Pike County Democrat, Volume 16, Number 4, Petersburg, Pike County, 4 June 1885 — Page 4

PIKE COlim DEMOCRAT. Published Every Thursday. PETERSBURG. - . • INDIANA. •'IT IS COMMON I" f8*) are the stars in the archinj? skies So are the smites in the children s eyo9-t Common the Ufe-friving breath of the spring, So are the sonars which the w ild birds sing: Blessed be God* they are common. Common the grass in its glow ing green. So is the water's glistening sheen: Common the springs of love and mirth, So are the most precious gifts of earth. Common the fragrance of rosy June, So is the generous harvest-moon; So are the towering mighty hills. So are the twittering, trickling rills. Common the beautiful tints of the fall; So is the sun, which is over all; Common the rainf with its puttering fee*— So is the bread which we daily eat: Blessed be-God, “it is commonT* So is the sea, in his wild unrest— Kissing forever the earth's brown breast; So is tho voice of undying prayer. Evermore piercing tho ambient air. So, unto all, are the “promises” given; So, unfo all, is the hope of Heaven; • Common the rest from the weary strife— So is the life which Is after life; Blessed be God, “it is common!” —Groce H. Jforr, in Ptiretiological Journal. [Copyright Secured. AU Rights Reserved.] Or, JUST A CAMPIN’. BY C. C. POST. PUBLISHED BY PERMISSION OF J. E. DOTTNET & Co., Publishers, Chicago. CHAPTER IV. eviction; The explorers were gone ten days. Returning just after nightfall on the evening of the tenth day they paused in front of the little grove surrounding Ritchie's shanty to arrange between themselves the route which they should take on the morrow in notifying those interested of their return and readiness to report Thfe Suscol Ranch is not a prairie, but ai succession of low ridges or hills. Occasionally a bit of the rock foundation crops out on some bluffy point, but generally the ridges are tillable clear to their summits and produce wonderful crops of wheat, an average of fifty and sixty bushels to thq aere being considered no -surprising • y ield even upon fields of several hundred acres. In their natural state they are dotted over with little groves of white and live oak, usually in groups of from a dozen to a hundred trees, and it was in one of these little groves that Ritchie’s shanty was situated. . When the two men had agreed upon their separate eourse for the morrow, and also upon the place at which the squatters were to be asked to meet and decide, upon their future action, they separated; Ritchie turned his pony’s head- toward his shanty, while Parsons loosened the rein upon the neck of his beast already showing signs of uneasiness at being held back when so near home, and started at a brisk pace in the direction in which he knew his family were anxiously awaiting his coming. s He had gone but a few yards, however, when he heard an exclamation of surprise from Ritchie, who almost instantly rejoined him and crowding his pony close up to that of his companion exclaimed, in a voice shaken with emotion and excitement: “My God, Parsons, they’ve torn down rfiy shanty, and Heaven only knows What has become of mv wife and child.’’ It was true. * Ihoso to whom the Suscol Ranch, comprising thousands of acres of the finest lands, had been given’ by the purchased votes of corrupt Congressmen and Senators, had decided to resort to eviction in order to obtain immediate possession, anil sent- a posse of men with orders to destroy a number of dwellings as a warning to all others, and Bill Ritchie's shanty had been among those selected. b°r a moment the two men sat upon their horSes like statues, looking at each

other through the darkness; and then, with one impulse,'' they put spurs to their animals and dashed away in the direction of Parsons’ house. ‘ Neither spoke, but. both leaned forward in their saddles, and rode at full speed—rode with bated breath, while alternate hope and fear struggled with tierce anger for possession of their bosoms. Had they stopped to reason they would have known that there was little probability of bodily injury having been done to the evicted family; but who would slop to reason of the probable amount of injury when he came suddenly upon the ruins of his home and realized that those whom he loved better than all else in the, world, a defenseless woman with a babe at her breast, and had the shelter torn from over their heads/ and that they were gone, he \ knew not where or how? Naturally they would seek shelter with their new neighbors, the Parsons, since they were nearer than any other, and the two men would return together; but suppose the Pardons cottage was destroyed also? Supposing all the cottages in the neighborhood were destroyed, what then? And John Parsons? Can the sufferings which he endured during that ride be measured or told? That ride of a , quarter of a. mile before coming up over the intervening rise they saw lights in the window and a camp-tire burning brightly in front of the cottage? life were a flame feeding upon the body which it inhabits, then it would be easy to understand how men sometimes grow old in a day—how the hair may turn white in a night; for one man may liye more, suffer more in an hour, than comes to others in a lifetime. • The posse sent to evict the homesteaders had gone directly to John-Par-sons’ cottage from Ritchie’s; but thev were preceded by Mrs. Ritchie, who, frightened by the threats of men to tear the shanty down over her head if she did not at once leave it, had caught her babe from its cradle and ran directly to the Parsons homestead, where she arrived almost as much dead as.alive, and had imparted the dreadful information, believing it to be true, that every dwelling on the ranch was to be tom down, ] _ !, and had urged Mrs. Parsons to take the children and fly with her to some place in the hills where they could hide from those who were bent upon a mission of destruction, and whom her excited imagination had magnified into a small army, ready for any outrage upon the persons-as wfell as the property of those against whom they were sent - Mrs. Parsons was scarcely less agitated at the terrible news than was she who brought it; and Erastus who had listened without saying a word to the story of the outrage, made no objection to the proposition, but helped to make into a bundle the scanty wardrobe of the family, and in company with the frightened women and children crossed the creek upon a little foot-bridge made of planks, and placed them all within the shelter of the bluffs on the opposite side, and a little further down, where they would be out of sight of the posse either from the cottage or from any point on the road over whiob they-wouli pass in continuing their work of dev s traction. This done, in spite of the pleadings of the little girls ana Mrs. Ritchie, ana the almost commands of “Aunt Martha,’’ as he had always called Mrs. Parsons, he returned to the cottage and carefully examined the rifle whxh he had been allowed to purchase when the journey scrops the plains began, and also that

