The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1876-04-08
Bravery of a Priest.

That was brave act of The Catholic
priest Father Adams, of Brooklyn).
who, seeing a young woman attempt to
commit suicide by drowning, jumped
from ferry boat and rescued her.
When the boat had got into the middle
of the river the woman darted through
the crowd that stood on the rear deck
and leaped over the chains into tho
water. In an instant all was confusion
on the deck. women shrieked and men
were bewildered. Then it was that
Father Adams pushed through tho
throng and sprang into the river. The
tide was swift and the drowning woman
had drifted far away from the boat. The
man. with strong, skillful, strokes
pushed straight out into the current,
and caught her just as she was sinking
for the last time. Both were exhausted.
there was no hope of succor from the
ferry boat, and they battled in vain
with the tide. Just rs ii seemed as if
both must be drowned, they were pulled
on board fainting. They were resusci-
tated with difficulty, and then were car
ried to the shore. at was an act of
charity said Father Adams, d" to save
the woman. Nay, more than that, it
was an act of duty to save her. for our
church teaches that one who dies sui
eide may never reach Heaven. / saw
this poor creature in her effort to take
the life which God had given her, and
felt that as there was Il probability of
my saving her ought to try to do it.
| saw, too, that the men on the boat
were paralyzod, and that the womans
lfe-her very soul, indeed-were for
feited should she drown. / did only
what was right-what was my plain
duty-and am sorry that so simple
deed should have brought mo so prom
inently before the public"
A BEAUTIFUL Crittcn-
den, of Kentucky. was once engaged in
defending man who had been indicted
for capital olf'ense. After IN eiabor-
ate and powerful argument, no closed
his effort with the following beautiful
and striking allcgory:
When God in his eternal council con
ceived the thought of mans creation,
he called to him the three ministers
who wait constantly upon the throne
Justice. Truth and Mercy-and adj
dressed them !: "Shall we make man ?"
then said Justice, "Oh, God. make him
not, for he will trample upon thy laws"
Truth answered also. "Oh, God mako
him not, for no will pollute thy sanctu
aries" But Mercy dropped upon her
knees, looking mp through her tears,
and exclaimed, con. God, make him
/ will watch over him through all the
dark paths which he may have to tread.
Then God made man, and said to him,
"Oh. man. thou art the child of Mercy,
go and deal with thy brother"
A PROFITABLE industry i'll the vicinity
of Cape May, New Jersey, is the mining
OF ancient cedar logs in the mire of the
swamps. In these swamps. says the
Monmouth Democrat. are buried enor-
nous trees at depth of from three to
ten feet. The logs lie one across an
other, and there is abundant evidence
that they are the growth of successive
forests. The mode of searching for the
logs is as follows An iron rod is
thrust into the soft mud, over which,
often, the water lies. After several
soundings the workman is able to tell
how the tree lies, which is its root-end,
and how thick it is. He then contrives
to get chip from the tree, and so de-
terinines at onco whether it is worth the
labor of mining. a pit is now dug,
into which the water soon flows, filling
it up. The tree is then cut across with
1. saw at regular intervals, each station
floating to the surface. A layer of such
trees is found covered by another layer,
and these again by another, and wen a
third, while living trees may still he
growing over all.