DISTRICT COURT.

[Before His. Honor Judge Ward.]

WEDNESDAY, October lit

■ IK BANKRUPTCY. J ohn*”Broom, Taylor and Lill, and James Daly (for whom Mr O’Reilly ap peared), obtained orders of discharge. Re Jas. Daly, application for certain moneys held by the Bank of New Zealand. Rule nisi granted. Mr O’Reilly for appli cant.

Re Samuel Findlay, Thos. and Fred. Laurence. Application for order of payment of costs. Orders granted. Mr Branson for applicants. Re Thomas Dudson. Application for order of discharge. Mr O’Reilly for ap plicant. Application adjourned. Ro Thomas Miles, and Thomas Roun tree. Order of discharge granted. Mr Branson for applicants, instructed by Mr Crisp. Re William Munro. Application for the examinath nof witnesses. Mr O’Reilly conducted the examination.

Harry Friedlander, sworn —I am Inspec tor of Health for the Borough of Ashbur ton. On the 18th of April last I took a bill of sale from Munro. I did not see Munro before the bill was executed, but I saw him afterwards. I did not examine the schedule, as my agent in the matter, my brother Hugo, told me what the bill contained. I signed a blank cheque for my brother to pay the amount of considera tion, and he filled it up for £230. I did not know what the amount was, hut I told my brother to deduct his commission in the transaction from it. I usually draw upon my brother when I want money. He always transacts my business. His Honor—How could your agent, who was acting for you only, deduct the commission from the amount. He was not the bankrupt’s agent. Witness—Munro was not a bankrupt at that time. My brother did not promise to indemnify me against loss on this trans action.

Mr. O’Reilly to His Honor—Witness declined to answer that question before the trustee.

Witness—l produce the account sales of the stock sold under the bill of sale.

His Honor —Commission again ! The account sales show commission !

Witness (examination resumed) —I made a demand for the money of Mnnro at the. saleyards in Ashburton before the seizure. X only saw Muhro once, and it was at the saleyards. That was the only occasion I saw Munro in reference to that business. I made no demand except that once. Mr O’Reilly referred to witness's ex amination before the trustee, in which he had stated that he had seen Munro at Tin wald regarding the matter. Witness said that was after the seizure. Continuing—The bill was not registered. After the goods were sold they did not realise the amount of the bill of sale, and I was a loser by the transaction. A reaper and binder was not sold because no offer was made for it. I did not receive the money drawn at the sale. My brother got it —my agent. I bear all the loss. Mr O’Reilly—The witness refused be fore the trustee to say who bore the loss —he or the firm. Witness—The reaper and binder is still at my brother’s place. Could not say what is its value. A pair of harrows was also bdfe unsold. HujPf ’ Friedlander—Munro has been sending his corn Home through me for the last two seasons. I rendered him a copy of the account sales of the wheat sold at Home. He could have seen the original if he had wished, but he never asked me to see it. The account sales for this season had not been rendered as they were not yet to hand. Munro had made so many statements about his grain that it was difficult to remember them all. He had said he had 3000 bushels to sell, then 2000, and so on, and when the quantity for sale actually came up it was only 1500. Witness—l cannot stand this, Mr. O’Reilly. I am very short tempered. His Honor—You must stand it. It is for me to interfere if Mr. O’Reilly goes beyond his duty. Witness —I was advised by my solicitor not to answer. His Honor —Well, he advised you wrongly. Examination resumed — There were two separate transactions in oats, one at 3s. sd. and another at 2s. 4d. The high price was got because the grain was early in the market, but the actual value of the oats was 3s. I have received a letter from Home by the Suez mail stat ing that some of the wheat had been sold. On this wheat I advanced 2s. 9d. per bushel to Munro. I hope there will be a balance still to come. The firm made that advance, not Harry Friedlander who has no interest in the firm whatever. Mr O’Reilly—At the examination the witness declined to say whether Harry was in the firm or not. Witness- There are other two brothers in the firm, but not Hairy. Witness said he had a conversation with a man named Norrish, and with Mrs Munro regarding * the money, but no attempt was made to influence them with Munro to procure his signature to the bill. Told- Munro that as we had the money he had better sign the bill, as we did not know how long we might have the money. Did not tell Mr- Norrish and Mrs Munro we would carry them through for a twelve month. All Munro’s property was not included in the bill of sale. He had the landj under a purchasing clause from Mr Grigg* The amount of the cheque went for Small debts incurred in the current expenses of the farm. Hi« Honor—Did you know that all the man’s available property was included in the bill of sale ? Witness—'As far as he told us, all his live and dead stock was; but the man said he had only a few pounds in money. The security was given to Harry Fried lander for whom I acted. The bill of sale was enforced so soon after execution be cause ; happening to be in town I learned the Stock was to be distrained for rent. That was the only reason. In conversa tion with Mrs Munro, I said signing the bill would save ns from pressing for pay ment of what was already owing.. Two shillings and ninepence was a risky ad vance to give on grain as prices then went. We declined to answer some questions to the trustee because we were so instructed by our solicitor. Mr O’Reilly—The solicitor was not pre sent 1 at the examination. He must have anticipated these questions. . Witness Monro made away with Jiwrfrvi and other articles. Could not fvv' the pic# of the reaper and binder as iojm iw*n

