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iDVINTURE OT TBI DEVILS FOOT 7y^^==s=^^= In recording from time to time some <0f the curious experiences and Inter esting recollections which I associate "with my long and intimate friendship with Mr. Sherlock Holmes, I have con tinually been faced by difficulties caused by his own aversion to pub licity. To his somber and cynical spirit all popular applause was always abhorrent, and nothing amused him more at the end of a successful case than to hand over the actual exposure 1 to some orthodox official, and to listen : with a mocking smile to the general 1 chorus of misplaced congratulation. I fit was indeed this attitude upon the part of my friend, and certainly not 1 Any lack of interesting material, which has rnnoort m<* nf Into venrn tr> lav ' 'very few of my records before the 1 public. My participation In some of his adventures was always a privilege which entailed discretion and reti cence upon me. It was, then, with considerable sur prise that I received 8 telegram from Holmes last Tuesday?he has never been known to write where a telegram would serve?In the following terms: ""Why not tell them of the Cornish horror?strangest case I have hand led." I have no idea what backward weep of memory had brought the matter fresh to his mind, or what freak had caused him to desire that I hould recount It; but I hasten, before another cancelling telegram may ar rive, to hunt out the notes which give me the exact details of the case, and to lay the narrative before my read ers. It was, then, In the spring of the year 1897 that Holmes' iron constitu tion shovied some symptoms of giving way in the face of constant hard work of a most exacting kind, aggravated, perhaps, by occasional indiscretions ot his own. In March of that year Drl , Moore Agar, of Harley street, whose dramatic introduction to Holmes I may some day recount, gave positive . Injunctions that the famous private agent should lay aside all his cases and surrender himffelf to complete ' rest if he wished to avert an absolute breakdown. The state of his health was not a matter in which he himself took the faintest interest, for his men tal detachment was absolute, but he . was induced at last, on the threat of 7 being permanently disqualified from work, to give himself a complete change of scene and air. Thus it was that in the early spring of that year we found ourselves together in a small cottage near Poldhu bay, at the farther extremity of the Cornish pen insula. It was a singular spot, and one pe culiarly well suited to the grim hu mor of my patient. From the windows of our little whitewashed house, which stood high upon a grassy head We Looked Down Upon the Whole' 1 Semi-circle of Mount Bay. land, we looked down upon the whole sinister semicircle of Mounts bay, that old death-trap of sailing vessels, with its fringe of black cliffs and surge swept reefs on which innumerable sea men have met their end. With a north erly breeze it lies placid and sheltered, inviting the storm-tossed craft to tack Into it for rest and protection. Then comes the sudden swirl round of the wind, tbe blustering gale from the southwest, the dragging anchor, the lee shore, and the last battle in the ereamine breakers. The wise mariner stands far out from that evil place. On the land side our surroundings were as somber as on the sea. It was a country of rolling moors, lonely and dun-colored, with an occasional church tower to mark the site of some old world village. In every direction upon these moors there were traces of some vanished race which had passed ut terly away, and left as its sole record strange monuments of stone, irregu Tot* WAnn/lo n?'h i onntti inoH th^ burned ashes of the dead, and curious earthworks which hinted at prehis toric strife. The glamour and mys tery of the place, with its sinister at mosphere of forgotten nations, ap pealed to the imagination of my friend, and he' spent much of his time in long walks and solitary meditations upon the moor. The ancient Cornish lan guage had also arrested his attention, >v"; ?' VV' ^ r ^^ n r-v I * 1 tiisccfices of (IRLOCK [0IME5 trCotwtthoylc lions by V.LBarnes and be had, I remember, conceived the idea that it was akin to the Chal dean, and had been largely derived rrom tne JKnoemcian traders in un. He had received a bonslgnment of books upon philology and was set tling down to develop this thesis, when suddenly to my sorrow, and to his unfeigned delight, we found our selves, even In that land of dreams, plunged into a problem at our very doors which was more Intense, more engrossing, and Infinitely more mys terious than any of those which had driven us from London. Our simple life and peaceful, healthy routine were violently Interrupted, and we were precipitated Into the midst of a series of events which caused the ut most excitement not only in