University of South Carolina Libraries
?HK SUMTER WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." . THE TKUE SOUTHRON. Established june. 1266 Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. New Series-Vol. XV. Xo 19. Published Every Wednesday, --BY G-, Os teen5 SUMTER, S. C. TKRMS : Two Dollars per annum-in advaoce ADVERTISEMEKT: O?e Square 6rst insertion.Si 00 Every subsequent insertion. 50 Contracts for three months, or longer will be made at reduced rates. All communications which subserve private interests will becharged for as advertisements. Obituaries and tributes of respect will be charged for. Serious Blow to the Canal Report of the Commission to Examine toe Nicaraguan Route Says tho Project is Impracticable on Present Data. From The New York Herald A serious blow bas been dealt the Nicaraguan Canal Company's projc-ct for the construction of a waterway across the Isthmus by the report of the Nicaraguan Commission. Inevitable delay and a furthur and more through investigation of thc entire subject are declared to be necessary be? fore even the engineering feasibility of any canal across Nicaragua can be de? cided upon. I am able to give to give to the pub? lic through the Herald, for the first time, a review of the contents and the report o? the Nicaraguan Canal Com? mission This report is now lying on the President's desk, and is being con? sidered by bim in connection with his auoual message to Congress. The report is at such variance with the numerous rumors and prediction? which have from time to time been published concerning it, that it will cause great surprise and disappointment among those who have boped for agen eraily favorable report, and who have, therefore, placed credence in these ru? mors, which usually stated "on the highest authority" that the Commission favored the route proposed by the com nany, and ?laced the cost of the cana! kt about ??10,000,000 The report points out that it is neither practicable nor advisable lo at? tempt the construction of the Nicaragua Canal upon the data at presentavailabie, and that the undertaking would be fraught with hazards too obvious to disregard That the necessary knowledge may be had of the physical and topographi? cal conditions affecting the construction and maintenance of a caoal across Nicaragua, upon which to form a fina! judgment as to the feasibility, perma? nence and cost, the commissiori recom? mends an appropria'ioo by Congress ol ?350,000 fer extensive additional sur? veys and examinations, covering a period of eighteen months. With the data at hand, however, the commission makes a provisional esti? mate of cost of $133,472,893, or near? ly double that of the Maritime Cana] Company's unconditional estimate ol ?69.893,660. The commissi " makes its estimate "provisional,1' for the comur.ssicners say the existing data are inadequate as a basis for estimating the cost of many structures Some portions of the work may cost more ; others less The report says the official estimate by the company of $69,803,660, is in sufficint for the work ; that ''in several importaut cases, the quantities must be greatly increased, and tn numerous cases the uuit prices do not make pro? per allowance for the difference io cost of work between the United States and Nicargua." The general trend or the entire re? port is certainly very unfavorable tc the canal company. The commission refrains from any direct criticism of thc company's prospectus, but its report shows that certain features, which the company has persisted in assuring the publich, through Congress, were known to be absolutely safe aud feasible, if put io execution might jeopardize the prac? ticability of the whole system, and pos? sibly destroy forever the hope of a caoal by mears of 'ere San Juan River aod Lake Nicaragua * For instance, the Maritime Canal Company bas proposed to construct ia Ochoa, on the San Juan River, twenty nine miles from Grey town, on the Caribbean, what is known as a "rock filT dam to hold the lake and rivet level at a navigable elevation, and di? vert the line thence from the river ta the sea by a canal in excavating. This has, io fact, been one of the foregone certainties of the project, and the com? pany has told Congress that this enor? mous structure could be erected for $977,273. The Caoal Commission says a " rock fill'' dam cannot be built in Ochoa foi less than $4/000,000. It also shows thar, the dam, at anyrare, is a most, j hazardous venture, bur the Commis- J sioners have so lirtle infoncatioo