could not be made till extras arrived from j merica. |

Mr. O’Reilly then said that the credi ts s had instructed the trustee to institute proceedings to set the bill of sale aside, but some of the creditors thought it would be more satisfactory to recover the con sideration owing for the bill of sale, £230. His Honor—Under what section of the Act.

Mr. O'Reilly—Under section 111. His Honor —I do not think it lies with me to direct. It must rest with your own judgment, Mr. O’Reilly. You can go for an order nisi.

Mr. O’Reilly—Very well, your Honor. Mr O’Reilly applied for costs against the witnesses who had declined to answer before the trustee. His Honor granted costs remarking that witnesses in any bankruptcy exami nation were hound to answer. The Court then rose.

ASHBURTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE

The usual monthly meeting of the School Committee was held on Tuesday night. Present : Messrs St. Hill (in the chair), Bradley, and Gollins. On the reading of the minutes a ques tion was raised as to the legality of the payment of a sum of £1 4s, the balance due on a treat given to the children last year, and left as a legacy by the late Com mittee, and the expense was eliminated from the minutes, which were then passed. Correspendence was read from the Secretary to the Board of Education, advising the Committee of the payment of the sum of £3l 5s for incidental expenses, and £SB 9s 3d for salaries ; from the same body, stating that the appointment of pupil teachers rested with the Board, and no appointments ought to be made by the Committee ; from the same re application for an infant school, informing the Com mittee that the Inspector would visit the school in the early part of next month, and be expected to report specially on the question, and with respect to the scale of salaries it was intended that the whole organisation of the school would he re viewed when the Board had received the Inspector’s report, and had completed a general scheme for staff and salaries, which was now under consideration, for all schools throughout the district. Replying to an application for drainage of the school grounds, the Secretary to the Board said that the subject would be reported 'upon by the Board’s Architect. Several small accounts were submitted for payment, and payment of the same was authorised to the extent of the funds in hand. The master’s report was read. It showed that the largest attendance on any day was 324 ; the strict average, 264 ; and the working average, 2G9. The report recommended certain necessary repairs, which were referred to the Works Com mittee, with instructions to repair the swings, etc., in the play grounds. The appointment of a care-taker was considered, the duties of the office includ ing the cleaning of the schools and out buildings, cutting hedges, and keeping the gardens in order, besides other duties of a minor nature. These works had cost something over £6O last year. It was resolved that Mrs Thompson be appointed care-taker, at a salary of 10s per week, and have permission to occupy the cottage rent free.

Messrs Gollins and Bradley were ap pointed a Visiting Committee for the en suing month, and the meeting terminated.

Sensible Natives. —The Clerk read a letter to the House of Representatives on Friday last, from Wi Parata, and other Maoris, protesting against the waste of time that was being caused by the fight that was going on between those members who were trying to get into office. Day of Universal Prayer. —The day of united prayer for Sunday schools throughout the world has been fixed for Monday, the 20th inst. Wakefield the Great. —Mr Wake field, M.H.R., has no reverence for the Member for Akoroa. In a telling speech which he made on Friday, he said he would not “waste powder and shot on such small beer as the hon. member for Akaroa.”

The Pastoral Interests. —A Gazette published on October Bth, contains the returns showing the number of sheep de pasturing on runs and farms in the colony. The information is very voluminous but not particularly readable. In the Otago list of sheepowners we remark that there are no less than 83 Mac-Something-or-others, showing that the Scotch element is still dominant there. Mr R. P. Bayly, Chief Inspector, in alluding to the rabbit nuisance mentions that on one run no less than 30 men and (500 dogs were employed in the destruction of the bunnies, and also expresses an opinion that by the time the leases of the tracts expired, they would be valueless, unless some means are devised to check the evil. Our readers, however, are aware that the new means of destroy ing the rabbits has been so successful, it is quite possible that before Mr Bayly s next report is on paper there will be scarcely a pair of bunnies left to connect between the congregation of the slain and the small number of rabbits that “ shots would like to see existent in the colony for the sake of sport.