Cornwall, but throughout the whole west of England. Many of my readers may re tain some recollection of what was called at the time "The Cornish Hor ror," though a most imperfect account of the matter reached the London press. .Now, after thirteen years, I will give the true details of this incon ceivable affair to the public. I have said that scattered towers marked the villages which dotted this part of Cornwall. The nearest of these was the hamlet of Tredannick Wollas, where the cottages of a couple of hun dred Inhabitants clustered round an ancient, moss-grown church. The dear of the parish, Mr. Roundhay, was something of an archaeologist, ind as such Holmes had made his ac luaintance, He was a middle-aged man, portly and affable, with a consid erable fund of local lore. At his invi tation we had taken tea at the vicar age, and had come to know, also, Mr. Mortimer Tregennls, an independent gentleman, who increased the cleryg man's scanty resources by taking rooms in his large, straggling house, rhe vicar, being a bachelor, was glad to come to such an arrangement, though he had little in common with his lodger, who was a thin, dark, spec tacled man, with a stoop which gave the impression of actual physical de formity. I remember tbat durjpg our short visit we found the vicar garrul dus, but his lodger Btrangely reticent, a sad-faced, introspective man, sit ting with averted eyes, brooding ap parently upon his own affaijs. These were the two men who en tered abruptly ^nto our little sitting room on Tuesday, March the 16th, shortly after our breakfast hour, as we were smoking together, prepara tory to our daily excursion upon the noors. "Mr. Holmes," said the vicar, In an igitated voioe, "the most extraordi lary and tragic affair has occurred luring the night It is the most un iieard-of business. We can only re gard it as a special Providence that pou should chance to be here at the time, for In all England you are the jne man we need." I glared at the intrusive vicar with 10 very friendly eyes; but Holmes :ook his pipe from his lips and sat up . n his chair like an old hound who lears the view-hallo. He waved his land to the sofa, and our palpitating i visitor with his agitated companion sat side by side upon it Mr. Morti- | ner Tregennis was more self-con ained than the clergyman, but the witching of his thin hands and the jrightness of his dark eyes showed hat they shared a common emotion. "Shall I speak or you?" he asked of he vicar. "Well, as you seem to have made he discovery, whatever it may be, ind the vicar to have had it second land, perhaps you had better do the ipeaking," said Holmes. I glanced at the nastiiy-ciau ciergy nan, with the formally-dressed lodger seated beBide him, and was amused at he surprise which Holmes' simple de luction had brought to their faoes. "Perhaps I had best say a few vords first," said the vicar, "and then rou can judge if you will listen to the letails from Mr. Tregennis, or wheth* ir we should not hasten at once to the jcene of this mysterious affair. I may explain, then, that tour friend here spent last evening in the company of tiis two brothers, Owen and George, md of his sister Brenda, at their aouse of Tredannick Wartha, which is near the old stone cross upon the moor. He left them shortly after ten D'clock playing cards round the dining room table, in excellent health and spirits. This morning, being an early riser, he walked in that direction be fore breakfast, and was overtaken by the carriage of Doctor Richards, who He Went Ove * Story of Stuyvesant Fish's Futile Ef fort to Teach a Switchman to Be Polite. Elmer T. Stevens of Charles H. Stevens & Bros, told the following story et the Association of Commerce luncheon at the La Salle hotel In Chicago: "When Stuyvesant Fish was presi dent of the Illinois Central railroad, he was sitting In his office one morn ing with the door closed, looking over some reports. The door was sudden ly opened and In came an Irishman with his hat on his head and his pipe in his mouth, and, walking up to Mr. Fish, he said: "1 want a pass to St Louis." "Presirifint Fish, somewtiat sur prised, looked up and said, 'Who are you?' "The man replied, 'I am Pat Casey, one of your switchmen.' "President Fish, thinking it was a good chance to teach the man a lit tle lesson In etiquette, said: "Now, Pat, I am not going to say that 1 will / V explained that he had Just bee?i sent for on a most vrgent call to Tredan nlck Wartha. Mr. Mortimer Tregen nls naturally went with him. When he arrived at Tredannlck Wartha he found an extraordinary state of things. His two brothers and his sister were seated round the table exactly as he bad left them, the cards still spread in front of them and the candies burned down to their sockets. The sister lay back stone-dead in b?r chair, while the two brothers sat on each side of her laughing, shouting