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ESTABLISHED 1856.
BROWNVTLLE, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1875.
VOL. 20 NO. 19.
-.1
BEADING HATTEIt OX EVERY PAGE
Oldest Paper in tlto State
OFFICIAL PAPER OF THE COUNTY.
B (
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Published by special permission of Harper Brothers.
A GOOD INVESTMENT.
A STORY OP THE GEEAT REBELLION.
CHAPTER I.
Rmote from cities lived a swain,
Unvexed with all the cares of gain."
Flaming Rock Is on the easterly
elde of Smoky Creek, one of I lie many
beautiful streams of the wilder and
more picturesque parts of Southern
0bo. The rock arisen precipitously
to a height of more than two hund
red feet from the le"el of tho pool at
Jta base. It Is of bituminous Blate, so
abundant In combustible matter that
one day It took fire near the bottom,
and continued to burn until a freshet
came to putouttheflatnes, six months
afterward : whence come the name6
of "Flaming Rock," and "Smoky
Creek."
On a slight rise of ground at tho
opposite aide of tho creek stands a log
cabin, and near It are a log corn-crib
and ox-stnble, both under one roof.
The buildings were conbtructed by the
present owner In fee when ho began
to make his "clearing," but hovenev
er since then beon repaired by any
body. Over a large part of the level
ground forming the middle of tho val
ley tho creek strays at random, Its
clear water made brilliant by flowing,
rippling, and dashing over an uneven
bed of perfectly black slate. Between
thoBtreatn and the hill on the west
are two small fields, poorly fenced,
bearing stunted growths of corn. Ex
tending beyond theo, and Including
the base of the hill up to where it be
comes precipitous, is an Imperfeotly
cleared space, partly occupied by
tumpB and hushes, where rattle
snakes Inhabit, and partly covered
with patches of blue-grass and white
clover, where hogs and other cattle
sometimes range. The hill beyond Is,
like all others of the region in ques
tion, very high, exceedingly steep,
covered with a heavy growth of tim
ber. Within the stable, before an empty
rack and manger, o pair of lean little
steers stand and chew the cud. On a
stump Just without the door of the
Cibln the proprietor of the domain,
the creator of It all if destroying the
beautUul forest with axe and fire may
be called creating sits and chews to
bacco. Old Bill Hngnn. lord of the soil tho'
hebe, and central figure of the scene,
Is dressed, to tell the truth, no better
than any landless ragamuffin. Cer
tainly no land-holdor of any land
where men wear clothes at all. except
our own, was ever seen with hat,
shirt, breeches, and suspenders such
as make thp costume of this one.
Nor does his wife, J Betsey, as she
itands in the door-way behind him,
appear to any better advantage. Her
hRggard buterrect form Is covered In
part by an old calico gown, faded, but
not with washing; torn In many plac
es, but nowhere patched or darned ;
-upplemented where deficient with
a red flannel petticoat, and under that
with a Bhift, perhaps; the jupon and
eklrt, such an they are, being distend
ed at the bottom with a bamboo hoop.
No cap adorns her tangled locks of
Iron-gray, and her feet are aB bare as
her head. In appearance a very hag,
there is no reason for doubting Bhe Is
really one. Had sho been a saint, she
could not have lived thirty-five years
with Bill Hagan and borne him sons
and daughters. She can scratch, bite,
gouge, get drunk when she can ob
tain whisky, steal, whenever in that
poor neighborhood she can lay hands
on any thing that is a subject of theft,
and has a gift for scolding such as few
women are blessed with. She has
been known to stand in that door
way, close behind where her husband
sits, and, with arms akimbo and wag
ging head, storm at the man until she
fell down in a vertigo. It should be
added that In this she la encouraged
arid led on by the rook, which has an
admirable echo, and always responds
promptly and distinctly to whatever
she says, sometimes blaspheming
frightfully in doing so.
In thelrearller married life Bill used
to knook his wife down whenever her
scolding became tiresome; but he
learned by experience that Bhe and
her ally were too much for him, since
they could keep up the din even after
she was down, and he finally gave
over the gentle discipline. Both of
them attend all the religious meet
ings held In that wild and Inaccessi
ble district, and both have repeatedly
"got religion" after tho fashion of the
country, and been several times ad
mitted to membership In the Method
ist church. Queer Christians they
are, to be sure; but they are of a
queer community, concerning which
an old elder who once rode in that
circuit said, "If it is the Lord'H will
to have a church on Smoky Creek, He
must take people jest as they be."