of “Uncle John,” whioh hung oyer the door between the two iipartmants. Then he closed end barricaded as best be could the doors of the cottage and Waited. <, He had not long to wait, for verysoon the posse, composed of a dozen men, halted in front of the dwelling, and the leader advanced and rapped loudly on the. door. It is probable that the posse had lingered a little, knowing the direction in which Mrs. Ritchie had fled with her child, and guessing that the family to whom she would impart the information of the destruction of her own dwelling would be frightened thereby into leaving also, and thus ena'ble them to avoid the scene which, in justice, it must be said was no pleasure to them; and evidently they thought that the rpse had succeeded, for the leader of the squad remarked as he halted the men: “ Guess we shan’t have to frighten anybody to death here to get them to leave.” He was right. The occupant of the cottage was not frightened, but in another minute the officer was, for he heard the click of a rifle lock and knew that there was not only somebody within, but that that somebody meant business; and, hastily stepping back off the porch, he said to the men: “"Nobody at home here; guess we’ve done enough for one day, anyhow; let’s quit and go home.” And in another momefit the whole posse was out upon the road and headed in the direction from which they came. It is more than possible, it is probable, that the officer did not intend to destroy the house from which this little family had fled, an* wh:ch Erastus Heminingway had determined to defend at the risk of his life. It was one of the best cottages in the whole’ranch and was too valuable to be destroyed if the family could be frightened into leaving without; hence those nearest it had been destroyed first, with the expectation that it would result in its abandonment, if not immediately, at least within a very short time; and the purpose of the posse in stopping at all had been to add to the fright of its occupants by threats and by their presence; instead of which their leader had received a fright liutiself, which induced him to move a flittie more rapidly than was his wjint, and to keep his person well sheltered behind the wagon in which was deposited the axes and iron bars, by means of which they had carried on their work of destruction at other places. When Erastus was satisfied that the men were really gone, he iimbarrieaded the door and returned to the anxSous group behind the bluff. At first they could not be persuaded to go back to the house, the little girls crying and begging their mother to “hitch right up and go back to the States,” where at least their lives were safe; but finally venturing far enough out to take a look, they styv approaching a man, whom Mrs. Ritchie recognized as a neighbor, and: were reassured. The neighbor proved to tie another of the evicted squatters; looking for shelter for his houseless family, and when Johu Parsons and Bill Ritchie reined up their heated ponies in front of the cottage that night, it was the only one standing within a circle of two miles on every side, and a dozen families with their little stores*“of household goods were domiciled within, or camping beneath its hospitable shadow. y CHAPTER V. OK TUB UO\JK AGAIlf. The report made by Parsons and Ritchie of the advantages and resources of the country which they had visited was quite as favorable as "any,, one had expected. It was a wild country, of course. There was no land for pre-emption suitable for their purposes without going back from Sacramento some distance, and they must expect a hard life for a number of years; but it was a beautiful country, and would one day be thickly settled. ^Already a few families had started fruit ranches, and had obtained the most gratifying results. Grapes, peaches, pears, apples, apri

cois, nectarines, pomegranates ana many other fruits were grown of a quality that the men had never seen equaled anywhere “In the States,” and that which under the circumstances was of equal importance to these people was the rapidity with which all fruit-bearing trees and vines began producing. Grapes at three years from the cutting, and peaches at three years from the pit, would bear. no inconsiderable burdens of fruit; While most other varieties were equally rapid in reaching maturity. Melons, and indeed all kinds of vines and vegetables, were wonderfully prolific, and Irish potatoes, turnips, ca.rrots, beets and other root crops could be raised in abundance, and by the simplest methods of cultivation. For the present it was probable that the mines in the vicinity would consume, at large prices, any surplus that the squatters might produce; and if in time this market should fail, a little woi'k would enable them to transport everything they produced to theJ river, where it could be shipped to Sacramento, or down to the river. , Those whose duty it had been to ascertain regarding the title to the land in the locality under consideration reported it free from taint of any kind. In point of fact the claim of these men to the land upon which they settled in the foot-hills above Sacramento City was never disputed. A motion that they locate upon the lands described was put to a vote and carried Unanimously, anil preparations for the journey at once began. The team which had brought John Parson’s family across the plains was again hitched to the canvas-covered wagon, their little store of goods was packed therein, including as much of the products of the garden as could be added without overloading the team, leaving all, even Mrs. Parsons and the children, to walk, and thus they again took up their journey, a dozen families, all told. Some in the little company were entirely without money!/ Ail, not excepting John Parsons, wqre nearly so. And Martha knew well that worse hardships than walking for a few days, or even weeks, beside the team, awaited her and her children before they could erect a shelter or procure the v/hercwithal to provide a comfortable home. True, the men might go back to mining. These would be mines in the vicinity of the claims they e xpected to locate, but these men had lost all faith in their luck with the pick. They had worked at it, more or less, all of them, but none had ever “struck it rich.” Besides, they were of that class of men who prefer steady gains, even if slow and small, to the excitement of speculation or searching with a pick and shovel for a fortune which may possibly come at any moment, but in a.ll probability will never come at all. Mining partakes very much of the character of gambling. It constantly holds out the promise of large gains— of a fortune to be secured in a day, in an hour, perhaps. The next deal, the next shovelful, the next blow with the pick, may disclose a pocket filh d with gold, and convert the finder into a Creesus; and so he works on for days and months and years wi th but one object, one thought—to find that which men have decreed should be of more value than home, or friends, or honor; than the means of sustaining life; than life itself—nay, more; that failing to procure this one thing, they shall be denied all others

