The Russellville Democrat., 1882-05-11

that would found and beautily al home, hundreds of homeless young men. Here and there, along the banks of our rivers may be found q ranche, isolated in the extreme, and having as tenants some half q dozen men with perhaps chinaman who does the cooking for the outfit The majority find nucleous or rallying point in the capitol city or in the va rious mining camps high up in the galcna belt. The winters are long, aud that which can afford means of killing time until the season for prospecting arrives, is hailed as the one thing needful.
 To meet this want salnnns spring up, and the youth, against whom i society closes it's doors, is.forced to act the part of a passive spectator, or whiles away the time studying the intricate mysteries of the many games of chance, which, night an'i day, are open to all who may wish to skirmisn with "the tiger" In connection with this statement l would here remark. that the temper a3ce organizations of this place, have done, and are still doing noble work. Each of them are strongly represented and work together in perfect harmony.
 Of religious denominations we have, the Presbyterian, Episcopal, Catholic, Baptist and Methodists. Each have good substantial church es, with far congregations. The NJ. E. Church takes the lead in point of strength, and I might say, in doing good, for it work is not con fined by any limit that could name. Of the present pastor, Rev J.. McKean and his predecessor, Rev. A. J. Joslyn, who for three years occupied it's pulpit, much might be said concerning the vast amoant of work performed by them in this field, where, seemingly the harvest was never greater, or the lahorers fewer.
 The public sbhool house, just being ompleted, IS said to rank among the finest on the Pacific coast. The Capitol buildings, now under headway, will be completed some time during the summer. For this last, Uncle Sam furnishes the shek els and in justice to our aged rea tive, will say that he has come down with the stamps very liberally.
 It is thought that, the railroad will make this point sometime dur ing this fall. In view of this, and the additional fact that the Wood River mines continle to doom up" in the scale of of estimated value, a general impetus has been given to all branches of industry, agricultural and otherwise.
 A sad case of suicide occurred last Sunday. Once a successful merchant in New York City, with capital of $70, ,000, his friends were legion. Re verses handed him over to whisky, and in the uneven game of life, death soon turned up the winning card. A peice of paper, lying near the body, contained verse from Mrs. Hemans, Leaves have their time to fall," &c., written by the hand that had once held the fairest laurels in the gift of Edinburg College. The grave-dig- ger and his assistant, who laid him awad III the potter's field, performed the last sad office for him, as well pei haps as would those, who, in his ''better days" would have stood, with uncovered heads, around his silver mounted casket, while the man of God pronounced the words, Earth to earth, and dust to dust"
 Last winter 1 met and conversed with an old pioneer, Mir. Wagnon; now resident of Oregon. Pioneers on this coast are plenty, but when he began to rake up reminesences of bear fights Tn Arkansaw, before l was born, and spoke of so many of our old landmarks, long since level before the progressive present, not forgetting to tell me what time he had, helping Woodruff up the bank with the running gear of the "Old Reliable" (Gazette) when she was first established in Little Rock, I was forced to conclude that here was pioneer indeed, in whom there was no guile, but any amount of statis- tics which in the hand of Opie Read or the adjective singing Donan, might be transformed into "copy" that would stir the lachrymal depths of any editors heart.
 If this communication is too long "boil it down." and wishing the DEM ocRAT, &c., &c., am, Tn the lava beds of Idaho, as in the post oak flats of Arkansaw, ever yours, I,-pp,.pr