Solidification by Pressure. —A Ger man engineer, M. Sprinz, has been engaged in conducting some interesting experiments on a small scale, on tbo extent to which various powders may be solidified by the action of powerful pressure. For this purpose he made use of a prism of steel, pierced with a hole in the direction of its axis ; this hole was filled with the powdered substance ram med down tightly with a piston, and these were then subjected to a pressure of about 20,000 atmospheres by means of a powerful vice. Under this treatment saltpetre and nitre powders yield perfectly homogeneous transparent blocks, like porcelain, harder, arid more resistant than if they had been obtained by fusion. Sawdust, under similar pressure, yielded a substance considerably harder than the wood it originally formed part of, but the texture of the new material was far from uniform. In the direction of the pressure the blocks exhibited great resisting power, but at right angles to that direction they broke very readily. Lime-dust and the dust of a common grindstone gave no result at all when treated dry, but lime dust that had been slightly damped became so compact and hard that it was almost impossible to remove the blocks jtonnea from

PILLOW, THE CHRISTCHURCH HIGHWAYMAN.

On Monday, the young man Pillow, ac cused of assault with intent, was committed for trial. The evidence of Mr. H. E. May deacibos the adventure on the road as follows :

When about a quarter of a mile from the Riccarton Hotel on the Christchurch side a man rushed from the side walk on the near side to the centre of the road, and held up both hand?, shouting to us to stop. He then seized the horse’s bridle, and the horse was pulled up to a walking pace. The lamps in the buggy weielit, and I observed the man had a mask on. He presented a, lev, Ivor m me, and de manded me in ihdiver up un money, or he would tire. I told him I had no money. He still had hold of the bridle and stood about (3ft. off, and then ho said, “If you have no money, you have a watch. De liver up your watch.” The coachman Har ris then said, “ I have 4s. 6d., if he would take that. ” Harris was off by that time, and behind the buggy. Harris handed the money to Mrs May, who was still seated in the buggy. She said, “ I’ll hand it him ; he’ll surely not shoot a woman.” By this time he had come nearer, and was standing about 2ft. from the front wheel of the buggy. Seeing Mrs May’s hand extended, I was rising to pidl it back, and the man said, “If you move, I will fire. I immediately jumped at him and he fired. This brought me within about two feet of him, and I caught him. The flash of the pistol shone in my face. I experienced a sensation on the neck and shoulders as if the bullet had hit me. Another shot was then fired, Harris rushing to my assistance, while I had hold of him. We immediately had him on the ground. I requested my wife to drive hack to the hotel for assistance, Avliich she did. In a few minutes the trap returned, with Mr. Lewis, of the Riccar ton Hotel, and another man. I requested one to go to the Police Depot, and the other to take my place to secure the man, while I returned to the hotel to see if the shot had really touched mo, and to look after my wife Harris and the other man were left in charge of the prisoner. I got the revolver from the prisoner, and after wards gave it to Detective Benjamin. It was-in the same state as when I took it from the man. The revolver produced is the same. I fancy I heard the pistol click, hut am not quite sure. I did not know who the man was. It was very dark. The overcoat I wore that night I gave to Detective Benjamin. The mark on the shoulder was from the first shot. The undercoat I wore was also marked. I had a small bruise on my shoulder, hut the bullet did not penetrate my clothes. Be fore giving the coat to Detective Benjamin I noticed a scorched mark, which must have been done by the second shot. It was not there previously. I examined the revolver before giving it to Detective Benjamin, and found two chambers dis charged and four loaded with cartridge and ball. I saw at the hotel that the man had on a leather belt. The man was a short man, shorter than myself. The mask was of some black material, with two holes cut for the eyes. It was very similar to the one produced. The man had on a pair of dark blue trousers, made of some cotton material. They appeared to be of navy blue. I saw the prisoner that night at the Riccarton Hotel, and afterwards at the Police Depot in charge of Detective Benjamin, at about eleven o’clock.

Detective Benjamin, who searched the prisoner, found this mask (produced) hanging by the strings round his neck. He had this dagger and belt (produced) round his body under his coat. I also found thirteen or fourteen revolver car tridges in his pockets. He had two pair of trousers on, an overcoat and an under coat, and a cap on his head. He had the hat produced in his pocket. At the same sitting of the Court prisoner was committed for trial on another charge of robbing the museum, whence he had stolen sundry daggers, poignards, and spear heads, from the Antiquity room.