and singing, the senses stricken clean out of them. All three of them, the dead woman and the two demented men, retained upon their faces an expres sion of the utmost horror?a convul slon of tefror which was dreadful to look upon. There was no sign of the presence of anyone In the house, ex cept Mrs. Porter, the cook and house keeper, who declared that Bhe had slept deeply and heard no sound dur ing the night. Nothing had been stolen or disarranged, and there Is absolute ly no explanation of what the horror can be which has frightened a woman to death and two strong men out of their senses. There Is the situation, Mr. Holmes, In a nutshell, and If you can help us to clear It up you will have done a great work." I had hoped that in some way I could coax n\y companion back into the quiet which had been the object of our journey; but one glance at his Intense face and contracted eyebrowB told me how vain was now the expec tation. He sat for some little time In silence, absorbed in the strange drama which had broken In upon our peace. "I will look Into thlB matter," he Bald at last. "On the face or it, it Would appear to be a case of a very exceptional nature. Have you been there yourself, Mr. Roundhay?" "N?, Mr. Holmes. Mr. Tregennls brought back the account to the vic arage, and I at once hurried over with him to consult you." "How far Is It to the house where this singular tragedy occurred?" "About a mile Inland." "Then we shall walk over together. But, before we start. I must ask you a few questions, Mr. Mortimer Tregen nis. The other had been Bilent all this time, but I had observed that his more controlled excitement was even great At His Invitation We Had Taken Tea at the Vicarage. er than the obtrusive emotion of the clergyman. He sat with a pale, drawn face, his anxious gaze fixed upon Holmes, and his thin hands clasped convulsively together. His pale Hps quivered as he listened to the dreadful experience which had befallen his family, and his dark eyes seemed to reflect something of the horror of the scene. c?n RP rriMTTTMTTT^r* * Cat Fond of Eggs. The owner of a clever cat writes to Our Dumb Animals that the pet, "a great, fat, lazy, good natured fellow," has a fondness for eggs. Sir Tom was detected In the kitchen recently on a table watching an unopened bag of eggs. "Stepping back noiselessly," writes the owner, "we saw Mm cau-. tiously tear the bag with his teeth and claws, stopping every little bit to listen. Finally the opening was large enough lor him to get out an egg Dy gentle little pats. He held the egg In his mouth, jumped to the floor, rolled his prize about gently until he got it into position, and then bumped It against the table leg until It broke. Then he enjoyed his feast." The writer wonders where Tom got the taste, as he is and "his ancestors for genera tions back were city bred." Tunguse Reindeer the Best. The reindeer is more to his owner than any other beast of burden, the herd furnishing meat, drink, clothing and candles. The size and strength of the reindeer varies in different parts of the Arctic, the finest being those owned by the Tunguse tribe in Eastern Siberia; the Tunguse deer stand as high as five feet and are fre quently used for riding. r the Wabash refuse your request, but there are cer tain forms that a man should observe In asking a favor. You should knock at the door before you come In, and when I say "Come in." you should en- i ter, and, taking off your hat, and re moving your pipe from your mouth, you should say, "Are you President Fish?" I would say, "I am, Who are you?" Then you should say, "1 am Pat Casey, one of your switchmen." Then I would say, "What can 1 do for you?" Then you would tell me, and j the matter would be settled. Now, you go out and coino In again In a little while and see It you can do better.' "So the switchman went out, closing the door. About two hours later there was a knock on the door and Presi dent Fish said, 'Come In.' In came Pat Casey, with his hat off and his pipe out of his mouth. Pat said, 'Good mornln', are you President Fish or the Illinois Central7' President Fish said, 'I am. Who are you?' 'I am Pat Casey, one of your switchmen. 'Well, Mr. Casey, what can 1 do for you?' 'You can go to h . 1 got a pass over the Wabash.' " > V r - s .--iV " DEMONSTRATION : WORK IN STATE INTERESTING REPORT OF BRAD FORD KNAPP, HEAD OF DE DEMONSTRATION WORK. oUiYiL bumrMrtAiivt:i-ibunco Work Has Been Advancing Year By Year Both in Acreage Under Culti vation and In Increase of Yields. Interesting'Work Done. Columbia. ? '"Demonstration work has been advancing year by year in South Carolina, both in acreage un der cultivation and in increase of yields obtained under demonstration methods over those obtained under ordinary methods," says Bradford Knapp, head of the United States farm demonstration work, in a bulletin Is sued, giving the detailed results of the work in all of the states of the South. A complete summary of the bulle tin shows as follows: Cotton Corn No. of demonstrators 1,574 1,672 No. of acres reported 7,371 5,958 A v. yield per acre ..