The old couple were alone together
alone and lonesome for two days
before the opening of this story, their
on ob, sixteen years old, and the
last of their surviving brood who re
mained at home, had run away, and,
bat was worse In the old man's
opinion, taken with him his father's
"fle, a weapon that was In snmn none-
lhe same as a crutch to Its owner,
mc, from long habit of taking it
"h him wherever he went, It had
become almost Impossible togoahnn
'ed steps from ttie door without it
" fact, when he had tried, on that
very morning to stroll up the valley
out of ear-shot of Betsey's voice and
the black rock's echo, he had not been
ablo to get any considerable distance
away, so returned and resumed his
seat on the stump, where he remain
ed, saying nothing and doing it, while
the sun of July mounted to mid-heaven,
and tho oxen, with the yoke BtHI
on their necks, waited Idly In the
pen.
Bob had been a real comfort to IiIb
mother and father. While he re
mained about homo he -was always
doing something to furnish the one
with text or pretext for a scolding;
and In occaslonaly threshing out his
wild oats with a hoop-pole, the other
enjoyed a satisfaction which only a
parent can know.
But Bob was gone, such as he was;
gone from his home, such as It was.
Though barely sixteen years of age,
according to the tenth row of notches
cut upon one of the house-logs, the
many stories of battle he had heard
told by soldiers returned from the war
of the rebellion had roused up the
wolf that was in his young blood, as
it is in tlio blood of all humanity, so
that he longed to be where men were
killing each other, and resolved to
seek thesporton the first opportunity.
Very opportunely for him there came
the raid of John Morgan into Ohio,
which all know, was in the month of
July, 1863. News of the movements
of the raiding forc?s through the
country lying to the northward had
from time to time been brought by
travelers passing down the valley,
and the last report, which had oome
late lu the afternoon of the day be
fore the boy disappeared, was that
the main body was expected to reach
Piketon, a village twenty miles dis
tant, some time during the next day.
And thus, Instead of Bob's going to
war, war was actually coming to Bob,
and he accepted the Issue. Waiting
only for night to come and cover his
movements, he quitted his eheetleeB
little bed in the loft as soon as the
snores of the old people acquired the
proper intonation, descended to their
apartment by means of three pegs
driven into the logs of the house to
serve the purpose of the more costly
luxury of a ladder, noiselessly remov
ed from its hooks over the fire-place a
very old rifle, with its soant supply of
ammunition, stole out iuto the uight,
and took his way up the creek. Con
sidering as he went what plan of cam
paign should be adopted, ho decided
to make for a point where he would
be likely to strike Morgan's line of
march several miles before it reached
Piketou und the level country of the
Scioto Valley, his design being to
hang upon the skirts of his enemy
and harrass his flanks. Thin was
very good generalship, it must be ad
mitted, and subject to only the one
criticism, that it amounted to "bush
whacking," as warfare in the retail
way is termed, the retailers being con
sidered as without the merciful palo
of the laws of war, and liable to be
shot or hung whenever captured. Af
ter ascending the valley of the creek
for a distance of five or six miles, and
in eolng that distance, crossing the
devious stream fifty times, he struck
off abruptly to the right, and mount
ing by a rough sled track that came
down over the edge of the nose, as it
were, of a spur from the hill which
bordered that side of the valley, reach
ed one of the peculiar roads which are
found rnnnlng along all the summits
or ridges of the 6teep and narrow hills
of that country. These "ridge roads,"
so important to the inhabitants, form a
system of ready-made highways, fur
nished by nature, with the hills they
render accessible, free of cost to coun
ty or township treasury. Just as they
are to-day they seem always to have
been. Trodden formerly by tho In
dians, as now by the whites, they are
kept open as much by the hoofa of
beasts a& the feet of men. The trav
elBr on one of them finds himself shel
tered for the larger part of the way
with interlacing branches of trees
which border it, though occasionally
he will traverse open reaches where
the sun-blest ground Is covered with a
coarse grass, or If too poor to bear
that, decked with wild flags, pansies,
and roseB. Sometimes he will meet
with tme of those almost mysterious
shallow basins of water called "bear
wallows," that seem to exist without
any drainage adequate to fill them.
Even when the later heats of summer
dry up wells, and drlv the creek in
the neighboring valley to hidlng
nlaces beneath its gravelly bed, the
bear-wallow, though It grows narrow
er and shallower daily, seldom or
never is found entirely empty.
Bob turned into the ridge road and
kept In it until he had gone twenty
five or thirty miles, crossing the head
waters of a good many creeks and
"runs," but without descending into
any of their valleys or ravines. Tho'
the ridge, and the roadwith it. crook
ed and turned iu an amazing manner
and though branches from it led off
toward every spur to the right or left,
hiB knowledge of-the habits of the
hills and ways of the forest saved him
from going astray, even after he had
passed beyond the limits af any of his
previous wanderings. And when, at
length, nbont the, middle of the fore
noon, he halted on a bald summit, or
"knob," that overlooked a wide and
fertile well-peopled valley, such as he
had never before seen, he knew per
fectly well where he was, and that
his objective point was reached.
