The Tell-Tale Finger of the
Soa.
Wo have heard of the wrongs and
absurdities wrought by the ancient
law of Mortmain , but I canneverfor.
get my strange experience of the
justice that was brought about by
'the dead hand , " and by it alone ,
when the hands of the living would
have been utterly impotent. Some
r
of those who witnessed what I am
about to relate may see this when it is
in print ; and if so they will doubtless
bo willing to corroborate the facts-
The incident occurred as I was re.
turning from my fiist trip to Europe ,
bat you must know that for several
years before then I had had some
unimportant business relations with
the firm of Murdenthrppo Brothorsi
builders. I forgot the number of
their then place in Franklin street ,
New York. They were a thrifty pair *
well on in they 50s , though they used
every art to keep as near 35 as
might pass muster. Their fathen
two years deceased , had left them the
business , and just about that time
a largo sum of money had fallen
in , $100,000 it was said , and as it
had been invested in England , Jacob
and Benjamin had been across to
settle the affair.
As the tender was taking the big
crowd of ns passengers along , the
Mersey to the magnificent Segullia , I
waspolitely saluted by the pair.
"Hello , Jake whatl you here , too ,
Ben ? Bless my soul who'd a
thought it ? Been over to contract
for a new palace for some fourth
ward American duchess ? "
"No , sirree , " said Ben , rather sour
ly , as it struck me. "No , sirl our
girls ain't jest fools enough to go
farther and fare worse than they
would at home. "
"They've never been able to catch
you yet , anyway , " I replied jokincly ,
giving a wink to the elder brother ,
who was reputed to be as popular a
Jadies' roan as Ben was a bear. They
we're bachelors , both.
I felt I had not struck the right
keynote , so I ventured a congratula
tion on the good luck they now had
as I surmised entered upon the
enjoyment of. At this Jack gave a
queer jerk of his head : " 'Tain't all
gold as glitters , sir , is it ? But Ben
and I have haJ smooth enough sail
ing so far , haven't we , Ben ? and I
don't know as either of us really
ueeds another dollar "
"Not for our own-selves , why , cer
tainly not , " said Ben , "but I've got
that scheme o' mine everlastin'ly in
my head , night and dayv and when
you're kinder comin' in sight o' land ,
asyoumaysayyou know how you'd
feel if some iceberg was to come along
and just bid fair to smash you all
up to "
'
'Before I had time to wonder why
Jake should flatly interrupt his
.brother with a highly ridiculous re
mark about feeling rather seasick
we had arrived at the steamer and
.were all engaged in a mad scramble
, to gather our wraps and struggle off
the rocking gangway to the deck of
the liner as it towered majestically
overhead.
I could not sleep that first night ,
though the sea was not at all rough.
At last I wrapped up and strolled on
deck. It was just as the dawn was
jbreakiprj , and I leaned over the rail ,
fascinated by'the play of the flotsam
and jetsam rubbish that was being
tossed into the light by the waves.
One paticular splinter of wood , pe
culiarly shaped , kept bobbing up
and down with a regularity that
started me on a queer train ot
thought.
At last I grew chilly , which arous
ed me sufficiently to decide upon go
ing below for a cup of hot bouilion.
I started to go , when who should
come pacing alone : like a race-walker
but Jake iiurdenthrope.
"Hello , there ! What's kicked you
out pf a snug berth this raw
morning ? "
"Oh I've had a develish bad night
mare ; always do aboard ship , 'spec
ially after bottled beer and a pipe. "
'Well , I guess I should sleep sound
ly through a tempest if I were going
home with a fortune in my pocket "
"Oh , bless the fortune ! It's that
that bothers me , but what's the use
of talking about it ? It's just what I
want to forget , " and we set off on a
smart tramp from end to end of the
deck. It was just what I needed.
I'll be bound your brother takes
good fortune easier than you seem
to , I gathered from what he wad
saying when we met on the tender
that he has some benevolent scheme
on hand or in mind. "
"He always was a bit of a crank ;
what do you think ? The fool refused
to come on the boat at all ; the min
ute the plank was going to be taken
in I'm hanged if he didn't rush right
back and jump into the tender ? "
What a queer trick to be surel
Well , I guess he thought there was
something left or "
"Not a bit of it he never would
agree to fair and square sha rings
never I wish to God I'd "
"Look at that thing down there , "
I said , as we came round to where I
had been standing. I caught sight
of the bit of wood unexpectedly , and
jelt glad to change the current of a
rather unpleasant conversation.
