Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-06-13
Duck Night at Ewell's.

Duck night at Ewell's store down On
the Virginia coast near the North Caro-
lima line is locally famous in the duck.
ing season as the special night in the
week when the storekeeper is at home to
the duck hunters of the region. Ewell
buys ducks of the hunters, paying for
the game in goods from his store and
shipping his purchases to an up coast life
saving station, whence they find thei1
way to the markets of Baltimore, Phila'
delphia and New York.
AS Ewell waits behind his counter
with lantern the ducl1ers, rude look
ing fellows of the beach comber type,
drop i'll one by one and sit round i'll the
gloom. Ewell hangs the game i'll cold
room at the rear Of the store and credits
each ducker with the agreed value of
his ducks. AS each transaction is made
the QUICKER recalls something that he
needs from the merchants stock, and
when he has received the article the
price is debited against his credit. The
QUICKER then relapses to the nearest bar
rel or box and waits until some other
needed article shall occur to his mind
He then makes the new demand upon
the merchant, has a new debt placed
against his credit and again sinks back
into the gloom.
After fully two hours of this sort of
thing those who wish the balance Of
their credit paid in cash receive their
dues, and everybody cautiously repairs
10 l,o1Ioxrr howl INV xxrha,.a
sinners from over the North Carolina
line are waiting with q fiery article of
untaxed liquor, and the heart of the
QUICKER is made glad. -Philadelphia
Press.
The Peruvians' Sacred Number.
The Peruvians cared nothing for any
of the supposed mystic properties of eli
Their three, five or seven. To them the
four was sacred, and around it they ell.
twined the main features of all their re-
ligious ceremonies and queer beliefs
They believed the earth to be square
divided into four parts and suspended
from the heavens by four cords-one at
each of the four corners. All of theil
cities were quartered by four principal
streets running from a square in the cen.
ter. They held four annual feasts in
honor of the moon, the ''silver sister oil
the sum-"
To them eternity was to be divided
into four periods of time, each composed
of four times 1900 years, and at the end
of each of these cycles the sun is to be
blotted out of existence. They prayed
to the four winds, or to I'VE gods that
dwell at the four corners of the earth
To them the rains came from four enor-
nous heavenly turtles that vomited
dampness, and the four winds from the
lungs of the four gigantic caryatides
which stand at the four cardinal points
of paradise. The above are but small
portion of the tours alluded to in the
legends of the Incas.-St. Louis Repub.
lie.
The Trade In Maine Ashes.
"Maine burns more frewood to keep
warm winters than any other eastern
state" says Maine man who has been
in the business. 1.-THE wood is of better
quality and makes better ashes than can
be collected in Massachusetts or New
Hampshire, and theresa sharp demand
for Maine ashes in the middle and
southern states for agricultural pur
poses. Great quantities are used in
Massachusetts Also There are num-
Der of dealers in Boston who make a
business of collecting ashes through
Maine for shipment. Carloads and car
loads Of them go out of the state by rail
yearly, and shiploads are sent to Florida
and Georgia, where they want the best
hard wood article. They send north phos
phate rock, and we send them ashes,
and the trade is benefit to both sec
lions.
There are some parts of Maine de-
nominated prime by the dealers, be-
cause they ale in hard wood, maple and
birch regions and do not burn much solt
wood. In some of these localities there
Is sharp competition in the business.
Leachcd ashes from the potash and soap
factories used to be shipped mostly, but
they've gone out, and dry ashes arc
wanted. So much is this the case that
one potash man | knew, a dishonest fell
low, dried his leached ashes and shipped
them as unleached. The potashes and
local soap factories of Maine are run
under by the demand for dry ashes and
are going out of business. Probably the
Gay is not far distant when dealers in