*1,569.2 **39.2 Pounds; **bushels. The bureau of statistics in its pre liminary estimate, December 11, 1911, gives the average yield of seed cot ton for South Carolina In 1911 as 795 pounds per acre from 2,627,939 acres, and of corn as 18.2 bushels per acre from 1,790,000 acres. With cotton 1,574 demonstrators reported'on 7,371 acres, an average of 4.7 acres for e^ch demonstrator, an average yield of 1,659.2 pounds of seed cotton per acre and a total of 11,566,537 pounds. The average yield of cotton in South Carolina as esti mated by the bureau of statistics, De cember 11, 1911, was 795 pounds. Thus it appears that the demonstration methods produced an Increase of 97.4 per cent, or 774.2 pounds per acre above the state average, which at $3 per hundred amounts to 23.23 per n^rp nr.XI 71 9,28 33 nn 7 371 nrr*?s With com 1,672 demonstrators re ported on !T,998 acres, an average of 3.6 acres for each demonstrator, an average yield of 39.2 bushels of shell ed corn per acre and a total of 233, 584 bushels. The average yield of corn in South Carolina is 1911 as re ported by the bureau of statistics was 18.2 bushels per acre. This shows an increase under demonstration meth ods of 115.4 per cent, or 21 bushels per acre, which at 91 cents per bush el amount to $19.11 per acre, or $113,857.38 on 5,958 acres. | Combining results on these two crops, we find a total of $285,085.71, representing the value of increased production of cotton and corn in South Carolina due to demonstration methods on 13,329 acres reported for the year 1911. Jones Must Serve In Penitentiary. Jonn J. Jones, tne arancnvuie at torney, must ser\je ten years and 30 days in the state penitentiary on the charge of killing Abe Pearlstine, more than a year ago. The supreme court, for the second time, denied a new trial to Jones. He has been con fined at the state penitentiary for sev eral months. The judgment of the Orangeburg court was affirmed on the first appeal. Later the attorneys ap pealed to the supreme court on the ground of after-discovered evidence and that the jury box was^rregularly made up. The circuit judge refused the motion and the attorneys for the, defendant appealed to the supreme court. Political Campaign in Barnwell. Candidates for the state senate, house of representatives and county offices addressed a crowd of 500 or 600 people at Barnwell. A large number of ladies were present. The meeting was the first of the campaign in Barnwell county and was a very or derly one. The candidates were all given a respectfuly hearing with pos sibly one exception. Rally of Veterans in Chester. The annual rally of the Walker-Gas ton camp, United Confederate Veter ans, was held in the auditorium of the Chester city hall in the presence of 100 veterans. It was the largest gathering ever present at a rally In Chester, considering, of course, the vacancies made by the ravages of death in recent years. Capt. W. H. Edwards, commander-in-chief of the camp, presided. Rev. J. C. Roper, pas tor of Bethel Methodist Episcopal church, invoked divine oversight over the affair. Charged With Murder of Uncle. With his shirt bloodstained as if coming off a battlefield, with a wound on the top of the head just above the right temple and with the sign of deep worry and loss of sleep depicted in his countenance, Govan Watts, aged 22 years, was lodged in me i^exington county jail. The charge was that he killed his uncle, Adam Watts, aged 73 years, the weapon used being a small knife with which he cut the old man's throat from ear to ear, and slashed him in a number of other places, it is said. Putting Roads In Good Shape. The roads in the Sharon community which suffered much by reason of the heavy and continuous rains of early Bpring, are being rapidly put in good condition and the pleasures of rural life are very much augumented. In many instances the work on the pub lic roads has to be done entirely by hired labor, since most of those sub ject to road duty prefer to pay the $8 road tax to working five days on the roads. Some of the overseers have found difficulty in getting hands for the road work. i BETTER SCHOOL SYSTEM f i Expert Supervision Absolutely Neces | . sary if Administration is to Prove Successful. Columbia.?In the effective admin istration of any school system, expert supervision is absolutely necessary. Unless the organic law. of the state provides for competent supervisors, and against Incompetent ones, it is weak and uncertain. In South Caro lina the whole matter of supervision is subject to the caprice and whims of petty politics. There is, for in stance, absolutely no legal barrier against an illiterate's becoming either a