There was a tall white oak near the
knob, from whose top a better survey
could be made than from where he
stood ; so. leaving his gun at the foot
of the tree, he climbed till he reached
the highest limb that would bear his
weight, and, seating himself astride
It, with IiIb arms embracing the body,
looked off.
The bird's. eye view thuB obtained
covered five or six miles of the creek
bottom; and what he saw there soon
satisfied Bob that his Information bad
been correct, na well as his Inferences
thence derived namely, that Mor
gan's forces must come that way, and
could not ho long In coming, either.
The commotion of the inhabitants
showed their panic to be great. Cat
tle and teams were being driven off in
all directions hut one. From the
nearer parts of the valley shouts and
cries came faintly up to the ear, and
away in the distance, beyond reach
of hearing, there could through that
clear atmopphere be discerned Lilli
putian people running about hither
and thither, every little head of a
family and all the little members of
it behaving very much as they would
If their house was on fire. After one
or two hours the scene became quiet.
The cattle had been driven away, all
wheel vehicles had disappeared, and
so had most of the inhabitants, though
some of them still remained by their
property and homes, animated by a
noble resolve to face the danger they
knew to be coming.
By this time the boy began to feel
hunger. Ho slid down from bjs perch
resumed his gun, nnd descended Into
a "cove" at the head of a ravine
whose course was toward the valley,
and clambered along over great mass
es of rock fallen from theledgee above
and which roughly paved the bed of
a torrent accustomed to roar there in
times of rain, till he reached n little
pool, or pocket of water. There, seat
ed on a square block of stone, whose
covering of velvet and plush, if it had
been real instead of imitation, as it
was, and as were all the beautiful
hangings of that ohamber In the hills,
might have cost n cavalryman's equip
ment, he took from his only pocket a
couple of "dodgers" favorite nnd ap
propriate fooil of bush-whackers ai.d
ate them for his breakfast, drinking
during the meal one or more gallons
of the water, which last he accom
plished by making a notch In the
edge of the platform of soft sandstone
over which the sleuder surplus of the
pool trickled away, deep enough to
draw Into a single stream all the over
flow, and then putting his under lip
to the notch and letting the water en
ter his mouth as it would.
It ought to be mentioned that the
element lost none of its thirst-quenching
property for Bob merely because
during the repastanother bushwhack
er of somewhat different species ap
peared and marched boidly up to the
edgo of the pool, where he drank his
fill. This one was arrayed in butter
nut and black : his motto was "Don't
tiead on me;" and the other, after
killing him, counted eleven rattles in
his tail.
The search after water had carried
the lad well down toward the foot of
the hill, and on his goiug a little fur
ther the view opened on a cleared
field, occupying a swell of ground at
the base a portion of one of the val
ley farms, Inclosed on the nearer side
by a stone and rail fence, and on the
further bounded by a highway. The
distance across this field was no more
than a convenient rifle-sliot, and the
low wall of stone afforded as good a
breastwork as any free-shooter could
wish. Before postitig himself Bob
moved along the fence to a point
where it was crossed at right angles
by a path that led directly up a point
of the hill, nnd thence back to the
place of his first look-out. It was the
highest part of the field, and com
manded a clear view for two or three
miles up the road. Besides this, the
path would afford a most excellent
way of retreat. So there, after first
inspecting the condition of his piece
and his resources of powder and lead,
caps, patches, and grease, he took up
his position ; that is to say, seated
himself behind the fence. He was
well placed ; neither Grant nor Gari
baldi could have posted him better.
He looked up the valley, but no
Morgan's man was to be discerned.
He listened with open mouth as
well as ears, but no hostile souud was
heard. He fell to reflecting on the
situation, and so reflecting fell asleep.
While he slept the whole scene was
transformed, and when, an hour later
he woke up, astounding Impressions
burdened his every sense. Field, for
est, and hill were fraught with life
and movement. A Btifldd. low-toned
thunder spoke from the ground ; dust
filled the air; a rifle-shot was heard,
and then several more, and distant
shout6. Then, beneath a rolling dust
cloud about a mile away, the head of
a column of horsemen came, advanc
ing at a trot. A distinct sound of
hoofa from the opposite hill drew his
attention, and roused him to astonish
ment and something of alarm, as he
saw there a squadron of horsemen
moving rnpldly along its ridge road,
parallel with the movement of the
main body, but so far in advance of it
sb to have already passed the point
opposite him. An instant later he
bpcame aware thata similar squadron,
moving like the other parallel to the
central force, was" even then trampl
ing along the ridge back of him, and
had actually crossed the junction of
his path of escape with the road by
which he had come, cutting off his
well planned retreat, and bringing to
naught his whole art of war. Bob,
my boy, the Philistines are upon you!