" 1 don't see anything "
"There , there , don't you see that
white thing there look at it now
it's behind that wave now it'll come
lip in a second now , then can't you
Bee it right there ! "
"Why why it looks something
like a "
"Yes , that's it-like a hand-whatl
Good God it is a hand' ' "
* w
Jake turned livid , he Jopked per
fectly awful in that morning"light. .
The shock nerved me up , I halloed
out I know not what but 'hult a
dozen of the officers and men were
with us in a jiffy. I could only point
overboard , speechless. There now
was an firm , stiff as a mast , with
that evil finger , which I had mistaken
for a splinter , pointing , now heree
now there , but in each still moment-
it pointed dead at our group.
A boat was over in a twinkling.
Jake soon came round , but more
fearfully scared than before. He
joined us in peering over the mil , the
hideous corpse lay in the boat just
beneath , its arm and finger pointing
right up to where we stood. I turned
away in loathing and horrrr. I no
ticed Jake stood transfixed , his eyes
glared immovable upon the ghastly
treasure trove of the sepulchral seu.
The body was laid on the deck.
"We gathered around ; I took Jnke's
in mine and half dragged him
* o the spot. When they moved for
us to view the body , I felt a shudder
run right through my frame , as
Jake uttered a thrilling cry and fell
prone upon the deck.
It was Ben's dead body. At the
trial , for the ship put into Queens-
town , when Jake's delirious talk left
no doubt that a fratricidal crime had
been committed , it came out that
Jake , the elder , had been consider
ably indebted to his brother Ben ,
and had hoped the new legacy would
induce the latter to forgive the debt.
It was further pro.ved that Benjamin
had had drawn up , in proper legal
form , a deed of gift of $350,000 to
establish an orphan asylum and
training school , and the tarnsfer
would have been completed on his
receiving the loaned money , togeth
er with his share of the legacy. There
was no doubt that Jake'in his bitter
disappointment , had pushed his
brother overboard that first night ,
and he was duly hanged without one
breeze .of sympathy from either side
the ocean.
The effect of that night's strange
unrest and my.appalling illusion
turning into reality can never be
described nor ever be forgotten.
Something of an Old Fogy.
"It is an invariable custom ol
Bishop Loughlin , the venerable
Catholic prelate of Brooklyn , " re
marks a paragrapher of the New
York Sun , "to go personally to the
Brooklyn post-office each morning ,
when he was in good health , for his
mail. The Bishop always walks on
these trips. He goes partly for ex
ercise and partly because he likes to
see and greet his many friends on the
way. The Bishop's custom in this
respect is similar to that of the late
Horatio Seymour. The great Democrat -
crat always used to walk down from
his residence to the Utica post-office
each morning , and take a good deal
of time in the operation. Such was
Mr. Seymour's fondness for this
morning walk that when Utica came
to be a big city , nnd the letter car
rier system was about to be intro
duced , Mr. Seymour opposed the in
novation strenuously. He declared
that it was one of the most benefi
cial customs that could be imagined
for the citizens of a town or city to
meet each other daily in some such
place as the postoffice"and there dis
cuss and debate questions of a public
and , social nature. Of course Mr.
Seymour was defeated in his efforts
to keep the letter carrier system out
of Utica. But he regretted his defeat
bitterly , and declared that Demo
cratic institutions suffered a severe
blow thereby. Mr. Seymour's neigh
bors laughed at him , but it was just
such ideas and speeches on his part
that gave him a greater nnd more
idolaurous personal following , per
il ops , than any other resident of this
state ever enjoyed. " .
A Jumbo Spider.
E. M. Tutwiler , superintendent of
the Sloss Iron and Steel Company's
mines at Coalburg , has , preserved in
alcohol the largest black spider ever
seen in this section.
A few days ago Tutwiler heard a
great commotion among th ? chickens
in hia yard. He went out to inves
tigate , and saw a small chicken be
ing slowly drawn into a hole in the
ground. Some invisible .reptile had
caught the chicken by one leg and
was drawing it into the hole in spite
of its desperate struggles.