But thjfse men were not speculator*, not gamolers by nature. They were men waaJoved best the quiet of home and the peaceful pursuits of agriculture. Farmers and farmers’ sons back in th« States, a brief experience in mining had satisfied most, and all had tried it until they wore satisfied. What they wanted was an opportunity to earn their living and make homes for themselves and families in obedience to nature’s laws and their own inclinations, by the cultivation of the soil, and the gathering of its ripened fruits and grains. They were not unused to hardships. What man or woman was that had been a miner or miner’s wife back ef ’60 in California? And they were not cowards. The cowards went out later, when the wilderness had been, in a measure, subdued; when braver men had proven the immense resources of the country; had bridged its torrents; had opened its minesujhad driven out the Indians; had laid t]f£ foundation for private fortunes and national wealth—it was then the cowards came, or were begotten of the spirit of gambling, the greed for sudden and immense wealth which the ceaseless search for gold stimulates if it does not create—came and plotted to rob better men of their hard-earned savings. These men, I say, journeyed from their ravaged homes upon the Suscol Ranch to the foot-hills to begin again, were not Cowards, and they were inured to hardship, and like all other people they were too quick to forget v&rongs dope them under the cloak of liriv, and they let their anger die out; refused to peer too closely oh too far into the future, which they could not control, and laughed as they journeyed, instead of crying; sang scraps of frontier songs, instead of recounting to each other the story of their sufferings. And die women? Why, bless you, dear reader, women learned long ago, some centuries back, 1 think: it was, to suffer and be still. Not one woman cried out at the hardships she was compelled to undergo during that whole journey. -- CHAPTER VI. BEGINNING A NEW HOME. Arriving at their destination each head of a family selected his claim and at once began the work of erecting -a shelter. John Parsons and Bill Ritchie selected claims near to, though not adjoining, each other, for the country here is more broken than on the Sukcol Ranch, 1 much of it being unfit for farming or even for fruit growing; and very few quarter sections can be found lying wholly iu'a valley. Generally, if the squatter could get a claim, one-half of which was in the val-i ley, he was well contented to take the remainder upon the broken lands lying upon tne bluffs. Such a claim was that vrhich John and Martha Parsons, assisted by Erastus, selected. "The boy has been faithful,” said John to his wife. “I don’t know whatj you and the girls would have done but for him, crossin’ the plains, an’ 1 mean to do the square thing by him if ever we do get ahead a bit. Besides, the grit which he showed back (it the other place ought to entitle ljim to hev his advice axed, if only for good manners sake; ’specially if it is1 anything in which he is interested.” And thereafter nothing of importance to the family was ever fully decided upon until Erastus had been given an opportunity to express an opinion of its wisdom or feasibility. The valley in which most of our pilgrims had sought homes was scarcely more than a quarter of a mile wide; the stream which watered it kee ping nearer to tlpj bluffs upon the right side the greater part of the way, but occasionally curving outward, near to or past the center of this level strip of ground between the hills. Where the stream made one of its curves, leaving between its channel and the bluff a handsome piece of ground of perhaps twenty-five acres, which was slightly higher than the rest of the valley, and so not likely to be overflowed by the water during' the winter freshet, and near to the bluff, which Sloped back gradually for some distance, d.d John Parsons begin the erection of his humble home.

Material for building was scarce and hit'll. Lumber could have been obtained had the settlers possessed the means of paying for it; but, lacking this, they were obliged to do the best they could with material furnished by nature upon or near the spot, ' Some dug into the sides of the hills, thus securing the walls for three sides of their dwellings, the roof and front being of such bits of lumber as they had brought with them or could purchase; in some instances the rude front being of lumber which had once composed drygoods boxes and in which the clothing or furniture of the owner's- had been brought from the States. Mr. Parsons aud Erastus, in preference to this style of half dug-out, decided to build of logs, but to obtain these they were obliged to go several miles further into the hills • aqd snake down the bodies of spall spjuce trees. This took much -thwe and hard work, but willing hand? made light of it, and three weeks front the day of arrival the family mover! into their new house. There was but one room, and that not large; \and the floor was the earth, smoothed and beaten down. There were two doors, with a window upon either side: the latter taken from the cottage in the Suscol Ranch and brought through in the wagon with the bedding carefully packed about them. The furniture consisted of some rough shelves in one corner sufficient to hold a few pieces of crockery in daily use, a table, several chairs and two beds, which, with the stove, so filled the single apartment that there Was no room for another bed, even if they had possessed it; and for the time Erastus slept in the covered wagon, lor which there was little present use, and later on upon a bunk on the dirty floor of the shanty. f It was very far fro* being as comfortable as the cottage back on the Suscol Ranch, aud as for elegance or effort at “respectability” it made none whatever; was, in fact, as much below the log house “back in the States,” which the family had left as the Suscol cottage had been above it in that regard, and this thought kept coming to John Parsons, and causing him twinges of pain all the time they were at work on it, but once fa'rly domiciled beneath his own roof, poor though he was, with hia family about him, and with the cheerful voice" of hia wife ever bidding him take courage, he soon ceased to dwell upon his disappointment; or at. least to make mention of it The first thing to be done after the shanty was up and the family safely sheltered was the securing of provender for the teams; for while domestic animals will live all winter on what they can pick, and in ordinary seasons come through in good condition; yet they can not do this if requred to work, and onr friends had sod to break for next season’s crop. So they set. about gathering the wild grasses which grow with wonderful luxuriance dbring the rainy months, burn yellow and brown when the dry season comes on, curing as perfectly where they grow as by the process of hay-making pursued! in countries which lack the pure dry-atmosphere of the Pacitic Coast ["TO BE CONTimtEB.] —The qualifications of si melodramatic, asserts a play-writer, are “a quick eye for dramatic situations, a ready sympathy, a fertility of resource, a quick and sympathetic interest in human nature, and the power of characterization.”

