Democratic Sentinel, Volume 7, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1883 — Page 3

THE BAD BOY.

“Hello!” said the grocery man to the bad boy, as he came in with a black eye, leading Miungry-looking dog that was walking on three legs and had one leg tied up with a red silk handkerchief. “What is this—a part of your amateur theater? Now, you get out of here with that do<r mighty quick. A boy that hurts dogs, -so they have to have their legs tied up, is no friend of mine,” and the grocery man took up a broom to drive the dog out doors. “There, you calm yourself,” says the boy to the grocery man, as the dog got behind the boy and looked up at the grocery man as though he was not afraid as long as the bad boy was around. “Set up the crackers and cheese and sausage and pickles and everything this dog wants to eat He is a friend of mine. That dog is my guest, and those are my splints on his broken leg, and that is my handkerchief that my girl gave me, wound around it, and you touch that dog, except in the way of kindness, and down comes your house,” and the boy doubled up his fists as though he meant business. “Poor doggie,” said the grocery man, as he cut off a piece of sausage and offered it to the dog, which was declined with thanks, expressed by the wagging tail. “Where did you steal him ?” “I didn’t steal him, and he is no can- 1 nibal. He won’t eat your sausage,” and the boy put up his elbow as.though to ward off an imaginary blow; “You see, this dog was following off a pet dog that belonged to a woman, and she tries ty shoo him away, but he wouldn’t shoo. This dog did not know that he was a low-born, miserable dog, and had no right to move in the society of an aristocratic pet dog, and -he followedright along. He thought this was a free country, and one dog was as good ad fftiother, and he followed that woman and her pet dog right into tie dockyard. The pet dog encouraged this dog, and he went in the yard, and when the woman got up on the steps she threw a velocijmde at this dog, and broke his leg, and then she took up her pet and went,, in the house so she wouldn’t hear this dog howl. She is a nice woman, and I see her go to meeting every Sunday with a lot of morocco books in her hands, and once I pumped the organ in the church where she goes and she was sd pious I thought she was an angel. But angels don’t break dogs’ legs. I’ll bet when she goes up to the gate and sees St. Peter open the book, and look for the charges against her, she will tremble as though she had fits. And when St. Peter runs his finger down the ledger, and stops at the dog column, and turns and looks at her over his spectacles, and says, ‘Madam, how about your stabbing a poor dog with a velocipede, and breaking its leg?’ she will claim it was an accident. But she can’t fool Pete. He is on to everybody’s racket, and if they get in there they have got to have a clean record. ” “Say, look-a-here,” said the grocery man, as he looked at the boy in astonishment as he unwound the handkerchief to dress the dog’s broken leg, while the dog looked up in the boy’s face with an expression of thankfulness and confidence that he was an able practitioner in dog bone-setting, “what kind of talk is that? You talk of heaven as though its books were kept like the books of a grocery, and you speak too familiarly of St. Peter.” “Well, I don’t mean any disrespect,” said the boy, as he fixed,a splint on the dog’s leg, and tied it with a string, while the dog licked his hand, “but I learned in Sunday-school that up there they watched even the sparrow’s fall, and they wouldn’t be apt to get left on a dog bigger than a whole flock of sparrows, ’specially when the dog’s fall was accompanied with such a noise as a velocipede makes when it falls down stairs. No, sir, a woman who throws a velocipede at a poor, homeless dog, and breaks its leg, may carry a csn-load of prayer-books, and she may attend all the sociables, but, according to what I have been told, if she goes sailing up to the gate of the New Jerusalem, as though she owned the whole place, and expects to be ushered into a private box she will get left. The man in the boxoffice will tell her she is not on the list, and that there is a variety show down below, where the devil is a star, and fallen angels are dancing the cancan with sheet-iron tights, on brimstone lakes, and she can probably crawl under the canvas, but she can’t get in among the angel c hosts until she can satisfactorily explain that dog story that is told on her. Possibly I have got a raw way of expressing myself, but I had rather take my chances, if I should apply for admission up there, with this lame dog under my arm, than to take hers with a pug that hain’t got any legs broke. A lame dog and a clear conscience beats a pet dog, ■when your conscience feels nervous. Now I am going to lay this dog in the barrel of dried apples, where your cat sleeps, and give him a little rest, and T will give you four minutes to tell me all you know, and you will have three minutes on your hands with, nothing to say. Unbutton your lip and give your teeth a vacation.” “Well, you have got gall. However, I don’t know but you are right about that woman that hurt the dog. Still, it may have been her way of petting a strange dog. "We should try to look upon the charitable side of people’s -eccentricities. But say, I want to ask you if you have seen anything of my man that delivers groceries. Saturday night I sent him over Jo your house to ■deliver some things, about 10 o’clock, and he has not showed up since. What do you think has beoome of him ?” “Well, by gum, that accounts for it. Saturday night; about 10 o’clock, we heard somebody in the back-yard, around the kitchen-door, just as we were going to bed. and pa was afraid it was a burglar after the church money he collected last Sunday. He had got to turn it over the next day, to pay the minister’s expenses on his vacation, and it made him nervous to have it around. I peeked out of the window and saw the man, and I told pa, and pa got a revolver and began shooting through the wire screen to the kitchen window, and I saw the man drop the basket and begin to climb over