as to j thenature of the site of t he dam that they ? caouor. as engineers, recommend any | sort "f a structure at this point, al- j though they admit ?he necessity for the ! success of the company's scheme ot a J great dara in this locality The Ochoa dam is referred to more tbao once in the report. In fact, it seems to be the privotal point of the entite question-"the keystone of the whole project," the members of the Commission consider it Numerous in .? tan ces of successes and failures of "rock-filf dams are cited, and the les? son drawn therefrom seems to leave the only problem to be solved io connec? tion with t'oe Ochoa dam that as to the uature of the foundation. The Commission finds toa*, tho com? pany has made few boring?* in tbs bed of the river where it proposes to build this colossal structure and that for lack of suitable tools the boiings made reached such a shallow depth as to mak*1 rhein of ?ttle practical value in determining the character of the foun? dation on which the dam is to rest. Members of the commission cannot, as engineers, commit themfelves favorably to the constructing of such an unpre? cedented work, no matter how inviting and advantageous its successful com? pletion would appear, without, a thor? ough knowledge of the physics of the sire. Such an examination might prove the construction of thc dams to be practicable. Without such an ex? amination, the Commission regard tho erection of the dam as unsafe and dan? gerous, and it calls attention to the possibility of a heavy flood demolishing the structure and releasing such a head of water as to wash Greytowo into the sea. The conclusions of the report are eighteen in mumber, and are :* "The entrance to the harbor at. Grey towu, as proposed by the company, is too near the angle of the coastline, and should be moved eastward about a mile and a half, thc present lagcon to be used as the inner harbor and connected with the entrance by a canal with a bottom width of 200 feet. The harbor throughout should be dredged to thirty feet below low water, and its depth increased to six fathoms at the entrance '.For the canal from Greytowo to Lock No. 1.-A bottom width of 100 feet, with a clear depth of thirty feet, and two intermediate and one terminal 8?diog for meeting of vessels is prefer? able to the company's cross section of 120 feet bottom width, twenty-eight feet depth and no sidings Thc loca? tion of the canal through the Benard lagoon is objectionable, and the line may probably be moved to the south? ward and straightened with advantage "L^ck No. 1 lo end of summit level, at Lock No. 3.-To reduce the lift of locks and dams in the Desceado Valley, four locks, with a maximum lift of twenty-eight feet, are preferable to three wiih a maximum life of forty feet, as proposed by the eompaoy, particu? larly in view of the increase of the summit level elevation from IOU to 112 feet above sea level. Thc company's cross section of the canal between locks has a bottom width of 120 feet. Tho Commission/ believes that the width of 100 feet, tfith sidings at proper inter? vals, should be adopted. "Eastern Divide Cur.-Additional borings on the axis of the cut, and paralled therewith, to cover propsed excavation, are necessary for informa? tion as to materials aod their distribu? tion. The vertical one-fifth to one slopes, proposed by the company, may have to be increased, and the cube thereby somewhat enlarged. "The proposed basins, from the East Divide along the San Juau River to Ochoa, called the San Francisco basin, involve long lines of very heavy embankments in clay, traversing deep mud bottoms at some points, which will call for great care in construction The width of the connecting channels now fixed by the company at 80 feet should be iocreased to 1U0 feet, uud a depth of 3.0 feet provided below elevation 100. The height of all embankments should be raised to pro? vide for a water surface elevation of 112, and the use of any portion of the embankments as weirs is inadmissible. The Turkish Situation. London, Nov. 26.