A TALE OF TWO CENTS. They found us only two cents short! They thought to catch us. did they, heyV Our statesmen of the Kobeson sort, Who safely stowed the swag away, Who left the lean and took the fat. Were quite two centsible for that. Where are the millions that we got Through whisky rings, refunded debt, Star routes, the navy, and what not? All far beyond their reach, you bow The mice that cau evade the cat Are fully wise enough for that. The money that we said was there Was there; we did not need to lie: Nor did we strip the Treasury bare, Tho campaign charge to Justify Which falls to-day so very flat; For we were much too sharp for that. Those paltry coppers we wjll pay; But think you we will loose our clutch On swag with which we got away? Not If we know ourselves—not much. Even a modern Democrat Would be two centsible for that. ir-10 K-tl, in y. 1*. World.

THERE MUST BE NO MISTAKES. -r— 4 Few Earnest Words Addressed to Virginia Democrats. The Democrats of Virginia carried that State for the Cleveland Electors by 6,141 majority in a total vote of 284,991, larger by many thousands than had over before befen cast. Though the opposition was so divided as to appear before the Republican National Convention with two sets of delegates, and though there must have remained some' bitterness on account of the summary rejection of the one and the nomination of a candidate which the' other did not favor, yet the Mahoneites came out openly and boldly as the Republican party of Virginia, polled over fifteen thousand votes more than they ,had for the Legislature in 1883 and Cut the Democratic majority from seventeen thousand down to six thousand in a single year. There is no margin left to allow for incapacity, partiality or favoritism among Democratic leaders. It is too small to play with. The Mahoneites will tight harder this year than they ever have before, because they are fighting for their lives, ami they will take every advantage of the slightest errors in policy of the Democratic leaders. If they lose their political porter will be forever gone. If they win they will regain all they have lost in the last two years, together with that prestige which results from a restoration to political honors from which one has been in a measure dispossessed. That there is some discontent prevailing among Virginia Democrats is not open to argument, though its extent and possible effect undoubtedly is. A part of it is due to the slow and "conservative policy of the Administration, which allows the Mahone office-holders, whose appointments were wholly political, and made solely for partisan purposes, to remain for the present undisturbed. It is more than probable this state of things will speedily regulate itself; but whether it does or not, Virginia Democrats ought not to, however much they may, be held responsible. But there has been some criticism of the acts of Virginia Democratic leaders and office-holders which is certainly pertinent, so far as founded on facts. The Lynchburg Convention of 1883. in its platform of principles, has this to say among other expressions of its views: “We demand such real civilservice reform as will make merit the test of official fitness and exclude the system of bargain and sale of offices.” Objection is made to the plan by which the Democratic Congressmen have parceled out the Federal appointments that it militates against this resolution, in that it does not make merit the test, and that it is closely allied to' the bargain-and-sale nrincinle

because it permits eight Congressmen to divide up the Federal offices in the State by agreement among themselves, from which their own constituents are excluded and in which the Democrats of the two Republican districts have no representative at all. It is much more to the purpose to note the existence of the objection than to question its soundness. If the Virginia Democrats do not like the plan the best thing to do is to abrogate it and start over. Though it be not very bad, it is certainly not so obviously excellent as to warrant adherence to it in spite of the persistent opposition of men who have votes and who are not particular at times how they use them, j Another point made by criticising Democrats is that the young men of the party have not received the recognition which has been promised and to which they are entitled. This is no new statement It was said four years ago that one reason for Mahone's strength was that he brought young men out and gave them opportunities for political preferment, which Democratic leaders had continued to deny them. Like the other complaint, its existence is of more importance than its soundness, and it should be put an end to at once. In short, every Virginia Democrat ought to do all he can to maintain harmony and contentment in the party ranks. . Good management, comb'ned with unselfish purposes among the party leaders, ought to carry Virginia for the Democracy by thirty thousand majority.—Washington Post. THAT CONFIDENTIAL” LETTER. A Letter as Happy as It Has Made the ^ Republicans Unhappy. The circular letter sent out by the Postmaster-General to the Democratic members of Congress in reference to postmasters, has elicited an angry howl from the Republican, rauks. Hatton, in the astoundingly novel position of pure, lofty etherialiser, above the low depths of partisanry, cries •that it is the duty of all Republican postmasters to resign because the letter hits at that great actuating principle of self-respect which has invariably characterized the Republican of-fice-holder, not excepting the Virginia Outcast and the odorous bevy surrounding him singing haleliujahs while they robbed the people. Hatton himself resigned some months since, when he could not do otherwise, and several Republican postmasters have followed his example under similar circumstances. It is not probable that any of that late Republican campaign army will act hastily in getting out until they must go. Advice from a man who was forced to leave can be given easily, but it can not be so readily taken by one who is in and hopes for retention.

lhe Postmaster-Generals letter is as nappy as it has made the Republican party unhappy. Our Republican contemporaries .think it has an assassin aspect because it bears the mark “confidential.” But the enlightened, unbiased public regard the private ufark as imparting to the document that mysterious potency and poetically pungent aroma accompanying the swing of tne unseen censer, which, no matter how dense and disagreeable the surroundings, will purge and purify the atmosphere. Mr. Vilas says of his plan, that it “is, in short, to pick out the most obnoxious and offensive partisans in each county, tp the number of a sixth to a quarter of all, and choose first-class men to take their places.” Virginians know what the term offensive partisan means, and how especially appropriate it is in connection with the post-offices in Virgin^ after they fell into Mahone's bands. The postal service must of necessity be well organised, and this organized force was hurled under the direction of a shameless adventurer against the free voters of Virginia There were spies, bullies aud workers in that force, whioh was made additionally strong by t|te aid of money.