the fence real sudden, and I went out and began to groan, as though somebody was dying in the alley, art I brought in the basket with the mackerel and green corn, and told pa that from the groaning out there I guessed he had killed the grocery delivery man, and I wanted pa to go out and help me hunt for the body, but he said he was going to take the midnight train to go out West on some business, and pa lit out, I guess your man was scared and went one way and pa was scared and went the other. Won’t they be astonished when they meet each other on the other side of the world ? Pa will shoot him again when they meet, if he gives pa any sass. Pa says when he gets mad he had just as soon eat as to kill a man.” “Well, I guess my man has gone off to a Sunday picnic or something, and will come back when he gets sober, but how are your theatricals getting along ?” asked the grocery man. “Oh, that scheme is all busted,” said the boy. “At least until the minister gets back from his vacation. The congregation has noticed a red spot on his hand for some time, and the ladies said what he needed was rest. They said if that spot was allowed to go on it might develop into a pimple, and the minister might die of blood poison, superinduced by overwork, and they took up a collection, and he has gone. The night they bid him good by, .the spot on his hand was a subject of much comment. The wimmen sighed, and said it was lucky they noticed the spot on his .hand before it had sapped his young life away. Pa said Job had more than 400 boils worse than that, and he never took, a vacation, and then ma dried pa up. SJie told pa he had never suffered from blood poison, and pa said he could raise cat boils for the market and never Squeal. Ma see the only way to shut pa up w,as to let him go home with the. •choir singer. So she bounced ’him off with-her, and.he didn’t-get heme till most ’leven o’clock, but ma up for hjm. Maybe what she said’to pa made him go West after peppering ydiir burglar. Well, I must go home now, ’cause I run the family sicuoe pa lit out. Say, send somg' of your most expensive canned fruit and thingy over to the house. Darn the TSTpense. And the boy took .the lame dog under his arm and went out.— Peeles Sun.

Necessity of Cremating Yellow Fever Corpses.

One of the most horrible discoveries of modern science is surely that of Dr. Domingo Freire, of Bio de, Janeiro. That city had been seriously afflicted with yellow fever, and Dr. Freire, in his inquiries into the causes of the epidemic, came upon the dreadful fact that the soil of the cemeteries in which the victims of the outbreak were buried was positively alive with microbian organisms exactly identical with those found in the vomitings, blood, etc., of those who had died in the hospitals of yellow fever. From a foot under ground he gathered a sample of the earth overlying the remains of a person tvho had been buried about a year before; and though it showed nothing remarkable in appearance or smell, it was found under the microscope to be thickly charged with these abominable disease germs. Many of the organisms were making spontaneous movements. In fact, therefore, the cemeteries are so many nurseries of yellow fever; for every year the rain washes the soil and the fever seed with which it is so closely sown into the water courses, and distributes them over the town and neighborhood. Says the doctor, “If each course is the bearer of millions of millions of organisms that are specifics of ill, imagine what a cemetery must be in which new foci are forming around each body. In the silence of death these worlds of organisms, invisible to the unassisted eye,’ are laboring incessantly and unperceived to fill more graves with more bodies destined for their food and for the fatal perpetuation of their species. ” How terribly fatal these organisms are, indeed, may be understood from the fact that the blood of a yellow fever patient injected into a rabbit killed the animal in an hour, that the rabbit’s blood injected into a guinea pig killed it, and that the guinea pig’s blood injected into another rabbit killed it also, so that the chain of destruction may apparently be endless, for each victim on post-mortem examination was found to have all its blood swarming with malignant germs. Surely the cremation of all -yellow fever corpses becomes, in the light of Dr. Freire’s discovery, a public necessity.— St. James Gazette.'