You are outflanked, outgeneraled,
outdone ! Arouse ! rally your forces !
hold a council of war to decide quick
ly as a council can what next to do!
Bob couldn't.
His head grew hot, hia eyes dim ;
his tongue and mouth became dry,
his heart thumped his ribs; some
thing choked him and stopped his
breath ; be reeled and fell back upon
the ground where' the dead leaves rat
tled under his quaking limbs. The
symptoms will be easily reooguiz
ed aB those of the "buck fever," with
its attendant ague, such as every
hunter is, once in his life, attacked
with, when for the first time a deer
presents itself In all its forest-born in
nocence, dignity, and pride to the
aim of his weapon. Bob was a hunt
er, and once before had felt the fever;
but never before had he beheld bucks
such as those which now by hun
dreds careered down upon him, every
steed in the herd a blooded animal,
and nearly every rider too: dare-devil,
born jockey, and natural dead
shot. Bob couldn't.
But buck fever 1b an acute disease,
not a chronic one, and where the con
stitution is courageous, soon passes
off.
As none of the horsemen on the
hill nt his back had passed within
sight of our hero If so the scstrpd hoy
might be called there was sufficient
time before those in the valh-j came
up for him to recover, first his senses,
tlieu his strength, and lastly, his cour
age nnd resolution ; and some min
utes before the foremost of the col
umn had got abreast of tlie ambush
he had thrust his gun half-way thro'
an opening in the wall, cocked it. and
made quite ready. No sooner, how
ever, did ho "sight," or try to sight,
the horseman In question, a fine spec
imen of manhood by-the-way, ani a
perfect stranger to Bob, than the
thumping against the ribs again be
gan, and he was obliged to desist. Re
covering his nerves again, a few min
utes later, he tried once more on an
other stranger, but failed ; and ho on
for several attempts ; and although he
was gradual! acquiring steadiness,
yet by the time he got really In con
dition to shoot with good aim half the
column hod gone by. And then an
other difficulty arose. He had been
looking into the faces of his foes as
they trotted along, and had seen they
were human faces like his own. He
had been getting acquainted with
them, ns it were. Many of them
seemed boys no older than himself;
they were of his kind, and his heart
grew averse to shooting them. In
fine, he abandoned all intention of
killinganybc dy that day, and resolved
to peaceably retreat as soon as It
should be safe to do so. Figuratively
speaking, the angel of mercy had de
scended, and was weeping warm tears
into the powder in the pan of Bob's
blunderbuss, just as is represented in
the celebrated old picture of "Abra
ham offering up Isaac." But right
here the devil must put In a word, in
form of a rifle-shot that resounded
from the opposite hill, about a quar
ter of a mile up the road, and which
seemed to cause disturbance among a
group of stragglers who were pressing
forward their tired horses. Three or
four of these at once dismounted and
dashed into the woods, while a few of
the others discharged their pieces in
the same direction, and the restseem
ed to occupy themselves with some
objecton the ground. Bob's attention
was concentrated on the pursuit which
was plainly being made after a broth
er bushwhacker not too soft-hearted
to pull a trigger. Tho chase lasted
some considerable time, and when
two of the pursuers emerged from the
forest, dragging between them a poor
hatless wretch, none of the raiders
remained in eight except a small
body, a kind of rear-guard, that had
just been halted In front of Bob's po
sition, and a few of the stragglers,
who still remained opposite the place
where the shot was fired. The cap
tor brought their prisoner across the
creek, and up to the officer command
ing the rear guard.
"Who have you there?" the officer
demanded.
"A bush-whaoker, colonel," was
answered.
"Why did you bring him here then?
You know well enough what to do.
Take him over there" (pointing to the
woods immediately behind where
Boh lay) "and leave him."