When here and there some poor negro rising superior to his fellow-white slaves sought to shake off the Mabone shackles and organize an independent movement whereby he could vote and act as his more manly impulses dictated. it was the post-office spy who first detected th,e effort, it was the post-office workers who surrounded the meeting, and it was the post-office bully who browbeat the timid into submission and forced the passage of the resolution of “confidence in our Senator for his noble efforts in behalf of Virginia.” It was only by a general uprising of the people that a free expression of the voters was obtained and Virginia's true voice was heard despite the struggles of this postal-service army to prevent it. The existence of such an organized force of partisans in this state is a last ing menace to Virginia. Simple justice demands its overthrow, and justice is what the Postmaster-General proposes to give a long-suffering people. It is for that Virginians have long, and until now, vainly appealed,—Richmond (Pa.) State. EXAMINE THE BOOKS. The Necessity tor This Clear to the Most Obtuse Intelligence. Republican exultation over the accurate balancing of the cash in the United States Treasury is too pronounced and loud to be wholly genuine. It deceives nobody, not even themselves. Nobody anticipated any shortage in the cash account, and there would have been just as much surprise among Democrats as among Republicans if a shortage had been shown. The Treasury proper, that is, the cash room, is the last place where any stealing would be likely or practicable. It is one of the necessities of the business that the cash should be balanced and the balance verified daily; and until this is done the employes are compelled to remain in the office. Only by a combination of all the persons through whose hands the money passes or who have custody of it oould any abstraction be made. Such a combination it would be almost impossible to effect. Every member of it would know that he was in the power of every other, and that any change in the official force would almost inevitably bring sure detection. A large combination, moreover,, would mean small profits and division; and the minimum of results with the maximum of risk is not attractive to the dishonest. It would have been safe to predict, then, -at any time that the cash count in the Treasury would come out right to a cent as it has. If there has been any fraud in that branch of the Government it will be found in the books, where concealment is comparatively easy, and involves collusion on the part of but few. The accuracy' of the cash count, and its correspondence with the figures shown by the books, is not at all conclusive as to the accuracy of the latter, or of the fact that they have been honestly kept. Still less is it conclusive as to the honesty of the book-keeping in other branches beiside the Treasure.

It is a consideration of this fact which shows the Republican exultation unfounded. They misrepresent when they say that the Democratic cfy was “eount the cash.” The Democratic cry was ‘‘overhaul the books?” and wherever that has been done thoroughly and im - partially the necessity for doing it has been made clear. In the Agricultural Bureau, for instance, a mere surface examination of the books shows the most astounding mismanagement, if nothing worse. Of! the $100,000 appropriation for the seed division, which should have lasted till the 30th of June, every dollar was expended before May 1, or so shown to be by the books. The books also show the purchase of sorghum seed by the hundred bushels at $2.35 to $2.95 a bushel, when the same seed could have been bought at twenty-five cents a bushel. This may be mere mismanagement; but if it occurred in a private business there would be a very rigid inquiry on the part of those furnishing the funds to ascertain if there were nothing worse than mismanagement. No private business house would accept as final the showing of the bookkeeper and cashier accounting for the expenditure of thousands of dollars by the alleged purchase of goods at ten times the market price. Nor should the tax-pavers of the country accept any such showing from the agents who have been disbursing their money and professing to keep an account of it. This exhibit from the Agricultural Bureau illustrates very forcibly the folly of accepting mere accuracy of cash count or even an accurate balancing of the books as evidence of honesty and good management. It shows that the books may balance to a cent, as it is claimed they do in the Internal Revenue Department, while thousands of dollars have been squandered or misappropriated.—Detroit Free tress. SENATORIAL COURTESY. The Wisest, Fairest and Best Rale with Respect to Presidential Appointments. At the recent Pendleton banquet in New York Mr. Evarts, who was one of the guests and speakers, made a vague allusion to the Republican Senate as a curb on the Democratic Administration —■and his words are construed by Republican papers into a promise that the Senate will probably attempt to keep Republican ollice-holdcrs in place by refusing to affirm the Democrats appointed to succeed them. Senator Frye, of Maine, is thought to foreshadow somethin^ like this also in saying that he will hold himself under obligations to be governed in his vote on appointments by the request of the Senators from the State from which the appointment is made. Senator Frye has no personal concern about persons appointed to office in Massachusetts, for example, and will feel inclined to vote for them, as a rule. But if the Massachusetts Senators do not like a person appointed to office in their State, and request Senator Frye to assist them in defeating him, he will feel himself bound by the courtesy of the Senate to do so. Under this curious rule the Republican Senators from each State could agree to oppose all appointments in their State, and the result would be a compact and organized opposition in the Senate to every new appointment. But this would produce a collision between the President and the factious Republican Senate, ending in appeal to the country, and in the end the Senate would bo discomfited and subdued. The House would support the President, for the House is Democratic, and the country would support the President because the country is Democratic. The simple Democratic rule is the wisest, fairest and best—to confirm all appointments of a Republican President except where the apppointee is especially objectionable. This rule is bas$d' upon the principle that when the President is a Republican he has a right to Republican assistants and subordinates, and a Republican administration—and Democrats have no alternative but to await their turn. The Republican Senate will do well to adopt the rule. Their party is out of power; the country is Democratic and has chosen a Democratic President. This Democratic President is charged with the duty-of executing the laws, and should be permitted to choose his own subordinates for the work.—SL Louis Republican. —The conditions of modern life are calculated to encourage melancholy. There is no such thing as reasonable placidity for the most of men. There is haste everywhere—haste and anxiety and over-exertion, and consequent excess in pleasures—M*ouukes gen Nasi.

Harmony. s, A certain political editor who had been making pnblic some very rash statements was called on by a man from the opposition. “Did you write that article?” he inquired angrily, holding up the paper with his thumb jammed into the paragraph. “Yes, sir,” replied the truthful editor. “Well, all I’ve got to say is that It’s a lie, and you are a liar.” j.. “Do you really thinK so?” said the editor, without any evidences of anxiety. “I not only think so, but I say so.” ‘•That’s funny.” “What’s funny?" “Why, four meu have been in heFe before you, to see about the same article, and every one of them said the same thing. I hadn’t any idea that there was so much harmony in vour party.” The editor went on writing, and the visitor hadn’t the heart to disturb him further.—Merchant Traveler. A Texas Strategist. “Where is your little brother Billy?” asked an Austin Sunday-school teacher of little Johnny Spilkins. “He is home in bed. He iS too sick to come out, and I am glad of it,” responded Johnny. “Why do you speak so unkindly of Billy?” ' i “because he played me a mean trick.” “What was it?” “Billy told me that ma said the boy that eat the most turkey for dinner should haye the biggest piece of pie. I beat Billy all to pieces eating meat. He didn’ t hardly eat any turkey, and when the pie came on I—boo-hoo—had eaten so much turkey that I had no room for the pie, and Billy, who hadn’t eat any meat hardly, ate up nearly the whole pie, and now he’s sick, and I’m so glad it ain’t me.”—Texas Siftings.