Tutwiler approached , and looking
down in the hole , discoverednn im
mense black spider. He punched it
with a stick and compelled it to re-
lerisi > the chicken. He then , dug the
spider out of its den nnd placed it in
a jar of alcohol. It lived an hour
after being put in the jar. When
dead the spider was taken out ,
weighed and measured. It meas 2 %
inches across the back and weighed
nine ounces. Its longest legs were
i % inches in length and its eyes were
as large as a hotel clerk's diamond's.
Birmingham , ( Ala. , ) Corr. St.
Louis Globe-Democrat.
She Didn't Walk with the Lord.
There is an old lady residing in
Roxbury , a native of "The Land o'
Cakes , " amiable in character , a sin
cere Christian , but a little deaf , a
circumstance which sometimes leads
her to give queer "answers to ques
tions asked her. While visiting the
house of a friend a few evenings ago
it was decided to hold a prayer meet
ing. After the exercises one of the
company approached the "old lady"
and asked :
- "D'ye walk wi' 'the Lord ? "
"Oh , no , " she replied , not distinctly -
ly hearing the question. "Ijistcome
back and forrit to see Mrs. Geigie. "
THAT WALK THROUGH THE
WHEAT.
Together we walked jr. the evening time ,
Above un the nicy Hprend golden dear ,
And he bent hta hencl nnd looked in my ejes ,
As if he held me pf nil most dear ,
Oh , it wait avreot in the evening time !
A'nd oar pathway went through the fields of
wheat ;
Narrow that path nnd rough the way.
But he wai near , and the birdr snng tnic ,
And the stars came out in the twilight gray ,
' Ob , it wna sweet In the evening time1
Softly ho spoke of the days long past ,
Softly of blessed days to be ;
Close to his ormp. and closer 1 pressed ,
The corn-field path was Eden to me.
Oh , itwns B-.Tcet in the evening timel
Grayer the twilight grew , nnd grnycr still.
The rocks flitted home through the purple
shade ,
Thenightingalessang where the tbornsstood
high.
As I walked with him in the woodland
glade ,
Oh , it was sweet in the evening time !
And the latest gleams of daylight died ;
My hand in 1m enfolded lay ;
We swept the dew from the wheat as wo
passed ,
For narrower , narrower wound the way ,
Oh , it was sweet in the evening time !
He looked in the depth of my eyes , and said :
"Sorrow nnd gladness will come lor us ,
swe t ;
But together we'll walk through the fields ol
life
CJosp ns we walked through the fields of
wheat. "
Good Words.
A Peculiar Kind of Waifare.
Making war on Indians is unlike
any other war making in which arm
ies engage. Finding them , not fight
ing them is the difficult problem to
solve. If the reader will consider
that the theatre of operations in any
Indian campaign whether in Wy
oming , Dakota , the Indian Territory
and Texas , or Arizona is about as
large as the New England States with
New York added ; that each of these
possible theatres of wpr is an unin
habited wilderness ; that they are
withont roads , and often impenetra
ble for hundreds of miles because ot
arid deserts or impassable mountain
ranges ; that while all parts of each
Territory are to the Indian as famil
iar as the paths of the home orchard
are to the farmer and his children ,
it is and of necessity must be an unknown -
' known land to the best-informed
white man ; that in these trackless
wilds the Indian had no fixed habita
tion ; that upon being discovered by
his enemy the direction of the trail
he takes is a matter of indiffer
ence to him ; that where night finds
him is his home , and that his sub
sistence and clothing are always with
him if all these and collateral mat
ters depending on them are considr
ered , an idea can be formed of how
difficult it is to make successful war
on the Indian.
In war the Indian , though partial
ly civilized , reverts to his worst
phase of savagery. Much has been
written as to the false sentimentality
which crops up in the discussion of
the Indian question by humanita
rians and lovers of fair play , which
it is not intended here to repeat.
