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ation, biiiousness, sick d dyspepsia. Every eed perfect and to tct (tiping', weaken”): or Facts. 35:. at all im- of (.119 (1 nley's hardest the river It reached its relar y per isobar! t more rapidly the worfd, for, {ad a” growth L some muster- last pa agraph r retreat of the > and die down and homeward, that day with 0186 :1 governs 3 [201011 8.1.1313 xxx-Begum by is about 5:0 ppear larger _ m front sewn- 113 canoes drew all of a sudden sketry. and an- and an diminutive 33', however, government 1 her realm to monarch in Hindoo vas- fie .nd would ha ve were 3911 t af D8 Instant AH dealers. '1 vage lightning )1. d "Meat. our cook 8 down ribs (1 the hundreds - eresun‘ before. a OI L0 HS rc- many .anga .' a Oil} 1 it it is hard to say how far their charac- ters fit in with this new idea. For “I wish to state that I used But- doc'rg Blood Bitters for Erysipelas in my face and general run down state of my health. I tried many rem- edies but all failed to cure. I then tried B.B.B. Two bottles nearly cured me and four bottles compietcly cured me.” inszance, Nero loved the scent of [0583, whether distilled or from the greshly-cut flowers; ‘Louis XIV. de- lighted in the perfume of orange flowers; while Richelieu liked a differ- 0n: scent in each ot the rooms; the Em- press Josephine soaked her things in musk; and Napoleon is said to have °mpzied a whole bottle of eau-de-Colo- 839 over his clothes when he was dres- ‘ed 1, Victor Hugo rejoiced in wild flow- "81 Alexandre Dumas loved the flow- AMES CARSON, Durham, Licensed J Auctioneer for the County of Grey Land Valuabor, Bailiff ot the 2nd Division C 22m Sales and 3:1 other matters promptly . e22 2ded toâ€"higheat references furnished 2.; C(lflired. Most people are aware how serious 3. disease Erysipelas is. Can't rout it out of the system with ordinary remedies. Like Other dangerous blood diseases, though, B. B. B. can cure it every time. Read what Rachel Patton, Cape Chin, Bruce Co., Ont, says: A great many well-known men and women have been fond of different seems. as is historipally known, but UHJ.\ QUEEN, ORCHARDVILLE’, has 3} resumed his old business, and is prepa: edzc. {can any amount of money on real estate Old mortgages paid ofl‘ on the mostliberalterms. Fire and Life Insur- ancesetfectedin the beat Stock Companies 5: lowest rates. Correspondence to Orchardville, P. 0.. or a. call solicited ) A RP- 1S'i 1‘ R. Solicitcr. etc . McIntyres ) block. Lower Town. Coliection and Agency Drompmy attended to. Searches made 33. ghe Kbgiail‘j Uflice. £731, GH \lachAY, Durnam, Land Valu- ator and Licensed Auctioneer for the County of Grey. Sales promptly attended :0 and notes cashed. {rug myrtle, and Charles Dickens ldowd white. jasmine. ' The “Chronicle" is the only l'gâ€"rage Locai. Ncwsparer m “vsn‘rn (:ntarao. Gordon's new jewellery store, Lower 5“ ARRISTER. Solicitor. etc. Office over own. â€" v.5 ny amount, of money to loan ut. 5 per cent. an hrm property. Office and Residence at short distance cast of Knapps Hotel, LambLon b‘ueer, Lower Town. Office hours from 12 to 2 o’clock.- Officez-Flrst door east of the Dur- harm Pharmacb Caldcr's Block. _ iesidence.â€"First door west of. the Post. Office. Durham. interest allowed on Sewing 3 Btnk deâ€" posits of $1 and u pwarda. Prompt a: {cation and every facility afford- ed customers living at a distance. J. KELLY. Agent. m1 pm Up . . Reserve Fund . “codes In an principal pointajn On- tario, Queuec, Manitoba, United States and England. A general Banking business transact- , Drafts issued and collections made on all points. Deposits received and in- are“ allowed at current rates. This dangerous Blood Disease always cured by Burdock Blood Bitters. AMES BROWN, Issuer of Marriage Licenses,Durham Oat. (3’3 r--O-- andaid Bank of Eanad‘é’ R. J AM I ESOX. Durham. DR. T. G. HOLT, L. D. S. ta] Authorized . fiAVINGS BANK. Durham Agency. Head (mice, Toronto. G. P. REID, Manager. G. LEFROY MCCAUL. FAVORITE PERFUMES Medical Directorv. Legal Dzrectory. J. P. TELFORD. Miscellaneous . DENTIST. WHAT I FOUND IN THE MINE Signed, Mâ€"â€"-a.nd Wâ€", I calied at the aboveâ€"named. place at the hour appointed, and met; two Eng- lish gentlemen, to whom I introduced myself. After we had exchanged greet- ings, Mr. Mâ€"-â€"- asked me- if I would go for them to 11150 County, California, to