A Cat's Strange Experience. A cat got upon the rim of a high flywheel which runs in a pit at an eleetrio light station in Brooklyn. The wheel was soon making twenty revolutions a minute. It was impossiDle to rescue the cat from its perilous position without stopping the engine, and that would break every circuit and put out all the lights dependent upon the dynamos in the station; so that the unfortunate animal had to ride on until the engine was stopped at the usual hour for putt:ng out the lights. The cat then dropped exhausted from the wheel, but soon revived, and was none the worse for its strange exper ence, It is estimated that in the seven hours which the animal spent on the wheel near thq rim it traveled more than 8Q0 miles.— Brooklyn Eagle. —Many of the peddlers who travel from , house to house, selling cornsalve, polishing powders, grease eradieators, etc., so called, get their stocks of goods in the way shown by the following incident: A dandy little sharper walked into a village store in Salem, N. J., bought a box of axle-grease, cut it up in small, neat packages, and then peddled a great deal out as corn salve at twenty-live cents a box. He had sold some at the very store where ho bought the grease. He next went to Brighton, where he purchased live boxes of soap at five cents per pound, cut each pound into sixteen pieces, and the people snapped at it as “Texas Shaving Soap," at live cents per cake. —Christian at Work. —There is now living in Pickens County. Ga., a man who during the rebellion donned his wife’s dress, kept his face closely shaved and wore a big sun-bonnet, in order to avoid being conscripted and sent to the front. The officers in search of recruits frequently visited the house and asked his wife where her husband was, and at the very moment he could be seen working in the field in female garb. By the time he had worn out seven of his wife’s dresses he became tired of masquerading, enlisted and became a good soldier.—,Y. T. Sun. —The Detroit Lancet describes the four plans for reducing obesity: The eating of nothing containing starch, sugar, or fat, called the Banting system; the eat ng of fat, but not sugar or starch, called the German Banting; the wearing of wool and sleeping in flannel blankets, instead of sheets, or the Munich system; not eating aud drinking at the same time, or, rather, the allowing a couple of hours to intervene between eating and drinking, the Schweninger system. —A Louisville lady has such a dislike tor ribbons that she can not be induced to wear one of any kind. She likes spring bonnets, though.—Louis• ville Courier-Journal- . ■ b — • Sisters of Notre Dame, Govanstown, Md., say Red Star Cough Cure is beneficial. „Ari reptiles mathematical?” asked Barry of Larry. “ Certainly,” replied Larry. “There’s the adder snake, far instance.’’—Golden Days. Deserving op Confidence.—There is no article which so richly deserves the confidence of the public as Brown’s Bronchial Troches. Those suffering from Asthmatic and Bronchial Diseases, Coughs and Colds, should try them. Sold only in boxes. Why is an old joke»scalled a chestnut? Who can tell?—If. T. Sun. Because even after it falls to the ground it takes root and springs up again.—Burlington Asteye. Pike’s Toothache Drops cureln l minute, SBo. QUim'sSulphur SoopheafSami beautifies. 2Se, German Corn Remover kills Corns a Bunions.

THE MARKETS. New York, June 1,188a. 6 28 11 5 60 1 00* 52* 40 CATTLE—Native Steers.8 3 COTTON—Middling. 10* a FLOUR—Good toOioice...... 4 25 ® WHEAT—No. 2. lied.. 1 00 a COltN-No. 2i. 52*a OATS—Mixed. 39*® PORK—New Mess... a 11 50 ST. LOUIS. COTTON—Middling....... .... BEEYEs—Good to Heavy- 5 25 Fair to Medium. 4 75 HOGS—Common to Select.... 3 40 SHEEP—Fair to Choice. 3 25 FLOUR—XXX to Choice. 3 50 WHEAT—No. 2 Red Winter. No. 3. CORN—No. 2 Mixed... 44 OATS—No. 2....... j 32 RYE..... TOBACCO—Lttgs.. .. 2 50 Leal, Medium. 6 00 HAY—Choice Timothy. 13 00 BUTTER—Choice Dairy. 12 EGGS—Fresh........... • ■■■••. 10 PORK—New Mess. 10 75 BACON—Clear Rib.. LARD. CHICAGO. CATTLE—Exports. 4 70 a HOGS—Good to Choice. 3 65 a SHEEP—Good to Choice...— 2 50 a FLOUR—Winter. 2 16 a Patent. 4 70 a WHEAT—No. 2 Spring. ■ 84*® No. 2 Rea. 92*a CORN-No. 2. ® OATS—No 2 5*S 5*e ® 10* ® 6 40 a 5 20 a 3 so a 4 15 a 4 40 * 1 00 a 96 a 41* ® 3214 a 75 a 4 25 a 8 25 a 15 so a 14 a 1014 a 11 oe 6* « 5 75 3 90 3 30 4 90 3 65 85 93 4454 31* PORK—New Mess. 10 20 a 10 60 KANSAS CITY.! CATTLE—Native Steers. 4 30 a HOGS—Sales at. .. a|3 45 a W HEAT—No. 2. a COnN—No. 2.. I.... ® OATS—No. 2... a NEW ORLEANS. 6 40 3 65 78 39 33* FLOUR—High Grades. CORN-While. OATS—Choice Western. HAY—Choice........... 21 DO ® 22 00 PORK—Mess. BACON—Clear Rib.. COTTON—Middling. LOUISVILLE. WHEAT-No. 2 Red.. CORN—No. 2 .Mixed.. OATS-No. Mixed. PORK—Mess. BACON-Clear Rib. COTTON—Middling. 4 73 a 46*a 5 75 74 47 e n 80 a 6* a 10* 50 1 00 50* 37 ... a li 50 .6*9 6* 10*« 10*