county superintendent of education or state superintendent, and no un kindness is meant when it is said that in a few counties, long since the car petbagger regime, men not very far removed from illiteracy have sat in the office of county superintendent of education. No professional or educa tional qualification is required of the holder of either of these offices and under the present consitution and present mode of election of superin tendents, neither professional nor educational qualification can be re quired. Any elector is eligible to any elective office. The briefless lawyer, the antiquated school master, the un educated farmer, and the ever-present typical job-seeking politician are all alike eligible to either office. The worst of it all is that just such men, along with their superiors, offer for superintendent, and are at least occa sionally elected. The success of the candidate for superintendent of edu cation depends less upon his qualifica tion for the office than upon his ability to tell an anecdote and to mix with voters at a barbecue. / In the case of state superintendent a candidate must join a campaign party of from a dozen to 30, other candidates seeking election to state offices. Like a traveling circus these men go from county to county for at least 44 days soliciting the votes of the people, not by the discussion of real issues or the promulgation .of doctrines so much as by each candi date's telling why he should be elect ed and why his opponent should not. In this daily performance the candi date is usually given ten minutes to unfold to his hearers his educational platform. As has been stated, it is necessary to have expert supervision of the schools of the state. South Carolina Ne* Enterprises. The secretary of Ptate has issued a charter to the Enterprise Hardware Company of Lexington with a capital stock of $5,000, to conduct a general hardware business, the petitioners be ing W. J. McCartha and J. B. Hol man, both of Batesburg. The Shepard Park Realty Company of Summerville was chartered, with a capital stock of $2,500, to engage in a real estate busi ness. umcers are: jame? aucu, president; Legare Walker, secretary and treasurer. The Olanta Live Stock Company of Olanta was commission ed to conduct a business of live stock dealers and farm Implements, with a capital stock of $15,000, petitioners being E. H. McElween, L. A. Moore and J. L. McLendon. The Beaufain Street Development Company of Char leston was chartered to engage in a general real estate business. Politics in Lancaster County. The time for filing pledges In the county has expired. The following Vulva filed their oledees and will make the race for the various offices. The campaign opens soon at Belair. For the house of representatives, Geo. W. Jones, Harry Hines, J. Copeland Mas sey, Claud Napoleon Sapp, W. B. Bruce, W. Q. Caskey. For clerk of court, Paul Moore. For sheriff, J. P. Hunter. For treasurer, T. L. Hilton. For auditor, Jos. W. Knight, H. H. Horton. For superintendent of edu cation, C. A. Plyler, V. A. Lingle, A. C. Row.ell. For supervisor, T. O. Blackmon, George Funderburk, M. C. Gardner, Geo. W. Baker, G. L. Mob ley. For coroner, J. N, Outen, I. G. Coan, Cleveland C. Gregory, M. N. Johnson. For magistrate, B. F. Phil lips, W. P. Caskey. For magistrate, Flat Creek township, Iva J1. Sowell, T. W.. Payne, Lemuel F. Watts, Geo. G. Small; Cane Creek, R. T. Belk, D. A. Knight; Buford township, J. D. Hin son, S. B. Barnes; Pleasant Hill, H. W. Mobley; Indian Land, D. K. Hall; Ce dar Creek, W. F. Hudson. Plan To Hold Distressed Cotton. Pursuant to a policy recommended by the state farmers' union a meeting was held recently at Saluda between the officers and delegates of the coun ty union and the officers of the three banks in this county relative to pro viding funds for holding distressed J cotton. Representing the county were [ George B. Lester, W. E. Bodie, J. Wil lie Derrick and Allen Hair. Repre [ senting the banks were M. T. Pitts, of Saluda; B. W. Crouch, of Saluda, and Dr. F. G. Ausbill, of Ridge Spring. A very satisfactory meeting was held. Organize Fair Association. The Charleston fair association was organized with C. Norwood Hastie as president and F. D. McEown as direc or general and secretary. This asso ciation will be capitalized at $25,000. It will hold a big county fair at the race track grounds at Charleston. Lib eral cash premiums will be offered for j , exhibits, and some horse races will ' probably be held. A. W. Litschgi was elected treasurer and James Sottile, H. O. Strohecker, H. Pearlstine and , T. W. Passailaigue on the board of ! directors. Campagin Meeting At Gaffney. Not more than 1,000 Cherokee vot ers turned out to hear candidates for i state offices, but the meeting never- ] theless was lively and interesting, the j Jones-BIease debate providing the , briskest exchanges. Judge