Martinsburg gazette., March 04, 1887, Image 1

About Martinsburg gazette. (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1886-1887

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P. VERNON ALER & CO.,
»
, JUSTICE AND HONOR
....."■ i—L—'—.........
Editors and Proprietors.
" r i '
VOL. I.
MARTINSBURG, W. VA., FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 1887.
NO. 17.
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HOUSEHOLD HATTERS.
Ironing Shirts.
Iron the entire shirt first, then pass a
cloth wrung from cold water ovqr the
bosom, lay under it a bosom board, draw
the linen perfectly straight and take care
to leave no wrinkles; if you iron them
in you have to moisten the spot, and it
rare'y looks well after. Be careful to
raise any plaits there may be with your
iron, so that it does not remain plastered
to the under surface; and, above all
things, iron until it is dry. The ironing
each article until it is dry is very im
portant, as it gives tlia smooth, crisp
feeling to linen whith shows the differ
ence between good and bad ironing. If
oy article is put to air while damp it
will dry rough.
Uses of Salt.
Wash the mica of the stove doors with
salt and vinegar.
Brass work can be kept beautifully
bright by occasionally rubbing with s ilt
ana vinegar.
To clean willow furniture, use salt
and water. Apply it with a nail brush,
scrub well and ary thoroughly.
If, after having a tooth pulled, the
mouth is filled with salt and water, it
will allay the danger of having a hem or*
rbage.
Salt as a. tooth powder is better than
almost any thing that can be bought. It
keeps the teeth brilliantly wh'te and the
gums hard -and rosy.
To wash silk handkerchiefs, soak them
first in cold salt and water for ten min
utes or longer, then wash out in the same
water and iron immediately.
Carpets may be greatly brightened by
first sweeping thoroughly and then go
ing over them with a clean cloth and
clear salt and water. Use a cupful of
coarse salt to a large basiu of water.
Nothing is better for a sore throat than
a gargle of salt and water. It may be
used as often as desired, and if a little is
swallowed each time it is used it will
cleanse the throat and allay the irrita
tion.
Salt, in doses of one to four teaspoon
fuls in half a pint to a pint ot tepid
water, is an emetic always on hand. This
is also the antidote to be used after
poison'ng from nitrate of silver while
waiting for the doctor t :> come.
If the feet are tender or painful after
long walking or standing great relief can
be had by bathing them in salt and water.
A handful of salt to a gallon of water is
the right proportion. Have the water as
hot as can comfortably be borne. Im
merse the feet and throw the water over
the legs as far as the knees with the
hands. When the water becomes too
cool rub briskly with a flesh towel. This
method, if used night and morning,' will
•cure neuralgia of the feet.—Good tiousc
kee/dwj.
Recipes.
Steamed Rice.-t-One cup of rice, one
teaspoon of salt, three cups of boiling
water; steam one hour; add one cup of
sweet milk, cook twenty minutes longer,
when it is ready to serve with cream
and sugar. /
Curried Eggs.—Melt a little butter,
stir in a teaspoonful of curry powder,
add by degrees a large tablespoonful of
flour and a cup of stock; season. Boil
six eggs hard, cut thepi in halves, put
put neatly in a d: ep dish, pour on the
sauce and keep all hot a little before
using.
White Bread.—Pare and boil soft
six potatoes in two quarts of water,
strain through a colander boiling hot on
to one cup of flour; stir well; and when
jcool aad one yeast cake soaked in warm
water. Keep it warm until it is light,
then stir it well and keep it in a cool
place until jhorning. Then stir it into
the middle of your tray of flour (adding
warm water enough to made the desired
quantity of bread), add a little salt and
cover the top of thU butter with flour,
aud keep it warm until it cracks the
flour ana foams up through. Then add
\ flour and mix up stiff and let it rise
again. Then knead up iuto loaves, put
into pans, let it rise again, not too light,
and bake one hour very carefully.
Roast Beef.—A piece of beef weigh
ing eight or ten pounds will take a little
orer two hours to roast. Some allow fif
teen minutes to oach pound of beef. Pre-^
pare it by wiping with a dry napkin, but
never washing, rub over it a little salt
and pepper, and put it into a dry pan to
roast in a hot oven. The heat will soon
seal in the juices and retain them till
the p ece is cut at the table. Baste oc
casionally. If the flavor of sweet herbs
and vegetables (as carrot, turnip, onion,
etc.) is relished in the gravy, put a few
slices of these last, with a bay leaf or ,
two and a little thyme and parsley, into '
the pan, to make a bed on which to lay
the beef. When it is done, add more
seasoning, remove the beef, take out the
vegetables if used, add hot water to the
gravy, thicken it, being careful to avoid
I’.mps. Serve either over the meat or in
a gravy-boat, as one prefer.*.
I
From Fame to Pauperism.