The “ Diplograph.”— The diplograph is an apparatus invented by M. Recordou for enabling the blind to communicate in writing with each other and with the “ outer world ” with greater ease than is possible under the system at present in use. Hitherto they have been obliged, for this purpose, to have recourse to characters given in relief, generally formed of a certain number of points, not exceeding six, distributed in three lines according to a certain order. Their sense of touch being extremely delicate and acute, the blind rapidly acquire the power of reading and writing by the aid of this system. But seeing people find great dif ficulty in mastering it, and written com munications between them and the blind, which shall be legible by both parties, are consequently rarely feasible. This diffi culty is said to be now overcome by the introduction of the diplograph, an instru ment which simultaneously produces the writing in two different ways, and two distinct leaves of paper—the one impres sion being intelligible to the blind, and the other to the seeing. The apparatus con sists of two discs. bearing the respective signs or characters of the two styles of writing, and either party using the instru ment produces, together with the letters intelligible to himself alone, a verbatim transcript in different characters for the use of his correspondent. Truth is stranger than Fiction.— “Lynx,” in the “Tasmanian Mail,” writes: —Would any one imagine that in these days of usury and keen competi tion for the “ bawbees,” a man would allow a cool thousand to remain in a bank for thirty years or so without mak ing any use of it, and moreover without getting any interest ? Such a case has just come to light in Hobart Town, and curiously enough, too. An old man, whose appearance brtokened anything but affluence, bid for a number of shares at a recent sale, and offered the knight of the hammer his cheque for £BOO in payment. Very doubtfully the paper was presented at the bank upon which it was drawn, when it was explained that the bank had 1 a large sum of money to the credit of the name of the drawer, but, as the depositor had not been heard of for the last twenty seven or eight years, the presentation of the cheque caused no little surprise. En quiries were, however, instituted, and the ! buyer of the shares duly proved his 1 identity, and secured the transfer of the ■ cash. I have not heard whether the i bank has made the simple-minded de * positor a present in return for the > gratuitous use of his savings during so many years/'

THE CHIMNEY CORNER

OLD STORIES RETOLD.

A Slayer of Indians -{cohUhu. d).

The fort being now in much danger from Indians, and salt running short, Captain Boone and thirty men undertook to make an armed foray, and bring a supply from the Lower Blue Licks, but when the pack-horses, with salt, had just been despatched to the fort, a party of a hundred and two Indians fell on Boone, and made him their prisoner. Although the British Governor of Detroit offered one hundred pounds for his ransom, the Indians determined that Bonne should become a member of their tribe, and Blackfish, a great chief among the Shawanoes, adopted him as his son. The forms of the ceremony of adop tion are often severe and ludicrous. The hair of the head is plucked out by a tedious and painful operation, leaving a tuft, some three or four inches in diameter, on the crown, for the scalp lock, which is cut and dressed up with ribbons and feathers. The candidate is then taken into the river, and there thoroughly washed and rubbed, “to take all his white blood out.” The cap tive is next taken to the council-house, where the chief makes a speech, in which ho expatiates upon the distinguished honor conferred upon him, and the line of conduct expected of him. His head and face are painted in the most fashionable style, and the ceremony is concluded with a grand feast and smok-