Jones j spoke with more than usual fire and spirit and was frequently applauded. ( Gov. Blease made his speech without , interruption and departed unharmed for Spartanburg, though in the course , of his remarks he said he had been ' informed that he would be aasaMlna ted on the stand at Gaffney. :7 'v",s;V' 11i . ' * ?' - jj ? CAMPAIGN NEAREND ONLY A FEW MORE DAYS OF THE MAD SCRAMBLE IN SOUTH CAROLINA. THE RESULTS ARE DOUBTFUL \ The Canvass Has Been the Most Spec tacular and Vitriolic Waged In the State in many decades.?Outcome is Anxiously Awaited. i Columbia.?This week and a half of next will wind up the tour of county to-county which the candidates for Governor and other state officers have been making over this state in pre senting their views and claims for the respective offices to the voters. The campaign meeting will open at New berry, the home of Governor Bleaae, and will close at Greenville, five days preceding the election. The counties yet to be visited lie in the piedmont section where the biggest white popu lation and the heaviest voting coun ties are located. Two weeks from Tuesday, which will be August 27, the voters of South Carolina will go to the polls and do cide the issue as to whether Ira TJ. Jones or Cole L. Blease will be Gov ernor for the next two years, for although there is a third candidate, John T. Duncan, in the race, he Is not liable to poll at the outside over 2,000 votes and is not a factor. The ngnt is between mease ana Jones ana one or the other will be Governor. The,campaign which Is just on the eve of being brought to a close Is the most spectacular the state has wit nessed in many a decade, certainly since the days when Benjamin R. Till mai the rugged farmer of Edgefield, was swept into the Governor's office on a wave of revolt against the De mocracy which had ruled from the time the carpetbaggers and radicals were turned out following the *up heaval in 1876. Even that campaign pales into insignificance when com pared with this of 1912, for the bitter ness and the language which has been used on the stump has passed all UUUI1US Ul JUmglUQLIUU 1UI UlVCbUTC. It's a campaign which will go down in the state's liistory as the most bitter of the age. Hamby Is Greatly Pleated. Darlington.?A. McP. Hamby, sec retary of the Columbia chamber of commerce, who had much to do with Darlington's adoption of a new com mercial organization plan, said that he was greatly- pleased that the city had decided to follow the path map ped out by the commercial secretaries. "Having been requested to assist In the organization of a chamber ol commerce at Darlington and having mapped out the plan of organization," said Mr. Hamby, "I am more than delighted to know that my plan has been adopted' and that seVen-eighths of the business men have signed a petition to city council to appropriate funds necessary to defray the ex penses of the chamber. Orangeburg Wants Fish Hatchery. Orangeburg.?Orangeburg Is work ing hard to land the government fish hatchery. It will be remembered that about three years ago Senator B. R. Tillman succeeding in getting through congress a bill providing a $25,000 ap propriation for the establishment of t fish hatchery in South Carolina. Rob ert S. Johnson, who is in charge of the division of fish culture, bureau ol fisheries, department of commerce and labor, and H. Von Bayer, who is an expert engineer of the department, have made Orangeburg their head quarters for some days. Campaign In Sumter County. Sunjter. ? The county campaign opened several days ago at Shiloh in the extreme eastern end of the coun ty. There were gathered ther at the school house about 200 men and boys, but that is not a large turnout for Shiloh, and fully 50 of these were from Sumter and other places. The meeting was presided over by Dr. Tom McElveen of that neighborhood. Campaign in Union County. Union.?This county has always lik ed its politics highly seasoned, and! the 2/000 people who attended the J state campaign meeting here seemed t to expect a brisk entertainment, with perhaps more of disorder than usual. But it was in fact a quiet meeting, quiet at least by comparison with the average of the previous meetings. None of the candidates purveyed any more of "hot stuff" than he ordinari ly furnishes and the crowd, though restless at times behaved on the whole very creditably. Pol it i cs In Hampton County. Hampton. ? The Hampton county campaign will open in the near fu ture with a meeting at Branson, and it will last two weeks. Most of the public offices are being hotly contest ed, here being a number of candidates for nearly every one. It is said that the line as to whether a candidate is a supporter of Blease or Jones will be vc:y tightly drawn. It is impossi ble to tell which is the stronger side, each now claiming the victory. It is safe to predict that the result will be very