examine the Govebold and Napoleon mines, and report as to their value, location, and feasibility as properties upon which to expend. capital. I said that I would. Thereupon I set a price upon». my services, which: was promptly accepted. Without delay, I packed up a camping and mining out- fit, ani was off, by way of Mojave and through Mojave desert. \Vhile the preparations for my de- scent into the shaft were being com- plated; I could hear mysterious noises proceeding from the dark'hole. Peb- bles and small pieces from the ledge fell in and rattled down, finally to strike on the bottom. I could not imagine a reason why,- theqe things should fall in, and asked one of the man What he thought the noises were, or what they indicated. He said he thought they were made by wood rats or kangaroo rats, which were numer- ous about the place. The other man said that undoubtedly lizards were the cause. Their explanations, however, failed to give me entire satisfaction; I thought of other far more objection- able things which might be inhabit- ing the old. deserted works. It was exceedingly hot down there in that desert country. I had start-~ ed to go down the mine in a silk neg- lige. suirt and stout overalls, but on second thought 1 put on a heavy brown duck coat, lined with blanket wool. The overalls were made of the same material. I then put on a pair of heavy buckskin gloves, took my pick, got into the raw-hide tub, and TOLD THE MEN TO LOWER AWAY. “Well, they lowered with a venge- ance. Instead of letting me down slowly, controlling the Windlass by holding to the spokes on each end of the rickety old affair, they employed a brake, which they had rigged up for the purpose. It consisted of a rope wound around the roller. This, how- ever, was not strong enough. or else it was too stiff to bind or tighten. At any rate, it failed to give sufficient friction on the woodâ€"so down, down, a cowhide tub, stpu? and iarge, and, of course, portable. \ ‘ « HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE OF OLIVER ROBERTS, MINING ENGINEER. \Ve bought a iiiOit. rope, 3-4 in. in diameter, and secured grub, anda larg- er camping outfit, all of! which we put into the waggon, with a ten and twenty-five gallon water-barrel the country before us being almost; entire- ly without springs, creeks, or even rains, and good water therefore almost wholiy lacking. \Ve struck out( from Mojave, and by the first night made After breakfast that morning I took a look around the locality and sur- rounding mountains. The men showed me a. tunnel which had. caved. in. It had formerly tapped the shaft of the mine which I was to investigate.‘ The cave had filled it in completely from floor to roof; we therefore climbed the hill, at the top of which was the shaft, Here we found an oldv Windlass of an- cient and primitive construction. It had two sticks thrust through holes in each end, the extremitiea sticking out like {our spokes in a wheel. This sort of Windlass is much more difficult to control than the type on which a crank is employed. This mechanism we put together, erected over the open mouth of the shaft; and then braced it strongly in position. Finally the rope was made. secure and wound on, after which we fastened to the end General Oliver Roberts. 1833, Broadway, San Francisco, California. Dear Sir ,â€"Will you please call at: 10 p.m.. Palace Hotel, room £37, on busi- ness of imLporumce? 2111.! a waggon at Mojave. They were to accompany me on the- trip, and to assist. me in every way possible to ex- plore and investigate the mines. " nesrcndcd 300 Feet Into an Ennted luneâ€"- l‘ougut for Ills urc With a Vast Swarm o; Batsâ€"ll ndreds 0r Rattlesnakes lo l'omend With-4h. Roberts Sun» In. Did Not Explore Further. Lies: January I received a note Which read as follows:â€" The mines mentioned are situated on the east side of the; Panamint range of mountains. facing the famous ands' ter- ri'ole Death Valleyâ€"a country well known to me irom years of residence and travel in that portion of the State 1 “as to meet tuo me n with horses l‘nuian Wells. The men day braughu us to Shep. herd’s Station, in Shepherd’s Canon. 