But itr may properly be observed
that it is worse than nonsense to
urge that the Indian regards the
white intruders as thedescendents of
those who , two centuries and more
agro , came to this country and by
might deprived the Indians of the
lands and hunting fields , and is
through his children pursuing the
"red man toward the setting sun. "
The Indians's knowledge of his
tory scarcely extends beyond
one generation. His white enemy is
served in war as is any other enemy ,
and for the same reasons. He has no
inherited animosities dating from the
time of the Pilgrim Fathers. Nor
does he feel gratitude for kind usage
shown to his ancestors or to himself.
The annuities paid him are looked
upon as tributes exacted by fear or
someless worthy principle , and kind
ness shown him are those by whom
they are shown are weak and afraid
of him.
Fortunately for the whites , the In
dians in their warfare are not in the
habit of attacking our so-called forts
on the frontier , else the horrors of
past wars would equal in any year
the fearful pictures ot the Indian mu
tiny against the English. Our front
ier forts have often been at the mercy
pftheIndians , but the capture in any
instance could not have been made
without great loss of life , and it is
characterastic of the race that they
are slow to attack when certain death
awaits any great numbers. They are
brave where supersticious beliefs
make chances of safety greatly in
their favor , but will not take the risks
that satisfy the civilized warrior.
Gen. Wesley Merritt , U. S. A.
Before and After.
From the New York Tribune.
Perhaps ess of the saddest and
most pathetic trights is to see the
bright , joyous , fun-loving , brilliant
dandy of 24 or thereabouts trans
formed into the spiritless , taciturn
and shabby family man of middle
life. We all know of such- transformations
mations as mysterious as they are
unexplainable. In "Pendennis"
Thackery has painted for us , with a
master hand , some of these evolu
tions downward in the clerical pro
fession , when the brilliant Oxonian
for whom everybody predicted a mi
tre somehow or other missed the run
ning , and ctomes out seedy , hopeless
recluse in a country parsonage ,
whose trery appearance suggests a
life of tragedy. Lknow a number of
such cases. There was Goodfellow , of
Harvard. In all his class , and bril
liant fellows they were , too , there were
none so brilliant as he. .His conver
sation sparkled with jest and epi
gram , and his good-natured buhomfe
won him a host of friends. He was a
good dresse- , and pet the fashion for
his class. When he was finally grad
uated with high honors , and an
nounced IriH intention of entering the
ministry , we all said that he would
in a fewyeors become one of the most
famous preachers in the country. ]
visited him not long ago. He is the
pastor of a parish in a targe factory
town , with a shabby-genteel congre
gat ion which worships in a shabby-
genteel-looking church. He is mar
ried and has six children who quarrel
and play in the mud and dust. He
rarely smiles , and there is on his face
a look of constant preoccupation.
His clothes don't fit him , and are de
cidedly shabby. He no longer has a
future , all his energies bein gcon-
sumed in the potty and corking cares
of the present. Indeed , the best part
of the aianis gone , dead I might say ;
and there remains a galvanized
automaton , which wearily goes
through the motions of his calling.
Oh , youth , youth , how often do you
deceive us with the promise of a fu
ture that never comes !
Curious Will Making.
A New York court has established
the validity of a will of a citizen Of
that State , who 'left his entire pro.
perty , about $90,000 , to the United
States Government. The New York"
law prohibits bequest ; * of more than
a certain proposition era man's es
tate to the religious or charitable in
stitutions when he has near relatives
living. In other words , a man can.
not buy peace for his conscience by
adding another wrong to those he
has before committed. The first
duty of property is to provide lor
those naturally and legally depend
ent on the man who owns it. The
law will not even allow a man while
living to impoverish himself so as to
leave his family in want. If this is
often in practice it is because exist
ing laws are not enforced. What he
cannot legally do while livingthelaw
will not help'him to do when dead.
But giving to the Government where a
man has no near relatives , and those
more distant that he has , is another
matter. The court probably held in
this case that the man was right in
thinking he as nearly related to the
entire American people , and had as
much obligation to them , as he had
to the few distant relatives who after
death would claim what they had
while living done nothing to prove
they could properly have any interest
in. People who do nothing for their
distant relatives' while living ought
to be restrained by shame from profit
ing by their deaths. Where there are
near relatives the lawpoftnost States
make more just disposition of pro
perty than its owners themselves
would probably make. The law re
cognizes a supposed natural affection ,
which events often show does not
really exist.
A Resourceful Wife.
