The weekly Shasta courier., 1873-03-29

in the horse car, to avoid publicity and spare
your feelings"
But this gracious consideration was IN
graciously received by Mac, who was re-
solved to stick to his horse 1t was g
tempting animal, and those were con6sca-
ting times. So he was marched on, still
with this extraordinary escort of cavalry
and infantry, and followed by an excited
crowd, to the office OF General Anger, then
commanding at Washington. There they
found Colohel Taylor, aide-de-camp, very
polite officer, who said: Well, Colonel
what can l do for you?" By this time
Mac was tired of making explanations and
asseverations, SO only answered, II am a
prisoner; l don't know for what. | have
nothing to say" Colonel Taylor, not know
| ing what to do with him, sent him, still with
| his escort, to the provost-marshal's Office
When put in charge of the officers of that
| department, he again indignantly demanded
| to know for what he was held in arrest, and
marched about from pillar to post in this
| ridiculous manner. Here he hardly met
with such gentle courtesy as was shown
him at the last halting place. He was ad-
vised to refrain from asking questions or
making remarks-good advice, probably
but the form Of speech was a little obiec-
tionable. 1t was" You keep your mouth
shut" Then the blood of a freeborn. loyal
American citizen was up in our friend Mac,
and be answered " No ninety three dollars
i month man, no military upstart. like you.
has right to order me to keep my mouth
shut l will speak when and as 1 please,
and ! again demand an explanation of this
outrageous treatment
This produced some sensation, but both
resentment and remonstrance were in vain.
| Officers and men continued to crowd around
the prisoner some abusing him, some jok-
ing and quizzng him.
The next actor that appeared on the
scene was courier, booted and spured. and
| covered with dust, who came hurrying 10,
and handed some papers to the officer in
command. While his dispatches were be-
ing examined, this courier. who was Vir-
ginia scout, proceeded to closely inspecs
Mr.. Mcclure. He then conferred with the
| officers, who again came about the prisoner.
addressed him as colonel" or general"
asked about the state of his wounds, and
advised him to "own up as every ,ody re-
cognized him, and his "little Mcclure
game was played out" He received all
these graceful pleasantres in sullen, almost
stupe6ed silence, convinced at last of the fact
that his tormentors were too much for him,
aud that the day IS run of luck was against
him. At length there came another stir
the cavalry and infantry began to form, and
poor Mac learned that he was about to be
marched to the old Capitol prison. This, in
the delicate state of his health, was a little
appalling, and he was about to try a few
more desperate expostulations, when a
friend, an officer of high rank in the War
Department, happened in, recognized him,
swore stoutly to his identity, and released
him on the spot-though dozen men had
been ready to take solemn oath that he
wasn't he, but quite another mana most
desirable parsonage to capture and to hold
was reminded of this little story, by a
personal - which appeared in one of our
morning papers week or 80 ago.
General MOSeby, late Of the Confeder-
ate service, is in topn, and stopping at the
ST. James"
1t was this gallant rebel raider that Mr.
Mcclure was taken for on that spring day
when he went on his memorable pleasure
ride ever into Virgina-a ride which for
misadventures and MISUNDERSTANDING can
only be compared with the immortal eques-
TRAN excursion of John Gilpin to Edm0n-
ton and beyond. 1t was altogether curl
Gus case of mistaken identity, and the strang-
er whom our friend first encountered on
that eventful morning was probably the
man who informed on him and made all the
trouble Christian Union.
ToBACCo.-Tobacco having become a
prominent agricultural interest in the Con-
necticut Valley, Hartford paper has awak-
ened to the Importance of its influence upon
the intellect as well as upon the pocket.
The writer assumes that ten millions of CT
CARS are smoked annually in the United
States, and knows that 1924 persons are
engaged in the manufacture of cigars, and
that they employ II ,49l men also that the
production and use of tobacco are increas-
ing from year to year in greater ratio than
the population. These observations would
not require any great research but the eff
tects Of tobacco upon the intellect are not
always to be estimated by figures in a cen
sus. Instructors in our schools and colleges
are united in their testimony as to the eff
fects of the inordinate use of tobacco upon
the young men under their care, and medi-
cal testimony confirms their condemnation
of the practice. An additional con6rma-
ton comes from an unexpected quarter. Re
Gently, at the Polytechnic School in Paris,
one of the professors inquired into the hab-
its of one hundred and sixty students there,
and then made comparison between their
devotlons to study and to smoke. He found
that one hundred and two were smokers and
fifty-eight never used, or said they never
used, the noxious weed. He then found
that in each grade of the school the students
who did not smoke outranked those who
did smoke, and that the scholarship of the
the smokers steadily deteriorated as the
smoking continued. On account of several
trustworthy reports of such a nature the
Minister Of Public Instruction in France,
issued circular to the directors of colleges
and schools, forbidding tobacco to students,
as injuriousto physical and intellectual de-
velopment. But writer in a Paris medi-
cal journal complains that the use of tobac-
co will not probably cease entirely so long
as Sunday schools furnish meerschaum
pipes as prizes to the best scholars.
Our Sunday schools have not gone quite
so far as this, although too many Of the old
er boys are running their health by smoking
and chewing-N p Observer.
One OF the most singular of the numer
Gus products of California is fig brandy.
FROM seven trees there were produced
last year two hundred pounds of dried
ngs, and twenty-five gallons of brandy.
he brandy was sold at FIVE dollars gal
Ion. and the dried figs for twenty-five