011 the day that. followed; we had a long. hot ride across Panamint Valley, and into \Vild Rose Canon. That night we arrived at the old coo} camp where I had been so many years before. At this place we lei: the Waggon, a distance of twelve miles, over to- wards Death Valley. \V'hen night came again We were at the mines, where we camped until morning. All up to the tune had been comparatively easy sailingâ€"fatiguing, certainly, un- der the blistering sun, but} yet not at- tended by any part1cular discom- forts to one accuswmed to the moun- tains and barren country, PACKED BOTH HORSES, and warmed on fom to finish the tripâ€"- THE DURHAM CHRONICLE, January 11, 1900. â€"â€"‘w meâ€"i: seemed with added fury. They struck me repeatedly in. the face, and once more put out the candle. It was hideous, I tell you. Their mouseâ€"like squeaks and the dying rattle of the snake beneath my heel nearly froze me to death. 51 could no: fight such a cloud of foesâ€"it was all Icould do to protect_myself a little from}. their flap- â€"- â€"-â€"---__1_ £13.; g’igés and blind hurtling against my cold face. Now; at last. I couid see daylight. “1’ “WA ’ Lug Vub‘bb “u“ buv \1 Ir dun-OD â€". my nerves never depaned .fgr a sec- ond. But the bucket still moved up- ward, slowly, slpwly. _ - i I I now arrived in the beit of the bats again. and such a mess Idon’t think any man ever got into before. The erratic winged creatures. heat about m- monster, about 31-23 ft. long, finally got into the bucket with me. He. must have reached out too far, when striking, and fallen in. I quick- ly saamped my foot upon. him and ground it down and held it there; I put my whole weight upon it, and got him jusc behind the head, where he could not. move to strike. . His body writhed about my ankles; his skin slipped on his body, beneath my weight. It was A SICKENING SENSATION to feel that awful slippery form under my heel; the chill a_nd the‘crfawling of I shouted again and again for the men to hoist, for I was being over- whelmed and choked by the vast swarm of creatures. But instead, down and down I went. The men evidently could not hear my cries. I held tightly to the rope with one hand and tried to get a match to light the candle, but the bats new against my face and hands, striking their sharp little claws into my flesh. I was com- pletely covered by the evil-smelling an} nausating crtatures. Th. re. w, re thousands of them, which I tried to fight off from me. BUT NOW CAME THE WORST. I was sh0t down until I was entire- ly through the bat “line” or “belt,” and was still descending. Kneeling down in the cow-skin tub, or bucket, 1 got out a match and relighted the candle. Instantly a tlozen or more rattlesnakes set up their fearful and unmistakable sound of warning. I say a dozen, but there must have been hundreds of these deadly reptiles in that old shaft. Years before there had been good mining done, and,there- fore, the shaft was timbered up in this lower portion where the rock was loose. Now, on each of the shelf-like cross-timbers I saw one or more of the snakes. They had crawled up, I suppose, trying to get out; but it is a well-known fact to all miners and hunters of the Far \Vest that rattle- snakes climb even the trees, whether necessity for such a course exists or dawn I «rent into the apparently bot~ tomless pit. I shouted up for the men to lower more slowly. At the first sound of my voice, however, an enormous flock of bats started suddenly up the shaftâ€" so thick about me that my candle was instantly extinguished. Then came a fight. The situation was well calcul- ated to appal the stoutest. But at last the bucket began to as- cendâ€"slowlyâ€"slowly. Oh, it was mad- dening! I felt as if it would reverse and go down at any moment lower than ever. I crouched in its cow-hide depths and struggled with all my pow- er of will to endeavor to make the men hoist faster. The slowness with which the thing went up was enough to make a man go crazy. The ordeal I had already undergone before was now repeated. I was continually being struck at by the snakes left on the timbers. I was hit time after time-â€" so much so, indeed, that my duck coat was wet in many places with the pois- on of these horrid reptiles. The thing would have been horrible enough God knows, had it happened above ground in the light of day, But down in that awful pitâ€"l Finally, my descent was not so swift then the speed began perceptibly to slacken. Soon I stopped altogether, suspended in the shaft. I could just see above me a speck of light. It did not appear