Obsequious Jones.

Jones, who is reading the morning paper: “I declare, poor Smith, is dead. I’ll have to go to his funeral.” “You don’t have to go, do you?" asked Mrs. Jones. > K “Yes, I have to go to- Smith’s fnneral, for he did as muchfor me. He was kind enough to attend my funeral, and I shall always be grateful to him for it.” “What stuff is that? How could he attend your funeral?” “It’s the simplest thing in the world. Last summer, I didn’t die precisely, but another man named Jones did. Smith thought it was my funeral, and went to it. Now, Smith has died, and I am going to get even with him. ” “But, perhaps, this Smith who has died is not the Smith you know. ” “That’s all the better. I hope it is some other Smith that I don’t know." “Why so?” “Because I am not so busy nsw, and have plenty of time this afternoon to attend funerals. I’ll have it off my mind, and when my friend Smith really does die, I’ll not be bothered tramping a mile and a half out to the cemetery.” —Texas Siftings. Hannibal Hamlin, while in the Senate, spent four or five hours every day in writing letters, and it was his boast that he answered every letter he received. It was painful to see him write. He squeezed his pen as though it was money, and his hand, arm, and body were all so unnaturally distorted that it seemed a shame that he did not employ a secretary, but he ’worked away, hour by hour, until he had got done with his mail.

THE TREASURY RING.