Acrostic—A rafter. Don't giro it away. —iSStmerville Journal Tor the Ladles. Laughter is the poor man’s plaster, Malang every Durden light; Turning sadness Into gladness. Darkest hour to May dawn bright. *Tls the deepest and the cheapest Cure tor ills of this description. But for those that woman s heir to. Use Dr. Pierce’s “Favorite Prescription." Cures all weaknesses and irregularities, “bearing down” sensations, "internal {ever,” bloating, displacements, inflammation, morning sickness and tendency to cancerous disease. Price reduced to one dollar. By druggists. “ PlltHDY in Sugar ” is the title of an article in an exchange. We never heard sand called by that name before.—,Y. K Herald. X Had a Dreadful Cough, and raised a considerable amount of blood and matter; besides, I was very thin, and so weak I could scarcely go about the house. This was the case of a man with consumption arising from liver complaint. He recovered his health completely by the use of Dr. Pierce’s “Golden Medical Discovery.” Thousands of others bear similar testimony. A curious fact in natural history—That so many fishes frequently go in seine. * * * * Delicate diseases, affecting male or-female, however ipTnced, speedily and permanently cured, illustrated book three letter stamps. Consultation free. World’s Dispensary Medical Association, Buffalo, N. Y.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED. H. H. WaBHEB & CO.. Bochester, H.Y. FOR All Gone Sensations. 8X.OO A. BOTTLE. H. H. WARNER & CO.. Rochester, N. Y. PHILLIP VAN TASEL, Newark. N. X-. suffered fur many years from dyspepsia and malaasimtlaiton of food, and reports that he derived greater benefit from Warner’s Tippecanoe, The Best, than from any other medicine hoever used. Ills daughter also used it with success when every other known remedy failed. ASA Constitutional T onic IT HAS NO EQUAL. Sl.OO A BOTTLE. [copyrighted], TONIC H. H. WARNER & CO., Rochester, N. Y. TV. K. SAGE,* of St. Johns, Mich-, was completely prostrated by the hardships endured fluring the late war. He returned home a wreck both in mind end body. For twenty years lie simply existed, half the time more dead than alive until he was restored to health by Warner’s TxprecANOE.The Best. Head vise* all old vets to try It. Write to him at St. Johns, Mich. Treated and cured without the knife. Book on treatment sent free. Address F.L.POND, M. D., Aurora, Kane Co-,111 CANCER

OGWQ(§MTO iU*°uuMd kXXtSX, Isa Reliable Remedy tor Ltrer Complaints and by a deraiured or torpid condition of the Liver. Spsia, Constipation, Biliousness, Jaundice, Hi alarta. Rheumatism, etc. It reeulatet the bowel*,p fies the binod* sirenrthens the wstem, a—tgjs dtceettoo. AN INVALUABLE FAMILY MEDICINE. Thousandsof testimonials prove Its merit*. AXY DBUQGIST WILL TILL XQU IT* REPUTATION. WILHOFT’S FEVEH AND AGUE TOIIC A warranted core for all diseases caused by malarial poisoning of the blood, such as Chills and Fever, Fever and Ague, Bun Paine, Dumb Chills, Intermittent, Remittent, Bilious and all other Fevers caused by malaria. It Is also the safest and best cure for enlarged Spleen (Fever Cake), General Debility tod Periodic Neuralgia. CTFor Sale by all Druggists. CHA8. F. KEELER, Prop., Chicago, III* WITHOUT MONEY! —^.rorsp—

WITHOUT PRICE! We havejuit Issued a most wonderful and valuable new boo|r, which treats of diseases "peculiar to the female sex." and have spared neither.pains nor money to make Ir worthy! fit- perusal %nd confidence of the women all over our land. Every mother, wife, sister and daughter Is deeply, vitally Interested In this great work, and should send for It without delay. It will be_ sent to any addressln the world Free of Coat! Read It carefully, study It well, and you will glean Information that may prove more valuable than all the wealth of the Rothschilds—more precious than all the gems of Europe's royalty. It may sat* your i'fe I Bradvisld regulator Co., Box as, Atlanta, Oa. Variety the Spice of life, > There \s variety in the letters received by Mrs. Lydia E. Pmkkani, testifying to the cures effected by her Vegetable Compound and the great relief afforded to thousands . of women in all sections. Mrs. C-, of Toronto, says: “I have taken three bottles with very gratifying results.” MrsStephen B-, of Shetfington, Quebec, says: “I am now using the fourth bottle and have derived great benefit already.” Sarah C--, of Eugene Cityf'Dregon, says: “It is the best medicine Tor the female sex I have ever found.” Mrs. C——, of Santa Fe, says: “Your Compound has done me a great deal of good.” Mrs. H. Sv_ B-, of Portland, Me., says: “It has done for me all it claimed To and I cheerfully recommend it to all suffering as I have done.” Mrs. D. H. E-, of Lexington, Va., says: “I have taken one bottle and I assure you 1 feel a great deal better, I feel strong, as ever and I’ve never felt a pain in my back since the second dose.” I CURE FIT$! Wh«*n I taj cure 1 do u«*t mean merely £to stop them lor q lime and then have them return again, l mean a radical cure. 1 have made the dlseaso of FITS, EPILEPSY or FALLINCI SICKNESS a llfo-long study. Iwarrant my remedy to cars the worst cases. Because others have failed Is no reason for not now recetvtng a cure. Send at one* !‘*r a treaties and a Free Bottle of my Infallible remedy. Cl ^Express and Poet Office. It costs you nothing for a trial, and I will core yon. Address Dr. H. O. HOOT. IM Pearl St.. New Torfc. AGENTS WANTED. FOWLER S GREAT WORK on LOVE and MATRIMONY Nextto the Rible in value. Always sells.. Writuforhxtm terms. NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO„ St. LOBis, Mo. TELL THE TRUTH! and Bible, by Uncle Tim. The most spicy book of the times. Price, *5 cts.’; S for SI. JBlJXTON «te S1A1NNEK STATIO.VEKY CO., St. Louis,Mo. AA| niCDC^EWLAW^Offlcera’payfrom \r U to III to HO commissions; Deserter* relie vcil; Pensions and increase; experience 19rear*; •success or no fee. Write for circulars and laws. A. W. MoCORMICK A SON, Cincinnati, Ohi<* HP OIIPC OIIPF fur DYSPEPSIA and rvCi vUriCi INDIGESTION’. Address «I. M. SHELLY, Charlotte, North Carolina. dto “T Camonth(salary or comml«slon)to agents for 9/0 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. *Yrite for full particulars. Hist. Pub. Co., St. Louis,M«h