larger than my hand. was stifling. Only those who have ever smelt rattlesnakes in a horrid, close, writhing mass can realize what this dreadful odor is. I was sick and faint with it, and the prospect of be- ing lowered helplessly into the Very midst of this den of snakes was some- thing awful. I fuiriy shivered with terror at the were thought. Now, as I went down among this rattling, ghastly, mass, a big fellow struck, from his position on (i timber, and fastened his fangs in my sleeve, Creeping with horror in every nerve, I caught him quickly by the back 0f the head, tore him off, and dropped him down the pit. I heard him strike the bottom, and knew that I was not far above it, by the promptness with which the sound came back. Two or three other rattlers had struck in a similar manner, but had fallen short of their mark and gone down. One struck me, or rather my cost, at the small of my back, but the coat was loose, so that the snake failed to pene- trate to the skin, and he finally fell off and down to the bottom of the hole. By this time the sound of rattling had increased a hundred-fold; the fall- ing snakes having arouSedeountless numbers of their feiiows at the bot- tom of the shaft. The bucket now stopped abruptly. I was suspended there 300 ft. below the surface and about 15 It. only from the snake-in- habited bottom of the mine. Such rat- tiing no one ever heard before; and t e I shook lhe rope in desperation; I shouted and kept shouting, and shak- ing more and more frantically. I felt as. though I were frozen, so cold and horrified had my whole body become. It seemed as if nothing could save me from shooting down that last paltry 15 ft. to a. death from which it would be absolutely impossible L0 escape. STENCH OF THE SNAKES The men killed three of the rattlers which were hanging to the bottom of the bucket, and I guess the other fel- low killed himself, for he broke loose and fell down the shaft again, which was more than the 308 ft. deep which we had calculated. I now learned that the only reason why I had not been lowered entirely down to the bottom, among the deadly and disgusting mass of snakes inhabiting “the place, was that the rope had been all paid out, and therefore could not let' me down farther. It had held me suspended not more than 10 ft. or 15 ft. from the floor of the place; a distance which I was well able to judge from the many sounds of falling matterâ€"animate and inanimateâ€"I heard while in and could make myself heard. . I shouted to the men td hoist quickly. The two miners did their very best, and soon had me up at the top, or within a few feet at it. They now discovered, and I also saw, four large rattlesnakes hanging to the bottom edge of the leather tub. ‘ These had struck at me, and had got their fangs caught in the raw .hide in such a man- ner that they could not get away. _ \Vitb the butt-end of my pick I smashed the head of the fellow I had under my foot, and then I was hoisted to the level of the top, where I crawled out of my cow-hide bucket) on to the dump. The sun was blistering hot, but I shivered from head to foor, and was so nauseated that I vomited for an hour. For a long time I lay upon the earth in the hot glare of the sun trying to get warm. My flesh; was as cold as ice and my face, they told me, as white as a piece of marble. Had the rope been 20ft. longer, what would have become of me I do not not know, for the two men on top would have continued to let me down, and I should have been landed in the thick of a living mass of venomous and enraged serpents, at the number of wih oh I can only guess. ' .After I had got over my fright and had begun to regain my self-control, and my blood had again begun to flow through my veins, I asked the men why they did not hoist when I shouted up. They answered that they had not heard a sound, and that furthermore it was all they had, been able to do to stand at the edge of. the shaft when the bats came out. The cloud of the creatures, they told me, was; so thick. as it poured from the: mouth of the hole that it was likekso much smoke. Then the sun had made the bats blind, so that they flew against the men, and battered them as they had done me, and all but made them blind them- selvet. for a time. My assistants. in- deed, had been unable to see anything but bats, and could hardly control the windlass, assailed