The men, obedient to the command
whose meaning all understood, began
to let down the bars of the field, wlien
a young officer came galloping down
the road, and suddenly pulled Iu his
horse beside whpre the prisoner.
whose legs were doubling under him.
was being held up. Instantly dis
mounting, the new-comer drew a re
volver and discharged it thrice at the
doomed man, who dropped dead. A
fourth shot wbb then heard, and the
young officer himself fell. A whole
volley scatteringly followed. The
fourth shot was Bob's, and the scat
tering volley was all aimed at him as
he sprang up the steep hill, swift as a
deer. He was hotly followed, and by
as agile woodmen as himself, and
would hardly have escaped had he
not beforehand well considered his re
treat. Without attempting to do his
running in the thickets which covered
the hill-sides, or among the rocks in
the beaten way which led him up to
the ridge road, followed that road a
short distance only, then dashed
through a thicket at the head of a
cove, and gained a side path on the
top of a spur which he knew diverged
from the main ridge a little further
on ; followed that till, nearlng the
point of the spur, its direotion became
obscure; then, quickly dodging round
a hollow tree whose lower opening
was on the side opposite the quarter
whence pursuit came, and was con
cealed by undergrowth, he sprang in
to it and began to clamber upward.
He might have continued till he em
erged at the upper opening in the tree
top, through which, forty feet above,
he could see daylight pouring in, but
feared he would make loo much noise
in doing so, as each movement de
tached masses of rotten wood that fell
rattling to the bottom, so contented
himself with attaining a convenient
resting-place ten feet from the ground.
There he remained while the pursuit
came up, swept by, fatigued Itself,
and was given over, and remained for
a good while longer, fn the apprehen
sion that his enemies might still be
lurking near, having only pretended
to give up the search ; in this overes
timating his own importance, as ve
all are apt to do. At length he tho't
it safe, not to descend and continue
his flight, but to mount to the top,
and there see what could be seen.
Elevating then from the hole only his
head and arms, he hung by the el
bows, with the rpst of him concealed
in the hollow trunk, and looked about
on every side, until, perfectly re-assured
at last, he scrambled out, and
descending by the more pleasant out
side of the tree, started on the road
homeward. As he feared to return to
the main ridge road, our hero, as he
may now be truly called, since he has
drawn blood, descended the point of
the spur by a path that led into a
small creek or run, and followed its
course until It entered the valley of a
considerable stream, whose general
direction was parallel with that In
which Morgan's force was moving.
Here he paused, and was looking to
discover a point by which he could
mount to the ridge of the hill on the
further side of the stream, when the
sound of Norsemen approaching from
up the road Bent him to cover in a
thicket of sumac. Lying close, and
carefully avoiding to stir the bushes
or breathe too loud, he was able, un
detected, to observe a party of five go
by, all of them evidently Morgan's
men, of whom the hindmost was
leading a sixth animal with empty
saddle, to which was fastened a pair
of old-fashioned saddle-bags. But
they had hardly passed him before
thej' halted-to allow their horses to
drink in a deep, clear pool at the roots
of a sycamore stump.
While there, the one who rode at
the head of the party examined his
watch, then a pocket-compass, and af
terward looked around him. Some
thing there was In his features that
reminded the boy of a face he had
Been before, and that impressed him
painfully. After making his survey
the officer, for such he was, said to the
man nearest him, who seemed of
much rougher aspect than the rest of
them, "Brown, have we not gone far
enough on this course?"
"I think wo have, lieutenant," re
plied Brown. "I reckon, If we take
up this p'int right yer, and bear to the
east, we'll come shortly on the main
ridge about seven miles below where
we left it. By pushing on smart we
kin be thar before they all get by."
"How do you happen to know so
much about this infernal abolition
country?" asked auother of the men
as the officer moved further on.
"When I lived in Cavern County.
Kaintuck, I was in the horse busi
ness, and that sometimes brought me
over yer."
"The horse business! oh, I under
stand. Cavern County horse-dealers
sell a good many more than they buy.
They have a way, too, of swapping
horses."
Not this remark, but the laugh of
the others, caused Brown to redden,
and say,
"I want to know what you and
John Morgan and the whole lot are
doing but swapping horaeB?"
"Oh, this Ih war."
"Is it?" rejoined Brown ; "then I'd
like to see jest a little fighting to prove
it. Since we crossed the river about
all we've done has been a runnin' off
horses and dry goods. Pretty fast
runnin' it's been, too."
Further criticism on the conduct of
the war was interrupted by one of the
men exclaiming, as he looked back.
"Why, where's old Hector? Lieu
tenant, Hector's missing."
The lieutenant made no reply,
seeming to occupy himself solely
with examining the path up the point
"which Brown had indicated, and
which seemed almost too rugged for
horses to ascend ; but another of the
party said, in rather a low tone,
"Don't you know he left him to
take care of the body?"
"This way. men !" cried theofficer,
as his horse sprang up the hill. The
others followed, one by one, imitating
their leader in not dismounting; and
he spirited amlmals, jaded as they
were, achieved the difficult ascent
without one false step. But the Ied
hore, whose hridle was held by the
last of the part', on reaching a place
where the path was too contracted to
admit of two going abreast, reared,
broke loose, and, wheeling round,
dashed down the hill again.