A remarkable and even pathetic inci
dent occurred at Kalamazoo, in this;
State, the latter part of last week, says';
a recent communication from Detroit to
the New York Timet. A very old man,
past eighty years, appeared in the office
of the Superintendent of the Poor to so- j
licit public assistance. He had no over-1
coat and was dressed in a thin, thread- ,
bare suit of black. The silk hat on his
head, like the white hair beneath it, had
seen the storms of many winters. He j
carried a small parcel, and two canes
with which to support his steps. It was
with did'culty that the official, after the
aged man had told his name, recognized
in him the famous Augustus Littlejohn,
an orator of such splendid ability in his
; prime, forty years ago, that no one who
heard him ever forgot the almost irre
sistible magnetism of his eloquence. Ar
riving from Niles Mr. Littlejohn had ap
plied to the poor authorities lor assist
ance to enable him to reach Schoolcraft,
which place he desired to visit. The as
sistance was instantly furnished him, as
one whose talents and past services to
mankind entitled him to something bet
ter than miserable poverty in his old age,
and armed with a pauper's ticket he left
for Schoolcraft that afternoon.
Augustus Littlejohn was a great man
among a generation now passed away, f
He was the dough of the forties. Old ,
settlers who have heard him repeatedly ;
{ say that he surpassed Gough in the ,
vividness of his descriptions and the
wonderful and altogether indescribable ■
dramatic force of nis utterances. He
lectured repeatedly all through Michigan
and Indiana on temperance, with enor
mous crowds attending bislectures every
[ where. He w. s known also throughout
the East as well as in the West. Thou
sands all oVer the country were reclaimed
by him from intemperance. He was of
the noted Littlejohn family of Herkimer,
N. Y., a family distinguished for its
talent. Bishop Little ohn. of Long Is
land, and the late Hon. Le Witt C. Lit
tlejohn, of Oswego, N. Y., wore nephews ;
of his. Nowin picturesque, but npver-j
th less miserable poverty, the old man is
obliged to ask for public alms. It will j
be startling news to most of those who j
knew him in his prime, or those who are
only acquainted with his splendid repu
tation, to hear that the matchless orator
of nearly half a century ago is still alive, j
so long has he been hidden away from
public observation and knowledge.
Sir Andrew Clarke, the celebrated
English physician, declares that one-half
tlic population of London is permanently ]
ill. He detines health as “ that state in
which the bo ly is not consciously present
to us: the state in which work is easy
and duty not over great a trial; the state
in which it is a joy to see, to think, to
feel and to be.’’
Professor Herzen has recently shown,
from vivisectional experiments, the inti
mate relation between cold and touch,
and that an injury to the cortex of the
brain that destroys the sense of touch in
any region will usually also abolish cor
} resaondinjrlv the sense of cold.
Early America a Mining.
The first account of mining in what is'
now the United States, is found in the
histories of the Spanish conquests. Only
thirty-three years after the discovery of
America, the Spaniards mined gold and
silver in what is now New Mexico, but
the records of their work are incomplete.
Gold mining was tried in New England
225 years ago by Governor John Win
throp. He opened mines near Middle*
town, Conn., then, and took outsold.
One vein was opened to the depth of
12.5 feet, and a good deal ot drifting
done. The mine was abandoned, ana
the location forgo: ten up til thirty-four
years ago, when it was rediscovered, and
several attempts hare been made since
to work it, but they were not successful.
The ore contains gold, but it is of too
low grade to pay now.
Gold mining has been conducted
profitably in Virginia, North and South
Carolima and Georgia since the early
part of the present century. The gold dis
coveries in Colorado were made by a gold
miner From Georgia. Before the over
shadowing discoveries in California and
“Pike’s Peak,” there were frequent min
ing excitements in these States, similar
to what we have of late years become ac
cnstomed to. Wo remember one once
when thousands of men rushed to the
Great Peedee River of South Carolina,
aq^t they obtained a good deal of gold.
And we remember when men used to
say “there is ore in Virginia which runs
$10 a bushel, and you can’t see a bit of
gold in it :” That was considered a
wonderful thing. Then, as it ever is,
the best things were a good wa^i off.
The t nest collection of gold specimens
in the United States came from North
Carolina mines;
Mining in limestone was conducted in
Wisconsin, what is now Illinois, Iowa,
Missouri and Arkansas in the early part
of the present century. Sixty years ago
Dubuque was a mining camp of 2,000
population, and tne m n s were wholly
in limestone, with many features like
those of the limestone in Colorado, New
Mexico, Utah aud Nevada. The princi
pal difference is that the lead ores of the
Rocky Mountains regions contain more
silver than those of the Eastern States.
Mining litigation was conducted in those
days, and as long as thirty-threo vea: a
ago the United States Supreme Court re
duced a decision involving the title to
the limestone ore m'ncs of Dubuque.
