
of the disturbance. Francois was dis
charged at ouce. On the next day
Lord Roseberry received this note.
‘■Sir: Yesterday I was a servant,
today I am a free mau. 1 no longer
allow your insults to pass. As a
former officer in the cavalry of the
French army I demand satisfaction.”
Lord Rosebery accepted the chal
lenge, and two shots were exchanged
without injury to anybody concerned.
Francois was satisfied, but Lord Rose
bery was nettled at the thought that
his antagonist might at any time lay
aside the dignity of a retired officer
to become a butler again, and thus
expose him to the reproach of having
fought with a servant, lie thereforo
gave Francois an annuity of francs on
the condition of bis abstaining from
domestic service in the future, and
thus preserving his personality as a
retired man of honor. Francois ful
filled his part of the agreement as
faithfully as did Lord Rosebery, and
never worked afterward; at least, that
is what is affirmed by the French
newspapers which have incorporated
this story in their obituary notices of
the butler of honor—(New York
Suit.
A Horse With an Artificial Eye.
A tine-looking brown gelding owned
by Dr. Walter W. White had one of
his eyes injured about two years ago,
and gradually lost the sight in that
optic. The case was brought to the
attention of Dr. Ward, tire Siate Vet
erinarian, some weeks ago. It is a
difficult matter to secure artificial eyes
for horses that will not warp, break,
or fall out. Dr. Ward knew that the
proper article could be produced in
England, and in reply to a letter tho
delicate piece of compound was re.
ceived a few days ago. It is made of
a composition of vulcanite, and will
not chauge color or become easily in
jured. Several days ago dried up the
injured eye, and placed a small circular
piece of vulcanite in the socket so as to
accustom tho horse to the now sensa
tion. Tho imported eye was put in at
4 o’clock yesterday afternoon. Dr.
Ward put a few drops of oil on the
disklike arrangement,and, with tho aid
of a lancet, raised the eyelids and
placed the eye in position. The arti
ficial adornment looks exceedingly
natural. — [Baltimore American.
A newlv married couple in France
was forced to spend their honeymoon
in a cholera hospital, as suspects
Tiie House of Never.
Tbe house of Never is built, they say,
,1 ast over the hills of the By-and-By,
Its gates are reached by a devious way.
Hidden from all but an angel’s eye.
It winds about and in and out
Tbe hills and dales to sever.
Once over the hills of the By-and
By
And your’re lost in the house o*
Never.
The bouse of Never is fitted with waits,
With just-in-a-minutes and pretty soon?.
The noise of their wings as they beat the
gates
Comes back to earth In the afternoons—
When shadows fly across the sky
And rushes, rude endeavor,
To question the hills of the By-and
By
As they ask for the house o<
Never.
The house of Never was built with tears,
And lost in the hills of the By-and-By
\re a million hopes and a million fears.
A baby’s smile and a woman’s cry.
The winding way seems bright to
day,
Then darkness falls forever,
For over the hills of the By-and-By
Sorrow waits in the house of
Never.
— [Chicago Di-patcli.
HUHOKOUS.
As a rule—The yarcl-8tiek.
Good advice is a liard dose to take.
A poor barber is not able to shave
a note.
An expressive countenance is the
most impressive.
Safe and sound—A fight conducted
over the telephone.
For an orgau-gnnder it’s a short
street that has no turning.
How sad it makes a man to observe
a livc-dollar hat on a seven-cent
head.
A fly has 16,000 eyes, but it never
is able to see its way to get around the
butter.
When the goat tackled the. can ot
dynamite you ought to have seen the
1 butter fly.
i Tbe teleplione-girl has an extensive
calling acquaintance in the most ex
clusive circles.
A “square man” means one who is
upright. A dowwright good fellow
means the same thing.
A boy whose leg was repaired in
New York by grafting some skin from
a dog complains now that his shin
barks easily.
“My boy, what does your mother
do for a living?” was asked of a little
bare-footed urchin. “She eats cold
victuals, sir.”
“There is a great deal of wear and
tear in this business,” said the dry
goods salesman as he ripped off a few
yards of calico.
The contradictions in onr slang
Should make us somewhat humble;
When we “get on” to anything
’Tis then they say we “tumble.”
Tommy—Paw, I liavo found out
where the littlo birds go to when
they leave. Mr. Figg—Well, where?
Tommy—To AVingland.
“A'ou have got a parrot, I believe,
Mr. Henpeck?” “Yes.” “Can he
talk?" “1 don’t know. My wife
doesn’t give him it chance.”
“I don’t seo why you call him
greedy when ho gave you his nloe
large apple to divide.” “That’s just
it. Of course 1 had to give him the
biggest pieco then.”
Obedient Child.—Teacher—1 gave
you three examples in arithmetic, and
you have not done one of them. Pu
pil—No; my faihcr told ine always to
shun bad examples.
Servant—Please, ma’am, there’s ft
poor man at the door with wooden
legs. Young Housewife—Why, Ba
botte, what can we do with wooden
legs? Tell him we don’t any.
“You find the typewriter useful iu
your busiuess?" “I should say ao
AVhen a bore comes in I give the op
erator the tip, and the machine makes
so much noise he cau’t hear himself
think.”
“Hello 1” said the earth wheu a
South American disturbance was
brought to bis alteution. “I will have
to get up more than one revolution a
day if 1 am to keep up with the
limes I”
Smith—You needn’t tell me that
dogs don’t know as much as human
beings. 1 took Ponto to church with me
last Sunday. Jones—Yes? Smith—
Well, sir, ho slept through the whole
sertuou.