John Sherman’s Legacy—How Some of the Department Clerks Grow Rich. [Cor. of the Chicago Express.] The Treasury Department has grown to be by Jar the greatest machine of the Government. Particularly within the last twjenty years it has spread out by the addition of new bureaus and divisions. One result of this growth has been that the safeguards imposed by law for the management of its business have been largely broken down. Authority has been taken from officers in whom it is vested and lodged in clerks who are not known to the law. This was due almost entirely to a desire among the Secretaries after the war to get into their own hands the supreme control of the business of the department. It has been kept up ever since by the' interested efforts of those who have profited by these arrangements. Perhaps as glaring an instance of this as any is in the office of the Solicitor of the Treasury. This officer belongs to the department of Justice, but is appointed by the President and stationed at the treasury. He is by law the legal adviser of that department, and is intrusted with the management of all its law business. He has charge of the collection of direct taxes; the detection and punishment of fraud in the revenue are left to him; he makes rules for the observance of Collectors of Customs, District Attorneys and Marshals; he instructs District Attorneys, Marshals and Clerks of Courts in all cases in which the United Slates is a party, except those arising from the Internal Revenue laws; all ligitation Concerning national banks fe’Uitder "MiS direction; lie brifigff air’itfftrf'against - 3elinquqpt. debtor?; he approves the bonds of Internal .Revenue Collectors; his recommendation is necessary in all cases of comprtflnise; Ire-’tiW’tsfiafge of lands and trusts held by the tates in payment of debts, and,, in general, Oversees and directs all the legal busi-. ness of the’ departrtfeirt, except that of. the Internal Revenue Bureau, 1 for'which a special sblknt-oris Htr also' has charge of the Secret Service, yvlfich . is employed in the detection of counterfeiting and all'titheV ‘frauds on the'psovx. prnmeAt. *■' *••" -K>. £’• This office was created.-in 1830,- and was designed to form a cheek upon the Secretary of the Treasury by appoint? ing a high-salaried officer of another department and selected by the President to have control of the treasury litigation. Some of the best lawyers in the country have held the place, and it has always been considered a peculiarly honorable one. But within a few years the most important powers lodged in the Solicitor’s hands have been taken from him. A new institutution has grown up in the department by which it was intended to keep them directly in the Secretary’s hands, without the restraint of the Solicitor. This is known as the “Secretary’s office.” It consists of about twelve heads of divisions, who report directly to the Secretary. They are not known to the law, except as mere clerks, but as things now go they are intrusted with the most intricate legal questions. These clerks swallow up the functions which by law are assigned to the heads of bureaus. They are responsible to no one except the Secretary, who makes and unmakes them. The revolution was fully accomplished by John Sherman, who made it his plan to gather the business directly under his own control. In this way all the innumerable cases of fraud or attempted frauds on the revenue go to the subordinate clerk, although the statutes expressly provide that everything of this sort shall go to the Solicitor. They are referred to an officer known as the head of the customs division. These decisions involve millions of dollars yearly. They affect larger interests than any other which the Government makes, and yet for more than six years not a single custom case has been sent to the Solicitor’s Qffice. They arise every day under our complex Tariff laws, and are passed upon by a clerk. Perhaps this may account for some of the extremelyqueer decisions which have emanated from the treasury of late, decisions which, like Caesar’s wife, have not been entirely above suspicion. Take the National Banking Bureau. The law expressly says that “all suits and proceedings arising out of the provisions of law governing national-bank-ing associations shall be' conducted by District Attorneys, under the direction* and supervision of the treasury.” Tins would seCm to be plain enough. And yet all the litigation arising out of broken banks, wrecked or ruined in quick succession all over the country, is left entirely in the charge of a clerk in the office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The suits are mainly conducted by special counsel hired by him, instead of the District Attorneys. They are never sent to the Solicitor’s office. But the most glaring perversion of the'law goveriag the' Solicitor regards compromise cfiSes. All compromises must be recommended by the District Attorney, indorsed by the Solicitor, and then decided by the Secretary. Very few people understand the proportions which his business reaches. In almost all cases of customs frauds, of delinquent bondsmen, and numberless instances where judgments have been Obtained for the Government, a compromise is sought. All kinds of political influence are brought to bear. Members of Congress consider the gaining of a compromise as a great service done to a constituent. Where so much depends in a financial way upon the decision, great firmness and strength are required. But here again the Solicitor is ignored. His recommendations are not acted upon directly by the Secretary, but are referred by him to the Navigation Division. Here opinions are written which often entirely oppose those given by the Solicitor. Sometimes thev are substituted therefor, and followed m preference. Take the famous Rothschilds case. That firm owed SIB,OOO to the Government as a penalty for smuggling. It was well able to pay. The courts had decided for the Government. The sum of $4,000 was offered in compromise; the Solicitor recommended that it be not accepted. It was sent to the Navigation Division, a favorable report ren-

dered, and Secretary Folger accepted the offer. It was entirely without warrant of law. Recently the Jouett case, of Chicago, came up. Three whisky-bond sureties owe the Government SBO,OOO. They offered $4,500 in compromise. A responsible firm in that city wrote to the Secretary showing that the claim was worth more than that, and offered SIO,OOO fdr it. Their letter was sent to the Navigation Division. The Solicitor did not see it. And so things go on day after day. The present Solicitor is Kenneth Raynor. He is an old-time North Carolina Whig, who was in Congress as long ago as when Martin Van Buren was President. Judge Raynor is a well-preserved old gentleman, who has killed his man in his day, is inclined to forget to button up his capacious shirtfront, and calls upon the Deity oftener than strict morals prescribe. But he is a good lawyer, and, more than that, a perfectly honest man. He took the Solicitorship in 1877, on HayesJ distinct promise of a Court of Claims Judgship. But this is not the only one of Hayes’ unredeemed drafts on futurity which has not been paid. When Judge Folger came in he went to work honestly to remedy some of the evils which had grown up in the treasury. He asked different heads of divisions to furnish, him with information ' regarding abuses. He particularly requested Judge Raynor to submit a statement. This the Judge did. It covered nearly 100 pages of manuscript. He did not Confine himself, to the mere legal aspects of the case, but indulged in some rather-pointed statements regarding sqine of .the men and methods in the Secretary’s-office. These he offered -to prose.at.any time. It was a document contained more truth than poetry, , .Secretary Folger read it ■ Over. He was tempted to -actr upon -it,-but the, ?tupe ffifluejice .which had. grown up.uudeib&Aermaa amkcon tinned Under Windom-proved too strong to be’combated by He was roused, however, •“-by*' -the ''•re'velations "which were made’ to him, aijd ever since he ,ljas shown nmarked suspicion of the officials who- constitute what is known as the treasury ring. He has been too sick dnd too uncertain dfhisowntengo further. > These abuses are not confined to one bureau. Other’ important functions have been absorbed by degrees in unknown and irresponsible divisions. Clerks on small salaries are growing rich. Important questions are decided in corners, and the plain provisions of law are habitually disregarded. It will take a brave and thorough-going Secretary to correct these things, but it will have to be done sooner or later. When it is begun in earnest there will be a lively shaking up of dry bones among the subordinates, who, in the neglect of their superiors, have been allowed to assume important trusts and obtain control of great stakes. The letter of Judge Raynor has never been made public. It would show a startling state of affairs. The existence of a treasury ring is well established. The investigation forced from John Sherman proved that, but they were hushed up when things became too warm. The Murch inquiry will have the same result. What is needed is a'n inquiry to the bottom of things, and then some of the fortunes made by ill-paid clerks would be understood.