-The Times will tomorrow publish a dispatch from Constantinople saying that the ministers' report on the guardship de? mands which was sent to the Sultan, was returned yesterday for revision, accompanied by a memorandum from the Sultan's first secretary, which stated that his majesty feared that the arrival of the six warships would encourage the Armenians to renew the disorders. The ministers vester day again debated their report and came to the conclusion that no reason could bc seen for ?.he Sultan's fears They again recommended compliance with the demande. Halil Rifaat Pasha the grand vizier, sought an audience with the sultan today with a view to persuading him to sanction the firmans, but he was not successful. The Constitution Finished. Thanks to tue Steering Com? mittee of the Convention. Columbia. November 26 -Tbe Con? stitutional CoDveution bas practically finished irs great work. The new organic law under which South Carolini? ans are to live for perhaps a. generation has been finally adopted, add now all that remains to be doue is for the com? mittee on order, style and revision . to take our the rough edges and make the Constitution ? symmetrical whole. Some few material changes many be accepted on this consideration to correct manifest const.itutinnal errors, but the Constitution will nece:^sariiy remain the same as at present. Suffice it to say as to the work of the Convention that every one io it has done the very best that he could, and done what he thought was for the good of the State and not for his personal or political profit. The Convention bas generally done good work, and one that will in time redound to the credit of shose who participated in it. The work today waspeihaps as important as any during the session of the Con? vention. The schedule adopted provides that the new Constitution shall go into effect on December ol, 1?95. ^The homestead law was attended again to-day In iking out the proviso that the homestead when set aside could not be waivrd or mortgaged. The best that could be done in this line wa3 to make it, so that the consent, of the husband and wife must first, be obtained The seutiou as to official costs being limited in small estates was struck out. The article on the judiciary depart? ment was adopted without material changes. The only changes as to the operation as to judicial system were in the line of perfecting the plan as agreed upon. The point of material difference was the elimination of the section which recognized lettain divorces. Senator Tillman, it will be remembered had a section incorporated recognizing certain divorces granted outside of the State, and to-day that was struck out. The fioal work of the Convention was in every way satisfactory, and there seemed to be but little confisiou in the closing boura. The committee on style and revision will remain beni and finish its work as soon aw po>ssib!e for the Convention, which is to mee: here in a week's time, next Tuesday evening -Neu:s and Courier. Bail For Mrs. Oliver. J Columbia, Nov. 27.-.Messrs. Mel? ton & Melton appeared before Associate Justice Pope to-night on behalf of Mrs. Conway B. Oliver, who is confined in jail, charged with being un accessory before the fact to the murder of her husband, and made application for bail. Solicitor Nelson represented the State and Court. Stenographer McFeat read the testimony taken at the trial of T. C. Aughtry, charged with having com? mitted the murder. Justice Pope said that ha thought bail should be allowed and fixed the amount at $1,000. Messrs. Melton said that the defendant could not give boco to that, amount. Justice Pope replied that because of the gravity of the charge he could not fix a less amount, but' if it was found that it could not be given he would hear argument as to why it should be de? creased. ---t Derailed a Troop Train. Jacksonville, Nov 28 -A cablegram to the Times-Union from Key West, Fia., says: Advices from Cuba via the steamship Olivette state that near Cien rojas, OD Nov. 25, the insurgents, com? manded by Leonico Vidal, wrecked a train carrying 200 Spanish soldier? and a quantity of arms and ammunition. The insurgents placed a dynamite bomb on the track aod it exploded with terri? ble force. The locomotive and the car nexttoitwere torn to kindiiog wood and the other coaches derailed. The engineer, fireman and 13 soldisrs, who were in the coach next to the engine, were killed by the explosion. Eighteen soldiers were also killed when the rpar coaches were derailed,as they wsnt down a high embankment. About 50 sol diers were wounded, some of them mor? tally. Thc soldiers who were uninjur? ed wore so horrified that they surren? dered to the insurgents without resist ance. The arms and ammunition cap? tured were valued at many thousands of doMars. Perico Delgado, the insurgent chief reported killed near Banes, is alive and operating in the Vuelto Abajo district at the head of 800 men, Io the engage ment at Banes with 300 Spanish troops Delgado's men were victorious. Thirty Spaniards were killed aod 60 wounded The insurgents lost 20 killed and 30 wounded lu the Vuelto Abajo dis? trict hundreds of men are leaving the tobacco plantations to join the insur? gents. The planters complain that the Spanish authorities are unable to pro? tect them. Carolina at Atlanta. The Crowds Were Immense, the Weather was Fine, the Troops Made a Handsome Appearance. ATLANTA, November 28.