ODR DRUGGIST Says that when a customer asks for THE BEST Spring Medicine he confidently recommends

Copyrighted. vikl

Ayer’s Sarsaparilla. Frf'm F. S. Russell, Druggist, Xushua, if. H. I have been in the drug and prescription business in Nashua over forty years, and am the oldest druggist here. I was the first to introduce your valuable medicines in this city. I believe in them. Ayer’s Sarsaparilla' I take pleasure in recommending to my customers, well knowing it to give satisfaction. In all my experience, ns a druggist, I have yet to hear the first complaint against it. From F. <£ F. Dailey »£* Co., Lovell, Mass. Having sold Ayer's Sarsaparilla since it was first placed upon the market, we can say, after an experience cover!nCn quarter of a century, that we have yet Jo learn of a case where it has failed to give satisfaction. Its merits are fully established. From C. Way & Co., rortland, Me. We have used Ayer's Sarsaparilla for years, and our customers are much pleased with its effects. We believe it to be one of the best medicines iu the market. ; ■

Ayers Sarsaparilla, Prepared by Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mue. gold by Druggists. Price $1; six bottles $•“>.

NOW, NOW, NOW IS THE TIME! MT SPRING TIME! W* PURIFY YOUR BLOOD.

DR. J. H. McDEAN’S Strengthening Cordial -AND- ‘ 'BLOOD PURIFIER Is the Greatest Blood Purifier in the World.

TRY IT, AND YOU WILL USE IT EVERY SEASON. It acts as. delightful on the tender Bnbe,’themost delicate Lady and Infirm old are, as on the strong man. In Imparting Health and Vigor to Nerves and Brain, Bloodvessels, Heart and Iiiver. IVhen taken, yon can feel Its life-giving power course through every artery, destroying all diseases of the Blood. and giving Health, Vital Power and Strength to every part of the body. Who will suffer from Llvej Complaint or Diseases of the Stomach, Kidneys, Bowels or Bladder, when such a great Remedy is within their reaoh? IT, WIXiIj CURB :

Sleeplessness, Night Sweats, Sallow Complexion, Hot Flashes, Fainting Spells, Nervousness, Failing Eyesight- from Weakness. • Dyspepsia, Hectic Flushes, Scalding Hot Urine, Brick Dust Deposit, Frothy Urine, Uterine Weakness,

Falling of the Womb, Bad Biood, Billiousness, Pimples, Loss of Memory, Feverish Skin, ‘ Sluggish Circulation, Cold Feet and Hands, It hcu mutism, Peevishness, obstinate Constipation, Heart Troubles, Bladder Fever,

Diarrhoea or Bloody Flux, Dung and-Liver Disease*, Kidney Troubles, Weak Back, Neuralgia, Pains In Bones, Sick Stomach, Depression, Blues, Dyspepsia, Female Weakness, Pimples, Sores and Blotehee on the Face and Skin, Colic Pains.

DR.J.H. McLEAN’S STRENGTHENING CORDIAL AND BLOOD PURIFIER Is a Never-Falling Remedy, .and Can Be Relied On. $1.00 PER BOTTLE; SIX BOTTLES, #5.00. OR. J. H. NtcLSAN. S. E. Cor. Broadway and Biddle St.. ST. LOUIS. MO. PARSONS® PILLS ^ ^ ca and BOWEL Complaints, MALARIA* For Female Complaints these Fill* _ . _ ,- - - _ ______---1.—Dr. T. M. Palmer, Monticello, Fla." •‘In my practice I uae no other. — J. Dennison, M.D., DeWitt, Iowa" Sold everywhere. or sent by mail ter 26 ota ha stamps. Valuable information TEEE. L S. J0HN80N A CO.. BOSTON, MAM.

RATARR1 HAYFEYER, HAY-FEVER. My brother Myron and myself were bpth cured, to all appearance, of Catarrh and Hay-Fever last July and August. TTp to this date, Dec. 28, neither have had any return of these troubles. Ely’s Cream Balm waa the medicine used.— Gabriel Ferris, Spencer, Tioga Co., N. Y. CREAM BALM has gained an enviable reputation wherever known, displacing all other preparations. A panicle is applied into each nostril; no pain; agreeable to use. . Bead tofctrcnUrsa f, 5 A. HAY-FEVER

R. U. AWARE THAT Lorillard’s Climax Ping bearing a red fi» tag; that Lortllard* Roie Leaf fine eat; that LorilUrdf N»ty Clippings, and that Ixjrillard’s 8iuft,ait the best and cheapest, quality considered ? Bro. Jonathan’s Jokes 8<> pagen. Illustrated Soot, Postpaid. for TwoIto Cent*. I»ll Muilt,inM A. N. K., B, loss WHEN WRITING TO ADVERTISERS pleaee nf you saw the advertisement ia thie paper. Advertisers like to know When and where their sdvertiseasente are