"Go back and lead her up," said
one.
"Let her alone," said another;
she'll follow Cast onough
iff half a
minute, and a good deal better than
you can lead her."
The last speaker was right, so far as
this, that the mare halted at the foot
of the hill, and was, in fact, turning
again to recommence the ascent, when
Bob, darting from hia thicket, seized
the trailing bridle, leaped Into the va
cant saddle, and when the raiders
stopped on the summit to give their
horses breath, the young bushwhack
er was galloping her at full speed up
the creek, more than a mile away.
Fifteen minutes later he had reached
a place of safety, where dismounting
he flung himself on the ground to rest
until it should be dark enough for him
to venture back to the spot near hia
first ambush, where he had dropped
the rifle, and to the hollow tree where
he had concealed the pouch and horn,
without which he by no means dared
return to his father's house. Mean
while, holding tightly by the bridle
the mare he had adopted, though al
lowing her to crop what grass wa3
near, he begart to meditate on his too
exploits the first, emptying a sad
dle; the second, filling one. Itisnot
to be wondered at that he could better
bear to think on the last than the first.
As the animal moved around him he
could see blood spots on the leather.
He recalled what tbe horseman had
said of a negro being left behind In
care of a corpse. The shadows were
darkening in the forest. For the first
time since the bush-whacker was
born he felt averse to being alone,
and for the first time, too, his imagin
ation began to act, making the shad
ows of the trees take unpleasant
shapes ob they grew darker and dark
er. (To be continued.)
This Btory is pnbltnhed by Messrs. Harper
Bros., N. Y., complete, nnd will be sent by
them to any part of the united States, post
age prepaid, on receipt of fifty cents.
Flax Culture in the United States.
Flax la said to be fast becoming a
popular crop in the West, because of
its certainty in returning a profit to
the farmer, sure because it defies the
ravages of the chinch bug, and ma
tures too early for the locust. Hence
it is thought to be destined to increase
steadily in production, notonly forits
profit, but as a Western agriculture.
The straw, however, does not yet
seem to be utilized to the extent de
sirable and necessary to obtain the full
benefit of this crop. Thedemand for
the fibre properly handled is almost
unlimited, while the straw Is nearly
worthless to the farmer, being inju
rious rather than a benefit as food for
stock. The straw at present Is mainly
produced from thin sowing, which
produces branchy straws, the greater
part of which can be utilized In the
manufacture of bagging tow for "bail
ing stuff.'" The chief demand for this
raw material Is for cotton bailing and
for cordage. The demand for the
former purpose may be approximatad
by the production of cotton, which
annually makes about 4,000,000 bales
of. cotton, requiring 24.000.000 yanls
bagging cloth, about 12.000.000 yards
of which aro manufactured In the
United States, and nearly all from im
ported stock. Jute butts are import
ed largely for their manufacture, but
our western contemporaries, among
them the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
claim that domestic flax can be raised
and manufactured more cheaply, and
that the product Is better for bagging.
The increased imports of raw hemp
in the United States for 1874 over 1873
was 6.6)o tons. There is manuiac
tured in the United States of cordage
and twines to the value of $8,970,382;
flax, dressed, $15,000. We also Im
ported In 1874, ending June 30th, of
vegetable fibre, except cotton, to the
value of $26,208,628; 64.942 tones of
which was raw material, costing $6.
313.033. Upon this showing of de
mand and statement of superiority of
domestic over Imported raw material,
the western farmers are urged to ex
tend the culture of flax indefinitely,
as a more safe and profitable crop than
any other.
Selling Corn.
An experienced grain farmer ndvl
Bes'tosell no corn in the ear; have all
you sell shelled. A hand shelling
machine.will answer if your crop Is a
small one; If large, get one to be
worked by a horse-power. Neither
will cost a great deal, and we are very
certain that the cob, if crushed,
then steamed and fed to your cattle,
will be worth more to you in a single
winter than the price of a corn-shel-!er,
whether you get a small or large
one. We helieve there Is ono-third
as much nutriment In a bushel of
cobs as there Is In a hushel or grain,
and we do know that cows and oxen
fed upon three pecks of the steamed!
or crushed cobs, in addition to the
usual quantity of hay or tops of fod
der, wlllkeep fat. Then why haul
your cobs to market to be given away?
It costs a3 much to carry a bushel of
cobs to the market as It doea a bushel
of corn. Shell your corn, leave your
coin at home to nourish your cattle,
and through them your land; and
where vou now pend one bushel of
corn, you will be able to transport two
for the same money.