The mines in the limestone on the St.
i< rancis River, Missouri, were worked in
prehistoric times, and were .productive
while Spain owned that region of
countrv. Baron Carondelet, for whom
Car on del et, near St. Louis, is named,
purchased annually for several years, an
amou <t of lead which was produced
there which was equal to one-third the
annual product of Colorado at the pres
ent time.—Denser Republican.
Valuable Gold Nuggets.
Louis Blanding says the generally ac
cepted statement that the largest nugget
ever found in California was worth a
little more^than $21,000 is an erroneous
one. He says that J. ,L Finney, “Old
| Virginia,” found a piece of gold about
S six miles from Downieville, Fierra
! County, on August 21, 1887, that
| weighed 5,000 ounces. The gold of
| that vicinity was worth $18 an ounce,
j which would make the value of the nug
' get $1)0,000, , would make the
j Finney nugget the largest piece of pure
| gold over discovered, so far as accounts I
go. Heretofore, the Australian nugget
found in the Ballarat gold fields has been
considered the largest. It was valued at
$30,000. Finney, or “Old Virginia,”
as lie was .familiarly called in those days,
afterward went to Washoe when the
great silver discoveries were made
there, and from him the town of Vir
finia City took its name. The man who
iscovered the largest nugget in the Cali
fornia mines and gave his name to the ;
richest mining camp iu the world, died
in extreme poverty.- L/rati 1 alley (Cal.) •
L inn.. r: \ I
Marble statues in Germany are covered
with cloth wrappers in the winter.
The Life of Cowboys. i
Time was, and not long ago either,
that the cowboys when they received
their pay after the round-up, ielt in duty
bound to go Miles City and blow it in at
the gambling dens, saloons, and other
disreputable places, Cow-punclungisat
best a very tough business, and full of
I risks to life and limb, and pay is
small and by no means adequate, and
after the round-up there follows a long
i period of enforced idleness, during
which they are given food and lodging
only by the ranch owner. The average
cowboy was wont to turn up after his
semi-annual spree with a very large head
and hot a cent in his pocket. Of late,
however, the boys have taken a fumble to
themselves and are saving their money.
?o common has the economical spirit be
come among them that Miles City h:ts
seen this year its quietest seascu.
Most of the c >wboys looked upon
their coming to Montana to herd cattle
ns the mistake of their lives. The glow
ing stories of thrilling adventure and
i sudden wealth of the cowboys’ life,
which are common in the Fast, are in
I most cases responsible for their entering
the guild, but the reality is quite
a different matter. Many of the eco
nomical ones have been enabled by their
savings to return to their Eastern
homes.
Feoplc who have not been through the
bad lands have but a faint conception of
the utter desolation and worthlessness of
a cowboys' home. He is roasted in sum
mer and frozen in winter. The lands can
neve.* be used for anything but gra ing,
and the distances are therefore some
thing immense. One popularity of the
country makes rapid riding a very diffi
cult, not to say dangerous, undertaking.
The earth is so triable that a tiny water
course wilispeedily cut for itself a deep
gully or “coolie,” as it is called, the
depth of which, when tilled with snow,
it entirely problematical. A horseman
who rides up with u cowboys’ reckless
ness may suddenly t'nd himself at the
bottom of asix or eight-foot coolie, with
his horse on top of him, and no way of
getting out of it—if he happens to be
still alive—save tunneling up to the head
of the stream through the snow. Then
one of your broncho s feet is as likely as
not to sink suddenly two feet down into
a coyote's hole when he is going at a fu
rious pace. Result: His leg snaps off
like a pipe stem, and you are shot through
the air to a point far beyond, and picked
up more dead than alive. The water is
generally bitter with alkali, and scorches -
f our throat as you swallow it. There is
ittle to eat, and that is hard to get.—
Tomah Enterprise.
Not so Harmless as Supposed.
At Ironton, Ohio, a young reporter
for one of the city papers attended an
oyster supper g ven by the ladies of a
church society. The youth was waited
upon with all the prompt fidelity due to
his exalted station. The young man
showed his appreciation of this kindness
by publishing next day a half-column
article on “The Church Festival Oyster,”
containing all the time-honored witti
cisims that.have been handed down to
this generation on that subject. A com
mittee of twelve youDg ladies waited on
him at his lodgings shortly after the ap
pearance of the paper on the street, took
him into a smoke-house, tied him to a
Sost, read the article to him and then
eluged him from head to foot with a
bucketful of oyster soup that had been
left from the supper the evening before.
—Rothes'er Democrat. >
The Smallest Baby.
The smallest baby probably ever born,
first saw light in Candelaria in Nevada.
The father was a miner, and weighed 190
pounds, while the mother weighed ISO
pounds. The baby was a boy, perfectly
formed, but at its birth it weighed only
eight ounces. Its face was about the
size of a horse chestnut, and the limbs
wore so small that the mother could slip
a riug from her little tiager over the foot
nearly up to the knee.— Christian at