Boone bided bis time. His rifle-balls being always counted by the Indians, he contrived to split several bullets, and so laid iq) a store for future use. Finding at Chillicothe four hundred and fifty warriors in their war-paint, prepared to march against the fort, he at once re solved on escape. Secreting some jerked venison, be struck out one morning for his home, and reached it in less than five days, only eating one regular meal during the forced march of one hundred and sixty miles. A few days after, four hundred and forty-four Indians arrived at the fort, with British and French colors flying. Boone’s foi’ce was only between sixty and seventy men. The cows and horses had already been driven inside the walls, and water had been col lected in every available vessel. Duquesne, the commander of the Indians, proposed a parley. Though sus pecting treachery, it was determined, after consultation, to accede to the pro position of Duquesne, and hold a treaty. Nine persons were selected for the hazardous and responsible duty—four of them being Flanders Callaway, Stephen Hancock, William Hancock, and Squire Boone. The parties met on the plot of ground in front of the fort, and at the distance from it of about sixty yards. The terms offered were exceedingly liberal ; too liberal, as Boone and his associates saw, to come from honest intentions. The propositions were, that they should re main unmolested, and retain all their property, only submitting to the British authorities in Canada, and taking the oath of allegiance to the king. At the conclusion, the Indians proposed that on so great an occasion, “ to make the chain of peace more strong and bright,” they should revive an ancient custom, and that two Indians should shake hands each with a white man, and that this should be the token of sincere friendship. Captain Boone and his associates were from the first prepared for treachery. Before they left the fort twenty men were stationed with loaded rifles, so as to com mand a full view of all the proceedings, and ready for the slightest alarm. The parties on the treaty ground had no weapons, and were divested of all outside garments. As they had agreed to hold the treaty, it would have been regarded as a breach of confidence, and a direct insult to refuse the proffered ceremony at the close. When the Indians approached each grasped the hand and arm of their white antagonist. A scuffle ensued, for the Indians at once attempted to drag them off as prisoners. The Kentuckians, however, either knocked down, tripped, or pushed off their antagonists, and fled into the fort. The fire from the vigilant guard at the same time threw the enemy into confusion. Tire Indians then rushed from their camp, and made a vigorous attack on the fort. Squire Boone was wounded, but not severely. The siege lasted from the 7th to the 20th of De cember. The Indians then retreated, having lost thirty-seven killed, while the Kentuckians had only two killed, and four wounded. According to the state ment of Captain Boone, a hundred and twenty-five pounds of musket-balls were picked up round the fold, besides those that penetrated and were made fast in the logs. During the seige, Jemima, the eldest daughter of Boone, afterwards Mrs Cal laway, received a contusion in her hip, from a spent ball, while she was supplying her father with ammunition. While the parley was in progress an unprincipled negro man deserted, and wont over to the Indians, carrying with him a large, far shooting rifle. He crossed the river, as cended a tree on its bank, and so placed himself that he could raise his head, look through a fork of the tree, and fire into the fort. One man had been killed, and another wounded, from that direction, when Captain Boone discovered the negro, by his head peering above the fork. The old hunter fired and the negro was seen to fall. After the Indians had retreated, his body was found ; his forehead was pierced with the ball, fired at the distance of one hundred and seventy yards. The Indians, who burned or carried off their own dead, would not touch his body. In a subsequent fight with Indians the Ken tucky malitia were defeated, and Boone had the agony of having his son killed by his side. After the defeat, when General Clarke, with whom Boone served, was burning some Indian towns, a small party of south ern Indians attacked a small settlement called Crab Orchard. A party of savages approached a single cabin, in which were a woman, her children, and a negro, from whom they expected no resistance. One of the number entered in advance of the rest, thinking without doubt, to secure the whole as prisoners, or, at least, to ob tain their scalps. He seized the negro man, expecting no resistance from the others. In the scuffle b dh fell, when the children shut and bolted the door, and with an axe the mother cut off the Indian’s head. The rest of the Indiana hearing

the scuffle rushed at the door which, they found barricaded against them, and as sailed it with their tomahawks. But the mother seized an old rusty gun, without a lock, which lay in a corner, and put it through a crevice in the logs, which so alarmed them that they left the place.

In 1783, Kentucky became more settled, and the town of Danville was founded. At a short distance from his cabin, Boone had raised a small patch of tobacco for the use of his neighbors, for lie himself never smoked. As a shelter for curing it, he had built an enclosure of rails a dozen feet in height, and covered with cane and grass. Stalks of tobacco are usually split and strung on sticks about four feet in length. The ends of these are laid on poles, placed across the tobacco-house, and in tiers, one above the other to the roof. Booiie had fixed his temporary shelter in such a manner as to have three tiers. He had covered the lower tier, and the tobacco had become dry, when he en tered the shelter for the purpose of re moving the sticks to the upper tier, preparatory to getting in the remainder of the crop. He had hoisted up the sticks from the lower to the second tier, and I was standing on the poles that supported it, while raising the sticks to the upper tier, when four stout Indians, with guns, entered the low door and called him by name. “ Now, Boone, we got you,., You no get away more. Wo carry you otf to Chillicothe this time. You no cheat us any more.” Boone looked down upon their upturned faces, saw their loaded guns pointed at his breast, and recognising some of his old friends, the Shawanoes, who had for merly made him prisoner near the Blue Licks, coolly and pleasantly responded, “ Ah, old friends, glad to see you !” Perceiving that they manifested impa tience to llave him come down, he told them that he was quite willing to go with them, and only begged they would wait where they were, and watch him closely, until he could finish removing his tobacco. While parleying with them, in quiring after old acquaintances, and proposing to give them his tobacco when cured, he diverted their attention from his purpose, until he had collected to gether a number of sticks of dry tobacco, and so turned them as to fall between the poles directly in their faces. At the same instant he jumped upon them with as much of the dry tobacco as he could gather in his arms, filling their mouths and eyes with its pungent dust, and blind ing and disabling them from following him, rushed out and hastened to his cabin, where he had the means of de fence. Notwithstanding the narrow es cape, he could not resist the temptation after retreating some fifteen or twenty yards, to look round and see the success of his achievement. The Indians, blinded and nearly suffocated, were stretching out their hands and feeling about in different directions, calling him by name, cursing him for a rogue and themselves for fools. The old hunter, when telling this story, used to imitate their gestures and tones of voice with great glee. Boone next removed to the Kenhawa, in Virginia, and from there, seeking more elbow-room, he pushed on to the Femme Osage settlement, in the district of St. Charles, about forty-five miles west of St. Louis. There he received a grant of ten thousand arpents of choice land on the north side of the Missouri, and became commandant of a district. Even in old age he continued his hunting expeditions in search of deer and beaver, and ventured with only a negro boy in the wildest parts of the Osage territory. On one occasion, soon after preparing his camp and lay ing in his supplies for the winter, he was taken sick and lay a long time in camp. The horses were hobbled out on the range. After a period of stormy weather, there came a pleasant and delightful day, and Boone felt able to walk out. With his staff, for he was quite feeble, he took the boy to the summit of a small eminence, and marked out the ground in shape of a grave. He instructed the boy, in case of his decease, to wash and lay his body straight, wrapped up in one of the clean est blankets. He was then to construct a kind of shovel, and with that instrument and the hatchet to dig a grave exactly as he had marked it out. He was then to drag the body to the place, and put it in the°grave, which he was directed to cover up, placing posts at the head and foot. Poles were to be placed around and over the surface; the trees to be marked, so that the place could be easily found by his friends ; the horses were to be caught, the blankets and skins gathered up, and he gave some special instructions about his old rifle, and various messages to the family. All these directions were given, as the boy, afterwards declared, with entire calmness. But the old man soon recovered, broke up his camp, and re turned homewards without the usual spoils of a winter’s hunt.