Dorsey Proposed as a Candidate.

That stalwart Republican journal, the Denver Tribune, proposes that “Stephen W. Dorsey, of Arkansas, Cob orado, Judge Wylie’s court and New Mexico,” should be taken up by the Democrats as a candidate for Vice President. This will not answer. Mr. Dorsey still a Republican, and the Democrats will not have him. Yet we will say there is one reason why we should prefer him as a candidate before many other members of the Republican party. He is not a hypocrite. He had no hand in that shameful episode of our history, the fraudulent administration. He neither aided in stealing the Presidency in 1876, nor did he cover himself with disgrace by taking office under the fraud. The worst offenses alleged against him are small in comparison to that. But it is impossible that Mr. Dorsey should ever be a Democratic candidate. We do not like his style. We cannot tolerate his methods. The Republicans like them. They believe in them. After the election of 1880 they gave Dorsey a splendid banquet in this city to celebrate his success in achieving the election of Garfield and Arthur. At that banquet Gen. Arthur presided and made the chief speech. In praising Dorsey, he dwelt with great propriety on the most effective agency that had been employed in the election. That agency Arthur then described as “soap.” By this word he meant the bribery of voters. Garfield’s and Arthur’s election was bought, and if it had not been bought they could not have had it. In Indiana Pofsey applied soap to the extent of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The amount which he caused to be paid Out there is stated at $400,000. In the cities of New York and Brooklyn bribery was also practiced under his direction. He confesses that something like a hundred thousand dollars was expended here immediately before the election, and that the majority against Gen. Hancock in this State was thus created. Dorsey had at his disposal a vast corruption fund, and he used it without scruple in buying votes; while the chief Republicans, who knew all the facts, united to do him honor and to glorify an election which they had gained by “soap.” For this sort of politics we have no feeling but scorn and hatred. We would rather be beaten forever than use such means. Turn out the rascals! Clear out the den of thieves! • The Republican party must go!— New York Sun. When Congress convenes Mr. Whitelaw Reid will be required to tell what he knows about Jay Gould’s purchase of Stanley Matthews. Mr. Reid thinks the investigation will tickle the Republican party wonderfully. Maybe it wiH just laugh itselfr to death. Who knows? —lndianapolis Sentinel.

THE PRESIDENT.