-They all say tbat this has been the greatest of days at the Exposition, and all join in saying that South Carolina bas made it the greatest of them all Carolina may not have the business capacity to get up such a show, but her people know how to appreciate a good thing when it is on hand, and they can and do always arise to any emergency This had been set aside as Carolina day long =igo, and as time and circumstances progressed it had several days pinned on :o it, bat the red letter portion of the day's name was South Carolina. The Exposition management called'this Atlanta day and Savaunah day aud S. M, Inman, and Athens, and then Macon and University and Butts county were strung on, but it so happened that South Carolina day was the kite, aod the othors only the tail. Yes, the old Palmetto State rook off the laurels of the day. and, for that matter, of the entire Esposiriou, for thc authorities all say that there were moro Carolinians here than there were Geoigiaoson their own day The people of Atlanta are very close kin to Carolina, and no set of people could have come here thar, would have been more welcome, and that welcome has been shown on every side. lt has not been the matter of a day's growth, this mass of Carolinians. They have beeu coming here for sov eral day? to see the Exposition, and when the railroads got down to rock bottom in their rates, then the Pal? metto boys came in train loads, a thousand ar a time, and they kept on coming until the last minute, and the statistical experts now say there were from 10,000 to 15,000 Carolinians in the city for the occasion. Of course Carolinians feel a pride in their soldiery and were on tiptoe to see what impression would be made by the troops from their State, and it may be said that the parade was truly imposiog. Some few companies were a bit jagged in dress and drill, bur. they are true blue and always at thc front, but on the whole Carolina did nobly, for tbere were 1.500 of her troops in lice. The parade is said to be one of the finest seen here. The procession in honor of Carolina d<iy was magnificent. The 5th Georgia regiment was out ic full force, as a spe? cial escort, with the .Macon Hussars and Volunteers, headed by Governor Atkin? son and staff. After tho Georgia militia came the South Carolina contingent, headed by Governor John Gary Evans, who rode a fine white horse. At his side was Adjt. Gen. Watts, and the staff followed in full uniform, there be? ing : W. W. Bruce, assistant adju? tant and inspector g encrai ; Coi. Geo. S. McCrary, Col. 1. H. McCall*. Co!. .J. W. Fiovd. Col D. W. McLaurio, Coi. W. R. Bullock, Col. R Lowman, Col IV J. Roll-on, Col. H. T. Miller, Coi. J. A. Mood and Col. Boyd Evans. In a carriage following rode Senator Tillman, Commissioner Roche acd J)c A. Toomer Porter. In the next car? riage were Mrs. Will* Jones. Mrs. N. G. Evans, Miss Liua Caldweii and Mr. N. G Evans; next, Miss Mary Evans, Miss Ollie Caldwell, Mrs. Howell Evans and Col. A. H. Pattison ; uext Mrs. Gen. H. L. Farley a?d Capt. W. A Courtenay. Adjt. Martin and oth? ers were in other carriages. Then came the Fourth Regiment Band, fol? lowed by Geo. Anderson and staff, which included Majors Harvey. White? head, Norwood and Eason. The splen? did corps of Citadel cadets. Lieut. Jenkins commanding, catee next, and were followed by the Porter Military Academy boys, Lieut. Wbaley com? manding. Then along came the mag? nificent 4th brigade of Charleston, in which were: The W L I. Battalion, Caroliua Rifles, Sumter Guards, Moul? trie Guards, Palmetto Guard. German Artillery. Naval Reserves aod Irish Volunteers. Theo came the 2d brigade, Gen. Richbourg commanding, with his staff officers, Majots Newham, Heath, Ken? dall, Drew, Bamberg, Dugar, Calvo, Kirkland and aides, and the 21 regi ment in command of Col. Wilie Jones and Lieut. Col. Marshall and Capt. Brennan, and 1st regiment. Col. Hall, Lieut. Col. Tillman and Maj. A. 0. Vally. The Clemson cadets, who showed up finely, came in next, 215 strong. They were followed by the nobie little band of Mexicon Veterans, Col. Blanding, Capt. Gibbes and