Indian Dumplings. Mix your
meal with water that almost boils;
make them up and put them in to
boil about twenty minutes moderate
ly ; they will come to pieces if they
boil hard. Some prefer to stir np the
Imeal with hot water and put It in a
clean cloth, as they are apt to break If
not properly managed.
Axj. hour will
coolr it in tbls.wav..
THE MONKYIESS MAN.
This beautiful poem was composed years
ago by Henry Stanton, Maysvllle, Ky. Such
gems of poetry are not often met with, writ
ten by authors whose namesare never known
In history:
Is there no place on the fnco of the earth.
Where charity dwellcth, where virtue hna
birth?
"Where bosoms In kindness and mercy will
heave,
And the poor and the wretched shall ask and
receive?
Is there no place on earth where a knock from
tho poor
Will bring a kind angel to open the door?
Ah ! search tho wide world whereveryou can
There is no open door for the moneyless man.
Go look In the hall whore the chnodeller
light
Drives off with Its splendor the darkness of
night;
Where the rich hanging velvet, in shadowy
fold.
Sweeps gracefully down, with Its trimmings
of gold.
And mirrors of silver take up and renew
In long lighted vistas tho 'wllderlng view :
Go there in your patches, and find If you can
A welcoming smile for tho moneyless man.
Go look In your church of the cloud-reaching
spire,
Which gives back to the sun his same look
of Are,
Where the arches and columns are gorgeous
within,
And tho walls seem as puro as a soul without
sin ;
Go down the long aisle see the rich and the
great,
In the pomp and the pride of their worldly
estate;
"Walk down In your patches, and find if you
can.
Who opens a pew for a moneyless man.
Go look to your Judges, in dark flowing gown
With the scales wherein law welgheth equity
down;
Where he frowns on the weak and smiles on
strong.
And punishes right while hejustlfles wrong;
Where Jurors their lips on the Bible have
laid,
To render a verdict they've already made;
Go there in the court room, and find If you
can,
Any law for tbe cose of the moneyless man.
Go look In the banks, where Mammon has
told
His hundreds and thousands of silver and
gold;
Where, safe from tho hands of the starving
and poor,
Lies pile upon pile of the glittering ore;
Walk up to the counter ah, there you may
stay,
Till your limbs havogrown old and your hair
turns gray,
And you'll find at tho bank not one of the
clan
With money to lend to a moneyless man.
Then go to your hovel no raven has fed
The wife who has suffered so long for her
bread ;
Kneel down by her pallet and kiss the death
frost
From the lips of the angel yonr poverty lost
Then turn in your agony upward to God,
And bless while it Btnltes you, the chasten
ing rod;
And you'll find at tbe end of your life's little
span.
There's welcome above for tho moneyless
man.
The President's Warning.
Two classes are vexed nt the Presi
dent's speech at Des Moines. The
first are those who dislike General
Grant, and are annoyed to see liirn say
what is so wise and striking and sug
gestive. Tho second are those who
dislike what he said and are annoyed
to see it havi the weight and authori
ty of the nation's Chief Magistrate.
But the great body of thinking men
everywhere earneatly respond to what
was said, and aro very glacfto remem
ber who said it.
President Grant's speech is a clear,
terse and dignified expression of the
common feeling entertained by patri
otic and thinking men. It says en
ough, and not too much. It is skill
ful iu statement, nest in composition
and just In spirit. It shows that the
President is a keen observer of the
course of events and is in sympathy
with the true sentiment of the coun
try. The question to which he directs
attention Is rapidly rising to the larg
est proportions, nnd the manifesta
tions of priestly purpose show that
the danger to our system of popular
education is not fanciful but real and
imminent. Albang Journal.
High and Dry
A few daya ago Butcher Robinson's
large New Foundland dog cooled him
self iu the canal, and after swimming
faraway from his point of entrance,
he tried to get out where the wall was
high up from the watet. He made
many iuetfectual attempts to do it,
aud failed. Gov. Smith's shepherd
dog eaw hia difficulty, ran about to
get assistance, but none coming, when
the big water dog put up his paws to
make one more effort to get out, the
knowing Scotch coolly grabbed him
by the neck as one grabs a brother
by the hand to help him out or overa
difficult place, and he was landed
high, if not dry, much to the joy of
both. Manchester (V. Y.) Bulletin.
An Oregon exchange lately came
out with the assertion that all the la
dies In town were wearing "Govern
ernmentsocks." Thengonlzed editor
tore all the hair out of bis head, shot
seventeen holes In the compositor,
and chafed the proof-reader into the
mountains with a shot-gun. He then
slipped back in the night and barrica-
ded himself In his office, where he
spent three days in talking through
the key-hole to the enraged females,
try tng to convince them that he wrote
"Garibaldi sacks."