Sen. Stager Varies the Monotony of Camp by Introducing the Great American Game. Senator Vest Undertakes to Shoe a Mole and Now Uses a Cushioned Saddle. I " [Camp Leiris Forks (Montana) Dispatch to Chicago Times.] Camp was broken up at a later hour than mual this tn riming, owing to the disturbances from the storm and from the packers last night Though the tents had been badly :orn by the gale they were repaired without much trouble. The trail was difficult, owing 50 the fallen timber which lay across the path, and to the windings in and out through canons and across streams which had to be forded. The members of the party agree that the grand old Tetons are much pleasanter at a distance than when spurs of the range have to be crossed. Only eleven miles were made to-day, but considering the nature of the country this is a very good showing. The members of the Presidential r arty are getting a taste of the hardships endured by the courageous men who hist made the pathways through the unknown Yellowstone region. Prior to 1863 it is doubtful if 100 persons had ever penetrated to the point where the party is now encamped, and the rough trail through canyons and seemingly inaccessible mountains shows how even the hardy explorers of the frontier, who shrank from no danger, might well hesitate. One of the features of camp life is the freedom from conventional restraint, and when the members' of the party gather around the fire at nigfikteards furnish the chief amusement. A description of one game will answer for all Last night President Arthur, Gen. Sheridan, Senator Vest, Secretary Lincoln, and Gen. Stager having finished their supper, Gen. Stager suggested a game of draw. “I don’t like to play for high stakes,” Eaid Gen. Sheridan. ".Suppose we make it f 0 cents ante and $lO limit,” suggested Gen. £tager. "That’ll, suit us,” chimed in others of the party, and thej sat down. It was now about 8 o'clock, and Secretary Lincoln dealt A he first hand, while . Gen. Sheridan put down his first white chip For a while luck varied, but Gen. Stager was crowding’it in on the others by raiding the bets to the limit President Arthur had the temerity to call ■Gen. Stager a half-dozen times and his $lO raises,’ 'and he folind” him* loaded- for* bear every time. Once when Qen. Stager drew four ,cards, he was /oupd to., have four aces,,and another time when he drew three cards he was found io have a big flush.. Allthese discoveries were made at President Arthur's-expense. Senator Vest, Secretary •Lincoln and Gen. Sheridan felt considerably, put out, but no one said anything except Lincoln, who said he thought it queer that men could hold such hands in a square game. But the climax came in a jack-pot They had been “sweetening” all around until there was about SIOO in the pot, and President Arthur, who was the last man to fay, opened the pot for $5. Secretary Lincoln, who held threes, raised it $lO, and Sen. Sheridan and Senator .Vest came in. After hesitating a bit, Gen. Stager, who was dealing, came in and drew five cards Presi- . dent Arthur had a pat hand, and he bet the limit—slo. Secretary Lincoln had filled his hand, and he raised him $lO more. Gen. Sheridan and Senator Vest dropped out, not having bettered their pairs. But, to Ihe consternation of President Arthur and Secretary Lincoln; Gen. Stager raised them $lO more. President Arthur, thinking that he had the best hand, put up his S2O, and he raised them $lO more Secretary Lincoln saw the $lO and went $lO better. Gen. Stager saw the raise also, and went $lO better still Everybody around the board was now excited, and President Arthur simply called. Secretary Lincoln, however, raised the pile another $lO, and Gen. Stager followed suit. President Arthur now laid dbwn his flush to show what he opened the jack-pot on. Secretary Lincoln called. Gen. Stager had an ace full on kings, and the Secretary had three jacks and a pair of fives. This broke up the game. Though Gen. Stager is the crack poker player of the party, he has been forced to lower his pennant several times to Judge Rollins, who is said to be one of the most expert devotees of the game in New York city. Senator Vest was kicked by a mule this afternoon, and is suffering the effects of his rashness. The Senator was, in early life, a blacksmith’s apprentice, and flatters himse f that he still knows something about shoeing an animal. The rough mountain journey has caused many of the mules in the pack train to lose their shoes, and this afternoon two of the soldiers, who are farriers, were directed to reshoe the animals. Senator Vest was attracted to the spot where the men were engaged, and he viewed the difficult work with critical curiosity. He ventured suggestions freely, and finally one of the farriers sarcastically remarked that “he'd better try it himself.” The Senator quickly accepted the challenge, and, borrowing the astonished farrier’s apron and tools, boldly approached one of the mulea A group of soldiers and packers stood around in admiring expectancy, while Judge Hollins, Gov. Crosby and Gen. Stager came up and joined them. The mule selected by the Senator from Missouri seemed to be in a dreamy mood, for he meekly raised his left hind leg and did not stir while the shoeing process went on. It was accomplished in a really-creditable manner, and the elated Senator Vest shifted his attention to the i ight hind leg. It was a fatal move. The spectators noticed that the animal s ears were twitching nervously, but Senator Vest’s eyes were directed elsewhere. Some of the nails had fallen out of his, kit, and he stooped to pick them up, with his back turned to the mule Suddenly the left hind leg, newly shod, shot out, and Senator Vest was sent sprawling down the mountain side, his blacksmith’s tools flying in every direction. The Senator was picked up in a heap and carried to the mess tent, where he received Surgeon Forwood’s immediate attention. No bones were broken, but the Senator was somewhat bruised, and will find horseback riding rather painful for some days to come. Secretary Lineoin is still under something of a cloud, owing to his hunting exploits in killing a bear-dog for an elk, and is subjected to the good-natured jests of his fellow travelers