At the ;\go of fourscore, and without a rood of land, the old hunter petitioned Congress for a confirmation of the Spanish grants. The lonely fort he had once built was now surrounded by four hundred thousand souls, yet he had to crave a little earth for charity. In March, 1813, Boone lost his wife at the age of seventy-six, and in 1820 the old pioneer expired in the eighty-sixth year of his age. For years before exaggerated stories about Boone had been circulated by the American press, one especially, the wildest of the set, had gained wide credence. A traveller from Ohillicothe, Ohio, visited the Missouri territory, in the summer of 1818. On his return, an editor of a weekly paper in that town questioned this gentleman for news from Missouri, this territory being then a frontier in the Far West. In a waggish humor, the tra veller replied, “I do not recollect any thing new or strange, except one event that occurred while I was in the territory. The celebrated hunter, Daniel Boone, died in a very singular manner while I was there.” The story, given by the narrator was, that the old pioneer had encamped at a salt lick, watching the deer, as customary ; the morning he was found dead, lying on his breast, with his rifle to his shoulder, and the eyeball glazed in death, as though he was taking sight, or, as a hunter would say, “ drawing a bead” upon a deer. The Missouri Gazette noticed the fiction and contradicted the story ; but truth always lags behind falsehood. A few weeks after this story had obtained currency, a friend told the old pioneer the tale which the news papers had made about him. With his I customary pleasant' smile, Boone said, “1 would not believe that tale if I told it myself. I have not watched a deer’s lick for ten years. My eyesight is too 1 toy gone tp fcwt."

The Reverend John M. Peak, who has written an excellent biography of Daniel Boone, has described a visit he paid to the old Leatherstocking. In boyhood he had read of Daniel Boone, the pioneer of Ken tuck}', the celebrated hunter and Indian fighter ; and imagination had pourtrayed a rough, tierce-looking, uncouth specimen of humanity. But in every respect the re verse appeared. Boone’s high, b )ld fore head was slightly bald, and his silvered locks were combed smooth; his counte nance was ruddy and fair, and exhibited the simplicity of a child. His voice was soft and melodious, and a smile frequently played over his features in conversation. His clothing was the coarse, plain manu facture of the family; but everything about him denoted that kind of comfort which was congenial to his habits and feelings, and evinced a happy old age. His room was part of a range of log-cabins, kept in order by his affectionate daughter and grand-daughters. The Reverend James C. Welch has sketched Boone at the age of eighty-three. “ I gazed,” he says, “at the old colonel with no ordinary interest, having heard my parents in Kentucky speak .of him with admiration from the time of my earliest recollection. Ho was rather low of stature, broad shoulders, high cheek-bones,

very mild countenance, fair complexion, soft and mild in his habits and manners, having but little to say unless spoken to, amiable and kind in his feelin s, very fond of retirement, of great self possession, and of indomitable perseverance. He never made a profession of religion, and yet he was what would be called by the world a very moral man. He listened to the preaching with apparent interest. I asked the old colonel about the tales I had heard of his digging a largo hole in the hill-side, near the Kentucky river, as a habitation for himself and family, and calling it Boonesburrow. ‘Oh 1 sir,’ said the colonel, ‘I dug no hole in any hill; I built my cabin and stockaded it round as a defence from the Indians, as all new comers were in the habit of doing. That was all I did. ’ ” To the end of his life Boone lived in a log-cabin, and his trusty rifle was the most valued chattel he left behind him. His

last words were prophetic of the great nation to which he belonged : ‘ ‘ Too crowded, too crowded ; more elbow-room. ”

In the rotunda of the Capitol at Wash ington, over the door of the chamber of the House of Representatives, there is a relievo representing Boone in deadly grapple with an Indian, while another lies trampled under his feet. The redskin is raising his tomahawk, but Boone’s heavy hunting knife is already at his heart. This is founded on a fictitious adventure, but it serves at least to preserve the memory of a brave man.