A "Society for the Protection of
Birds Useful to the Farmer," is one of
the societies in a French Department.
All nests found are reported to the so-
ciety, and protected by it. Last year
I the. society protected 214 nesjtei
DoVt Cut te -l0rse'sIFr-
We have wondered ouruSocIety for
the Protection of Dumb Animals"
has not before this sent out a procla
mation, ordering- every owner of a
horse to look to the horse's frog.
What wonhl be thought of those
parents who have tho care of children,
if, when they begin to purcharee
shoes for the little ones, they should
begin and paro away the thick flesh
from the heel of the foot? and then
say, "This needs cutting off; it la too
thick and ungainly, nnd we wish to
make it smooth and even, and out it
down level with the rest of the foot."
If nature gave to human a thick
cartilage of forty or a hundred thick
nesses upon the heel of the foot, wa
it not to receive the firstsolid pressure
of tho foot, nnd by thlsTne'ans gave
the whole foot and limb, and its cord
and tissues, from such a severe jar aa
Is felt when one steps heavily upon'
the fore part of the foot alone?
Reason, common-sense, and nature
all teach us that the heel of man's foot
and the frog of the horse's foot are
wisely ordained to receive the first
and heavy pressure of the tread, and
any act that mars nature's plans must
necessarily injure man or horse.-
California Farmer".-
In a recent speech by Brlgham
Young to the conference of the Mor
mon Church, the following was used:'
Education renders a boy useless.
All our Congressmen' and Gbvernors"
of State8 and public officers are the
apawn of free schoola. Those men
never performed a day's useful labor
in their lives, and they would be far
more valuable to the community If
they would lay down their robes of
office and go to work in the corn-field.
Would you have your children grow
up maudlin and worthless ? I had no
schooling, yet God ohose me for ono
of the most exalted positions on earth.
Your college professors, and men cun
ning In all the wisdom of the Egyp
tians, often want'aroeal, whllel have
laid up my millions, and can buy ev
ery Congressman, every preacher, and'
every editor in the country. Go away
to your cornfields! I am opposed to"
free schools; and understand me, al
though you came begging to me on
your knees, I will not give you one
dollar to eduoateanother man's child.
Brlgham understands very well
that It Is Mi rough the ignorance of hia
followers that be has been able as he:
has.
Chdrnlngr
During the progress of churning a'
certain uniformity of temperature'
must be observed or the butter will be'
soft and spongy, Instead of being Arm
nnd compact. The agitation, also, of
the cream should be regular neither"
too quick nor too slow. If the agita
tion is tooquiok, the butter will make'
and unmake itself before the churner
Is aware of it, as too rapid motion in
duces fermentation, which when it
has reached a certain point, la entire
ly destructive to anything like the
possibility of making even moderate-'
Jy good or well tasting butter. The"
best temperature for the" oreatn In'
churning i8from fifty toslxty degrees.
Willard's Practical Dairy Husbandry.
Hasty Podding. Boll some wa
ter and thldken w'ltb' flour, as yon'
would for thin starch; sift somo
coarse meal and stir in until it la quite
thick; keep it boiling all the time
you are putting in the meal, which'
must be done gradually; salt to trie'
taste; boil it well; put it in a bowl
and turn out. Eat with' cream and
molasses.
Baked Fish. Take a middling
sized fish or a very large black' flab,
make a stuffing of bread, a littlo pork
chopped fine, sweet herbs, an onion,
salt and pepper; place the fish In a
bake-pan with a little water, sufficient
to keep it moist; add a glass of red
wine, a little flour aud butter.'
RtPr and Indian Drop Cakes.
One pint of Indian meal', one-half
pint of rye meal, two eggs, two spoon
fuls of molasses, a little salt; work it
with cold milk so as to drop fror'a"
spoon into hot fat; be sure to have a
smooth batter.
Child "Doea the Lord take the pa
pers?" Mother "No, my child ; why
do you ask?" Child "Oh. I thought
he didn't, it takes our ministerso long
to tell Him about things !"
Every ono must find out for him
self the key to the riddle of life. 16'
is of no use to have It told. Some do'
not hear, while others misunderstand
it.
Veal Sausages. Chop equal
quantities of lean veal and fat pork, a
handful of sage, a little salt ; beat all:
In a mortar and roll out.
"If you Intend to hug me don't dV
It suddenly, because the chair you are'
Bitting on has a broken leg, and you
might get a tumble.
Precoolons boy, munching the frul
of the date tree. "Mamma, If I eat
dates enough, will I grow up tor be an
almanac?
Zeb Crummet says wise menTear.'
more from fools than fools- doifrom
them. - . """
Hods have become very cheap wr
b$er. Is. going dor
:
JS