Mr. Beard. Then the Richland Volunteers. Fairfield Rifle Guards, Greenbrier Bifle9, Gov? erner's Guards, Pomara Rifles, Peake Guards, Lee Light Iofrantry, Chester ; Tillman Volunteers, Oraogoburg, ; Manning Guards, Darlington Guards, Sally Rifles, Gary Evau9 Volunteers, Laurens; Governor's Voiuoteers, Black? ville ; Edi8to Guards, Bamberg Guards. Fifth regiment infantry, Col. Boyd; Patrick Military Institute and Capt. John Patrick at the bead of line; Marietta Guards, Marjidin Guards, Edgefield Dragoons. Edgefield Hus? sars, Troop A and E of Hampton. Third regiment, Col. Ward law ; Johnson Rifles, Pea Ridge Rifles, Morgan Rifi^, Gary Watts Guards, Maxwell Guards. It took the parade half an hour to enter the grounds and the cheering that greeted Governor Atkinson was doubled when Governor Evans was seen, and that was intensified on the appearance of Senator Tillman, for hie identity was known to nearly every Carolinian and soon became more generally known When the military arrived at the Exposition grounds the plaza and pavements were crowded, and every one wanted to see Ben Tillman and the Carolina troops and Governor Evans and Gov? ernor Atkinson There was a re? view from the prominence in front of the manufacturers' building By a multitude of causes the parade was delayed and the crowd in the Audi? torium about 3,000, grew somewhat impatient waiting, but those who were impatient went out and were soon replaced There were quite a number of Carolinians in the stand with Senator Tillman, Governor At? kinson, Governor Evans, Lieutenant Governor Timmerman, Commissioner Roche, Lieut. Pinckney, Capt. WV j A Courtenay Dr. Porter and others, i Commissioner Roche, tbe hardest ! worker of all, was masle; of ceremo- . nies. Dr. A. Tourner Porter deliver? ed a fervent prayer Governor Atkinson was expected j to make an introductory speech, but ' as the ten minute rule did not apply here, he spoke at length. Ile is a j very good, smooth and easy talker, and not given to that sledge hammer j style now used in Carolina. Ile ! spoke mostly of the bond between Carolina and Georgia and how glad he was to see the Carolinians here. He jokingly twitted Governor Evans at not being able to find a wife in such a handsome lot of women and invited him over to Georgia Ile went on to say that despite their shortcomings the leaders of South Carolina were received with a hear? tier welcome than the President of the United States. He spoke feel ingly of how the two States had always stood side by side in trouble and danger, and paid a handsome tribute to Gen. Hampton and bis friend, Gen. Gordon. He made a splendid defence of the Lost Cause. Ile said that no foreign capital had come here except for profit in lines others had tried. Governor Atkin son's speech was really quite taking and will no doubt be reported by the press, as will others. Mr. 8 M Inman made the ad? dress nf welcome for the Exposition and among the other very sensible things lie said was "that of all the exhibits he had seen there was none more surprising than that of South Carolina. If waa amazing!v varied and showed the immensity of the possibilities of the State.'7 Governor Evans was weil received, handkerchiefs were waved and there was a hearty welcome. He spoke well and at length, but there is no need fri give his speech in full at this time At the outset he had a good chance at repartee by a side remark, when he said South Carolina was proud of her daughter Georgia Ile was specially eloquent in his words of praise for the female contingent and said the only reason he did not make a choice was because when he compared himself he wes ashamed ai the difference It was his appre? ciation and not lack of appreciation. South Carolina and Georgia were, he said, stamped with an individuality and lie thanked God they were dif? ferent from other States. "OUR GREAT BEX TILLMAN." He was the "star'' attraction, and when he arose to speak the boys hur? rahed and yelled as they did in the State compaigns. Ile first captured the crowd by taking a jocular view and insisting that hungry people did not care to hear speaking, and he would not trespass on the time of the audience. Ile soon saw he had a great many Carolinians present, lie spoke of how utterly unprepared he was for a sot speech and how he has had to work in the Convention, and said he had not came over here to talk to South Carolinians, but every where ho went lie was met with a "Hello, Ben''or "How de-do, Sen? ator ?" - ? ?? ?? -a? Something new ?and original in tablets at