Earthquaky Weather. —lt is a general belief that earthquakes occur only in close, murky weather. In the following account of the one which took place on Wednesday w'eek, taken from a North Island paper, something will be found to shake the belief :—At 3.14 on Wednesday morning one of the severest shocks of earthquake felt for many yearn was ex perienced at Foxton. The direction was from north to south. The quake was preceded by the usual rumble, which was instantly followed by a severe shock ; scarcely had this ceased when it was suc ceeded by a much heavier one, lasting about five seconds, a third winding up the performance. A phenomenon that usually accompanies an earthquake fol lowed—namely, the crowing of the roosters throughout the township. One or two country residents informed us (Manawatu Herald) that the same thing was noticed to a marked degree in the bush, the pheasants and other birds making loud noises. Although no chim neys were thrown down, nor other damage done, residents generally speak of the shock of Wednesday as the severest felt for many years past. The common im pression that earthquakes are felt during close, murky weather, was proved incor rect on Wednesday, the sky being ex tremely clear and the air bitterly cold. We have felt them (adds the Herald) in all weathers. We remember a most severe shock at Poverty Bay some five years ago, while a heavy storm was raging.

A Bankers’ Battle. —The “Rock” gives the following anecdote, in which the two greatest (pecuniary) potentates of the age were concerned, on what it regards as' good authority “At the time of the last great commercial crisis, when the money market was just beginning to show signs of tightness, Messrs Rothschild lodged a large sum (£300,000, we believe) in Lord Overstone’a Bank (then Jones, Lloyd, and C 0..) This seemed so strange a procedure that it aroused the noble lord’s suspicions, and he bid his cashier put the money away in a parcel by itself and await further orders, which was done accordingly. Meanwhile money grew more and more in demand, and just as the pressure was at its height Messrs Rothschild drewa cheque for the £300,000, hoping,, no doubt, thereby to embarrass their puissant rival. So far from that, Lord Overstono had the exquisite satis faction of returning the parcel of money precisely in the state in which he had received it some months before. It was such a bagatelle that he had not even cared to make use of it.”

Lamp-Black. —The large quantities of lamp-black employed in the manufacture of printers’ ink and of black and grey pigments, are invariably obtained in Europe by the combustion of resins, pitches, and tars. Burned in a limited supply of air, insufficient to transform them entirely into gaseous products, these substances throw out a dense carbonaceous smoke, which is collected on coarse cloths, and thence removed for use. As thus prepared, lamp-black always retains a certain proportion of liquid hydro-carbons, which give it a greasy feel to the touch, and a brownish rather than deep black tint.. Professor Mallet draws attention to a new process of manufacture intro duced by him in the United States, which furnishes a produce far superior in quality to that obtained by the usual method. He makes use of the natural gas mines occurring in the Ohio district, and by burning oft - the gas night and day, at 1800 jets connected with a suitable apparatus, produces lamp-black at the rate of 32,090,0001 b. a year. On analysis this product proves to be of a perfectly black tint, and to contain no oily matter, while on combustion it leaves only a slight trace of ash composed of the oxides of iron and copper. It is, in fact, almost absolutely pure carbon in a state of extremely fine i divipinn,

THE YOUNG MAN OF THE PERIOD.

The “ Hawkeye ” gives this good advice to the young man of the period : Remem ber, son, that the world is older than you are, by several years ; that for thousands of years it has been so full of smarter and better young men than yourself, that their feet stuck out of the dormer windows ; that when tliey died the old world went whirling on, and notone man in the ten million went to the funeral or even heard of the de h. Be as smart as you can of course. Know as much as you can with out blowing the packing out of your cylin der haeds ; shed the light of your wisdom abroad in the world, but don’t dazzle people with it. And don’t imagine a tiling is simple because you say it is. Don’t be sorry for your father because he knows so much loss than you do ; remem ber tlie reply of Dr. Waylaud to the students of Brown University who said it was an easy enough thing to make pro verbs such as Solomon wrote : “ Make a few,” tersely replied the old man. And we never heard that the young men made any. Not more than two or three any how. The world has great need of young men, but no greater need than the young men have of it. Your clothes fit you bet ter than your father’s fit him ; they cost more money, they are more stylish, your moustache is neater, the cut of your hair is better, and you are prettier, oh, far prettier than “pa.” But. young man, the old gentleman gets the biggest salary, and his homely, scrambling signature on the business end of a cheque will drain more money out of the bank in five minutes, than you could get out of a ream of paper and copperplate signature in six months. Young men are useful, son, and tliey are ornamental, and we all love them, and we couldn’t engineer a picnic success fully without them. But they are no novelties, son. Oh, no, nothing of the kind. They have been here before. Don’t be so modest as to shut yourself clear out, but don’t be so fresh that you will have to be put away in the cool to keep from spoiling. Don’t be afraid that your merit will not be discovered. People all over the world are hunting for you, and if you are worth finding, they will find you.