as they were by the winged myriads. They did not dare, at the time, to pull me up again through the mass. but thought it would be best to let me drOp below the belt where the creatures lived. They did not, of course, know, of the other Still more fearful danger. N, G, J. MCKECHNIE. My adventure put an end; to all ex- ploration of that particular mineâ€"by me, at any rate. The rorpe was pulled off the Windlass; the outfit was pack- ed, and my coat thrown: away on ac- count of its being covered with the poison of the snakes. The venom looks very much like albumen, but is very thin and vs atery. The explanation of the presence of the snakes in the mine, is that about the shaft which I descended, until hoisting out the rock and‘ ore became too difficult, when they went down the mountain side and drove in the tun- nel which tapped the shaft at the bot- tom. The .tunnel was completed as planned, but the miners found that the ore was too, poor or “low-grade,” THAT DREA DFUL POSITION. We take this Opportunity of thanking our customers for past, patronage, and we are convinced that the new system will merit a, continuance or the same. We beg to inform our customers and the public generally that we have adopted the Cash System, which means Cash or its Equiv- alent, and that our motto will be “Large Sales and Small Profits.” Adopted by to warrant their pursuing the work further. At that time 1ch3 Ring. facili- ties were almost wholly hating, so that rich are was the only sort worth taking from the earth. The prospec- tors therefore abandoned the mine, which thereupcn became the den of snakes, scorpions, tarantulas, and sundry other denizens of the rook and brush. with which the country swarms- After many years the tunnel caved in, imprisoning the snakes and anything else which had made the pit their home Doubtless creatures less tens. eious than are the rattlers perished, but the snakes fed on. the young hate that fell into the shaft, and there the serpents have been breeding and flour- ishing ever since. _ Lieut. Meiklejuhn, of the Gordon». 81ml: Over Eight Times. Possibly, writes former Major Tamp- lin, in the Cape Times, the real hero of Elandslaagte will prove to be Lieut. Meiklejohn, of the Gordon Highland- ers. I weigh 250 lbs.; and had. I lost'fmy nerve and fallen to the bottom of the pit those snakes would have had enough to eat and keep them alive for two years. The trip down the shaft did not turn my hair grey, but if anything like that ever happens again, I believe it will become as white as snow. I returned to San Francisco and re- ported to my English friends that I had made the trip and foundâ€"the big- gest rattlesnake mine in the country! This young officer, one of the “Dar- gai Boys," helped the charge in an en- deavor to embrace the Boer flank. Supported by a party of Gordons, says that paper, Meiklejohn- waved‘ his sword and cried out to his party has- tily gathered round him. But the Boer ranks were alert, and poured in a deadly fire on the gallant band. Lieut. Meiklejohn received three bullets through his upper right arm, one through the right forearm, a finger blown away, a bullet through the left thigh, two bullets through the hel- met, a "snick” in the neck, and his sword and scabbard were literally shot to pigcss. He has by now lost“ his right arm. but. happily, being left-handed, we may hope for his continuance as the valiant commissioned officer he is. ‘PU'I‘ T0 TEST. Both in the northern and western islands of Scotland the natives have some peculiar customs unfamiliar to the dwellers of the main land. One of these, known as the "marriage test." is practiced in the island of St. Kilda, where the population barely exceeds a hundred. The desire. among the is- landers to increase this number does not seem ,0 be exceptionally strong, and every man before he is deemed an evolution with no little bodily risk. The St. Kildans are, of course, adept dock climbers, and the aspirant for matrimony is therefore subjected to the test of balancing himself on one leg on a narrow ledge overhanging a precxpice, bending his body at the same time in order to hold the foot of 'his other leg in his hands. If found lack- 151g in courage the maiden withdraws her betrothal, and should the man fall over the ledge it is presumed that, in his case, he will be disqualified. HERO OF ELANDSLAAGTE.