A good story comes from one of
the rual districts of an ex-swell who
married a young woman with a rep.
utation much to the chargriu of his
family , "who cut him off , " so to
speak , for such a fatal mistake. Re
cently the paternal hearts began to
relent and a proposition was made
through an accommodating friend
that the young ex-swell should di
vorce the objectionable daughter-m-
law and receive in return not only
the parental blessing , but a goodly
part of the parental exchequer.
When the matter was laid before
madaine she advised her spouse to
accept the generous reward offered
for the "inconstancy of man , " sug
gesting that it would be advisable to
replete the empty coffers.
"What's a divorce more or less ?
Let's have one by all means divide
the spoils and get married over
again. "
Now , could a man , an ex-swell , have
a more accommodating wife.
"Why , " she said to a listening con
fidante who , of course , circulated
the matter as all well-regulated con
fidantes do "Why 1 am ready to
do anything for the dear boy. "
And she added ingenuously , "Only
last 'winter , when he was strapped
for funds , I went to San Francisco
and worked in a bookbindery. "
San Francisco Call.
The June Bug Rampant.
The bug is a very useful insect , but
how objectionable it can make itself
on occasions was shown by an inci.
dent which occurred one night on
the Central railrond of New Jersey.
The milk train was' carrying two
passenger coaches behind the milk
cars , and as the night was warm
the half dozen passengers aboard
had the windows all raised. The
train. had been standing on a
side track a few minutes when a
swarm of large June bugs , attracted
by the car lights , flew In through the
windows. In five minutes the seats
were nearly covered with bugs , and
they began to crawl around the legs
of the passengers and to prove otlier-
wise unpleasantly officious. In five
minuten the insects had possesion of
the two cars and the passengers turn
ed out. The problem which now
presented itself was how to get the
pests out of the cars before the train
started. A fire was suggested , and
while the passengers gathered brush
wood and kindled a roaring blaze ,
one of the brakeraen "went into the
cars and put the lights out. The
ruse was successful , the bugs deserted
the cars and the passengers went
back , shutdown the windows and sat
in darkness until the train started.
New York Commerci' * Advertiser.
H. KAPKE
Tailor ,
Has moved across -Dennison street into
the building recently vacated by P. Penner.
His stock of spring goods is new and complete
and he will make clothing at LOWER FIG--
UBES than any tailor in McCook
W. 0. BULLARD & CO.
L1ME , HARD
CEMENT ,
LUMBERHARD AND
DOORS , LUMBER
BLINDS.LUMBER SOFT
BLINDS. COAL.
RED CEDAR AND OAK POSTS ,
BUY OK US.
do not sell ONE ARTICLE
BELOW COST and make it back sev
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MORE THAN THEY ARE WORTH ,
but we can SAVE YOU MONEY on
Dry Goods , Notions , f
Hats and Caps , l
Boots and Shoes ,
Groceries , Flour.
Everythingat Bed-Rock Prices !
We Mean BusinessI
GAAA AND SRR US.
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Jsnotmndo of bran , aabes and'
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It Is the best condition powder in
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Ja tbo best remedy for Bhema-
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Nothing llho it for Dry , Cracked ,
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flFEIRF 8T.IVOiri8.aXO. SpeeUI attention
yrriUfci gtrtn to all dlteuea or troubles In m leer
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THE OLD DOCTOR. SSaSSfWS
consults * by mall , oratUie office , free ct charge.
Xa-Reliabls , Skillful Treatment Guarantied.
Board and apartments famished to those irbo
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INDISPEN8AKLE TO LADIES. I
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lib North ScTcatli 8U , fit. LouUHa ,
books , scale books , copy
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R. M. SNAVF-LY ,
ATTORNEY--AT - : - LAW ,
INDIANOLA. NEBRASKA.
Will practice in all tbo State nnd United
Rtates Courts. Also before the Land Office at
Mccook and tbe department at Washington.
A. J. WILLET , M. D. .
B. & M.
MCCOOK , NEB. ,
Otters his professional services to the people
of JtcCoofe. Will not jro in the country ex
cept lu consultation with other physicians.
'
SANDERSON & STARR ,
Sign , Carriage& Wagon Painters ,
Paper Hanging and Decorating ;
Shop in old land office building.
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