H. G. Osteen & Co.'a Cook Store. Tablets j w:th paper dol icovers for 5 cent?. Highest cf all in Leavening Pov Mended a Broken Neck. CLEVELAND, NOV 29 - Two Cleve? land surgeons, of national repute, Charles B. Ilumston and Samuel E. Kaestlin, have succeeded in a triumph of surgery which will astound the medical world. They heve brought to complete recovery Erwin Keidel, a fourteen-year-old boy, who sustain? ed a complete fracture of the third cervical vertebrae. There is no case on record through out the world where this ha? ever been accomplished before. The greatest surgical text books cite but two cases of even partial recovery. Both are English cases, and in the one, the victim died after fourteen months suffering and in the other after fifteen years of pain. In contradistinction, the medical profession here are unanimous in asserting that young Keidel is now as physically perfect as he was before the fracture of the vertebrae was made. The fracture he sustained is exactly the same as that which is an? nounced in the accounts of execu? tions by hanging, wherein it is stated : "The neck was broken and death was instantaneous " Erwin Keidel received his injury on August 24, when he was run over by a heavy wagon The wheel in passing over him dovbled his head under Ins body and the neck vetebrae snapped with a sound like the crack of a whip. Dr. Kaestlin was immediately on the scone. Ile located the injury at once from the fact that respiration had ceased, the seat of the respira? tory powers bein located between the third and second cervical vertebrae. Holding the boy's head so that the respiration returned, the doctor drove with him to the hospital. There Humiston was called and the two surgeons determined to throw precedent aside and enter into a struggle to save the boy's life Del? icate operations weie entered into with the object of having the frac? tured vertebrae knit, and then the boy's head was placed in an immova? ble iron cage, while his body was I also strapped down immovably. A month after the time of the acci I dent th? cage was removed and the ! surgeons were amazed to find that ; their hopes had been entirely real I ized Young Keidel will be allowed : to return to his home next week, j when the medical society of this city j will officially annour/ce the surgical : marvel to the surgical world. Sensational News From Venezuela, Washington, Ko v. 27 -informa? tion of a somewhat sensational char actr with respect io the boundary disputo beween Venezuela and Great Britain h;:s leaked out ; ere to-day A letter written by a member of President Crespo's cabinet to a friend in this country discloses the fact that President Crespo's absence from the seat of government which has attracted some attention, had a purpose; in view, lie has been custiously sounding the governors of the different provinces of thc republic as to the forces which they could put into the field in case of war. Assur? ances, it is said, were given that a weil equipped army of 100,000 men could be mobilized in case the presi? dent should determine upon a move? ment against British Guiana settlers on what is claimed to be Venezuelan territory, with a view of driving them back \o the boundary, which Vene? zuela dames ns her territory, name? ly back of the Essiqubo river. Only part of this force would be necessary j for that purpose the large army of 100,000 men, Crespo believes, would be necessary to meet the counter at? tack which the British Guianians, with aid of G'reat Britain would un? doubtedly make in return for Vene? zuela's aggressive movement. ?i m 11 - - How To Prevent Croup. Some readit-g that v.-??? prove interesting j to young mothers. How 'o guard against ; -the disease. Croup \s A terror to 3 ou ni* mothers and 10 post them concerning ttie CnUSe, firs* symp i toms Hnd treatment is the oi-jeci ot'this item. I The origin ot croup is a common cole. I Children ?ho :o-e sutje?i ici i: tnke cold ver;* ! en s i l y Mad croup is ulioost sure to fol low. I Tlie fir?' symptom is hoar?er;e:?>: this is soco followed by a peculiar rough cough, which is i e?sily recognized uno ?vil! never be forgo* ?? hv one who h.is heMrd it. 'Hie ??me to act -s when the child first becomes h.-;;rse. If ClHtuVerl?inrs Cou^h Remedy is freely given all tendency to croup will soon ats*pp?ar. Even after ihe croupy cough :;MS developed it will prevent the alta ck. There is ;.o can;;er in giving this remedy tor it cont?ins ootb og i.jurious For SHle by Dr. A. J. China. fer.-Latest U. S. Gov't Report