QUEER PEOPLE.

At Harrisburg, Pa, a youth 18 years old shot himself seven times because a 16-year-old girl wouldn't marry him Tazewell county, GA, glories in an eccentric lounger who had placed thirteen large arm-chairs in as many stores, so he can always have a seat when he calls. Two oirls were in love with an lowa man. He loaned his fine saddle-horse to one of them, and of course she rbde past the residence of the other, who wildly ran out and stabbed the beast with a knife. Abram Schenck, a blind man, was married to Rebecca Jane Bennett, by a Justice of the Peace, in Missouri. Abram kissed the Justice. and Rebecca got so mad that she was pacified with great difficulty. A man from Bowling Green, Ky., visited the Louisville exposition, got stranded, and, in order to get his usual amount of Bear Grass juice, he sold his spectacles for°3) cents, which aided him materially in getting blind drunk. Mrs. Ashlv, of Atlanta, Ga, who is slightly insane, was found trying to swallow a kitten. She had it about half-way down her threat and it was with difficulty that she could be induced to give it up. Her face was considerably scratched and her mouth badly lacerated. “Ole Tom” was a character in Washington who picked up rags and refuse for a living, and made no talk with anybody. It now transpires that he was a genuine Russian Count, who has been pardoned by the Czar and gone home to enfov his castellated ea- * tate and millions of rubles.

INDIANA POSTOFFICES.