Strength of Parties. —The “ Post ” thus analyses the strength of parties in the House : The division on Friday night cannot be regarded as a conclusive indica tion of the present relative strength of political parties. On the, proposed ad journment of the second reading of the Triennial Parliaments Bill the Ministry were beaten by two votes, the respective numbers being 38 to 36, which 5 pairs would increase to an actual combative strenth of 43 to 41. But two members of the Ministerial party were absent unpaired, therefore the real numbers would appear to be 43 and 43—a “ tie.” It is possible, however, that this conclusion may prove illusive. For instance, Mr Allright, in voting with Ministers on this particular question, hinted that ho probably would be found in the other lobby when the division on Mr Macandrew’s no-confidence motion took place. If so, that would alter the numbers by two, reducing the Ministeral strength to 42 and increasing that of the Opposition to 44. But, on the other hand, it is alleged that Mr Shep hard is absolutely pledged not to support Mr Macandrew, which, if true, restores the balance of power. The two members who have seceded from Mr Hall’s party and joined the other side are Mr Vincent Pyke and Mr Downie Stewart, both, if rumor tell truth, disappointed aspirants to office in the Hall Ministry. If, as seems probable, the division of Mr Macandrew’a motion gives a majority of only one or two to either side, there seems every reason to anticipate further secessions of discontented members from which ever side may happen to win. In that case a protracted deadlock may be imminent, but is to be hoped that the good sense of the majority of members will enable this dan ger to be averted.

“ The Laborer is Worthy, &c.”— Dr Talmage, the well known American preacher, is in England “ starring it,” as the theatricals say. He obtains £IOO a night, so says his “agent,” in reply to a request from , a small town anxious to hear the Brooklyn sensationalist. He writes : “ I have upwards of one thousand letters, all wanting Dr Talmage to lecture to then., Some contain fabulous oilers. Now there is but one way of getting the doctor. If your society can afford to pay what larger places offer I may be able to drop out a larger place and give you a date in July. The lowest terms I care to take are £IOO. I know it is a big price, but Dr Talmage is a big man.”

A Jettisoned Rower. — A somewhat novel rowing match between men of the German ship Bismarck and men of H.M.S. Wolverine, in cutters, is reported by the “ Sydney Mail. ” The contest excited a considerable amount of interest. The cutter of the Wolverine was manned by a crew of 10, including Mr Banyard, the coxswain ; while the Bismarck was repre presented by a crew of 12. The race was for £24, and the course was from" Farm Cove, around the City of Sydney (lying in Lavender Bay), around Piachgut, back and around the City of Sydney again, and back to Farm Cove. The boats got away well together, but unfortunately one of the Wolverine’s crew, namey Henry Tuffnell, snapped his oar at the start, and as there were no spare oars in the boat, and he could render his shipmates no help, in that spirit which has often characterised a British man-o’-war’s man, he determined that he would be no obstruction to them, and at once jumped overboard, thus leaving a crew of only nine British seamen against the doaen Germans. Notwithstanding this disad vantage, however, the Wolverine’s cutter went ahead, gradually gaining on her competitors from the start, and coming in a winner by about 12 lengths. The plucky fellow who jumped overboard from the Wolverine’s cutter was picked up by a waterman’s boat. Holloway’s Pills. —A certain cure fo- Headaches, Bile, ,Loss of Appetite, and Low ness of Spirit.—These Pills can be taken with out clanger from wet or cold, and require no interruption from business or pleasure. They act mildly on the bowels, strengthen the slomrch, and promote a healthy action of the liver, whereby they purify the blood, cleanse tiie skin, brace the nerves, and invigorate the whole system. They effect a truly wonderful change bn a debilitated con titu ion, ns they create a healthy appetite, correct indigestion, remo e hi'e, giddm- ss, headache, und palpita tion of the heart. Plain drectiont for the u e of this medicine, at once so quid and elftcaifious,

THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN

Thursday, October i 6, 1879.]