Classification of Presidential Offices—AdAujustment of Salaries. [From the Indianapolis Journal] There are in Indiana 1,789 postoffices of all grades, an increase during the past fiscal year of fifty-six offices. Within the past nine years there have been established in tire State of Indiana alone 296 postoffices, which affords a pretty good illustration of the growth of the postal service and the development of the country. The Presidential postoffices of Indiana number eighty-seven. In the first-class are Included all the offices where the salary is at least $8,000; In the second-class the pay runs from $2,0C0 to SB,OCO, and the thirdclass from SI,OCO to $2,000. Indiana has five offices of the first class—lndianapols, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, and Terre Haute. In the second class there are twenty offices, an Increase in this grade of two, the fortunate promotions being Goshen and Marion; the third class numbers sixty-two. There have been several promotions to the Presidential grade since the last adjustment They are as follows: Fowler, $1,200; Hartford City, $1,100; North Ranchester, $1,300; North Vernon, $1,200, and Winamac, $l,lOO. The largest single increase in these offices after reaching the Presidential rank was in the cgse of North Manchester, which records a gain of s3to. The largest single increase as salary is in the case of South Bend, where S6OO is reported. Then follows Goshen, with SSQ3, and Marion, with S3OO. Both Decatur and (Greensburg secure an advance of S2OO. The duly reduction of salary is at Notre Dame, Which loses SIOO. The followingstatement shows' the standing of the Presidential offices in Indiana, together with the salary allowed, as based upon the receipts of the office: Office. . Class. Salary. Anderson S $3,000 Angola., 3 1,400 Attica 3 1,600 Anhure- ., ■ - ■., j.aH ’ l 1,400 Aurora ..... 3 1,900 8edf0rd....... ...3 . 1,600 8100mingt0n....... ....3 1,800 Bljffitop... 1,700 Brazil 3 1.600 Butler. 3 IJOO Cambridge City....,, 3 1,400 Columbia City................. ....... 3 1,600 , Connersville I..!*'.' 3 1,900 Grown Point 3 • 1,800 Danville ...... 3 1,700 Decatur ~...3 . 1,5,00 DelpM ...'. 3 ‘H. 600 Edinburg.... 3 1,300 Elkhart ...'ll- 2,600 Evansville 1 3,000 Fort Wayne 1 3,000 Fowler 3 1,200 Frankfort.. 3 1,600 Franklin .3 1,600 Goshtn ......2 2,200 Greencastle : 2 2,100 Greenfield 3 1,200 Greensburg 3 1,800 Hartford City.. 3 1,100 Huntington 3 1,700 Indianapolis 1 3,300 J efferson ville 2 2,100 Kendal ville - 3 1,600 Knightstown 3 1,800 Kokomo •. 3 1,800 Lafayette 1 3.0C0 Lagrange ~..3 1,400 Laporte 2 41,000 Lawrenceburg 3 1,600 Lebanon 3 1,600 Liberty 3 1,200 Ligonier 3 1,600 Logansport 2 2,800 Madison 2 2,400 Marion 2 2,C00 Martinsville 3 1,200 Michigan City 2 2,400 Mishawaka 3 1,900 Micthel 3 1,100 M nticello 3 1,400 Mount Vernon 3 1,630 M unice ’. 2 2,100 New Albany 2 2,400 Newcastle , 3 1,700 Noblesville 3 1.400 North Manchester 3 I,EOO North Vernon 3 1,200 Notre Dame 3 1,400 Peru 2 2,200 Plymouth 3 1,700 Portland 3 1,500 Princeton 3 1,200 Rensselaer 3 1,800 Richmond 2 2,500 Rochester 3 1,600 Rockport 3 1,300 Rockville 3 1,500 Rushville 3 1,800 Seymour 2 2,000 Shelbyville 3 1,800 South Bend 2 2,600 Spencer 3 1,100 Bulb van 3 1,600 Terre Haute 1 3,000 Union City 3 1,600 Valparaiso .2 2,500 Vevay 3 1,300 -Vincennes 2 . 2,600 Wabash 2 2,000 Warsaw 3 1,800 Washington 3 1,700 Waterloo 3 1,200 Winamac 3 1,100 Winchester 3 1,500 In order to secure the benefits arising from the free-delivery service a town must have at least 20,000 inhabitants. Indiana has seven cities thus supplied—lndianapolis, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Lafayette, Richmond, South Bend and Terre Haute. Thlp is a gain of one, South Bend having been supplied with letter-carriers. I'SiJ•- ■ " " " * ■ State Items. Steuben county embraces only ninetyeight lakes. A colored lawyer was recently admitted to the practice of law by the Jefferson county bar. At Wabash $9,0C0 was paid out by agents of the Government to 300 Miami Indians, most of whom became Intoxicated and left town without a red. A mammoth tooth, the largest ever found in that county, was recently found on North Hogan’s creek, near Aurora, by some boys who were playing there. An Aurora fisherman caught a catfish weighing - eighty-five pounds, dressed. In cutting him open, a silver dollar, of the daddy denomination, was found in the stomach. A snake-chabmeb by the name of George Matthews recently tried his art on a Harrison county copperhead snake. The chanr didn’t work, but the snake did, with such fatal result that Matthews' life is despaired of. A Jeffersonville man reports the discovery of a maiden lady 106 years old. The name of the lady is Miss Fleeharty, and she resides with a farmer named Clark, on the road between Burnettsville and Memphis, in Clark county. Miss Fleeharty supposed until recently that she was 95 years of age, but a record came to light a few days ago which shows that she was born in 1778. The variations of fortune are aptly lllustrated by the past and present condition of Thomas Craycroft, of Kentucky, and Henry Craycroft, the colored cobbler, of Jeffersonville. Before the war Henry was the slave of Thomas, whose father was a wealthy farmer in Mead coufityj Ky., and who owned some twenty slaves. Tp-day Thomae, dilapidated in appearance, dbes not disdain to visit his former servitor and accept his hospitality, having become entirely impoverished. «