close. Arrest In Hutto Mystery. Anderson.?Jesse Murphy, a white man, about 35 years of age, has been lodged in the jail here, charged with the murder of D. Hutto, the Confeder lte veteran who was foully murdered by having his skull crushed to a pulp in his little store on the extension of 3reenville street last Christmas Eve. rhe arrest is the result of some clever detective work on the part of Deputy Sheriff Van Martin and if Murray is proved guilty Mr. Martin will receive 1 i large reward that was offered. ? FROM THE PALMETTO STATEl iT Short Paragraphs of State News Thatl Have Been Gotten Together With Care by the Editor. Charleston. ? Eugene Manly, thai A young white man who was arrested Ini Baltimore charged with the robbery! "WB8l of $400 worth of diamonds from al woman in this city two weeks ago,j was brought back to the city and will) be given a bearing before Magistral* Rouse. Brownsville.?The much dreadedJ red spider has made his appearance ini this section and many of the farmer* are alarmed as to the outcome of hla damage. Already In some fields thiol pest has done very considerable Injury! to the growing plant C. P. Hodge* has wired for an expert and it is hop ed that he can be of assistance to thai farmers in destroying this insect. Darlington.?The board of trustee* of the city schools met and olected a* superintendent John C. Daniels, for the pcist few years superintendent ot the public schools of Manning. Mrj Daniels suoceeds Nathan Toms, who! had been superintendent of the local school for the past 10 years and who* recently resigned to accept a position* with the British-American Tobacco company. Chester.?It is probable that Chester, will have an Ira B. Jones club effect ively at work within the next few1 days. The club is now in process of formation and a number of member* have been secured. Two candidates,, A. G. Brice, candidate for re-election) to bouse of representatives and J. Tj Bigbam, candidate for oounty superin tendent of education are among thos* who have lined up with Jones. Anderson. ? The county campaign speaking at Belton came to an abrupt! and exciting ending. Two of the twelve candidates for the Legislator^ had spoken and the third, J. I* Jack* son, was addressing the gathering when confusion became ao pronounc ed that Col. D. A. Geer, who wa? standing near the 'presiding officer* stepped to the front and declared-th* meeting adjourned. T.on/ioofAi?M.rrVifl annual ronnlon /it JLNUiV^?0^? AUG AVUIM^U VII Confederate veterans of this county wjl will be held at Dixie In the near fu? ture. The county campaign party ; will also be there to speak to the sev eral hundred voters who are expected ^ to be present As IS the custom on such % an occasion, a big picnic to all will claim the attention of the people after the speaking. An orator for th? oc casion of thfe reunion will be selected. '' Greenville. ? J. R. McWhlte, who lives near Gantt, brought to the city . . 1 a number of cotton staljcs which are ' affected with,a most peculiar disease. The stalks are. swelled Just above the roots and have turned red. Fermera ' hereabouts are at a loss to expleln the trouble; and the stalk will be sent"to Celmson for examination. Mir. Mo ' White says there is considerable more ! cotton in his neighboahood affected la the manner described. ' ' Newberry.?A large crowd is_ ex? - pected to attend the state campaign meeting here. The senatorial: cam- \ paign meeting, that was held' here some days ago, was attended by Just 75 persons. The next meeting will n.0 ^AiiVvt Ka o HxtaItt r\T\a }\iif na ftVMiMn uuuuv uu a utcij vuc, uuw uu ,j is anticipated among the people, of \ this county, for while they differ la : the political prefei'ence there is no bitter feeling among them. If there ' is-any disturbance it will be started by c the speakers themselves or by out aiders. Hampton.?The second semi-annoal convention of the third district Knights of Pythias, for this year, con* vened with Hampton lodge, No. 73, several days ago. Out of a total of 24 lodges in the district, there' were represented by the delegates or re? ) ports 11 only, but those that were rep* ) AJ. resented made an excellent showing. An increase of 9 per cent in member* ship was noted, and all lodges report ing seem to be in good financial con dition. Spartanburg. ? Five thousand per sons, two-thirds of them adorned with the ted badges of Blease, greeted the state campaigners in the banner coun ty of South Carolina. It appeared that Blease or some one on the Blease side had Imported many foreign support- jF< era to yell for the Governor and hold up their hands in the hand primary, which resulted in a big victory' foq v'. Blease. Columbia.?The fact that Col. Thorn* , ,] as B. Felder, the Atlanta attorney and special enemy of the Governor of South Carolina, has sailed for Europo is taken to mean that no more oC the Burns-Felder testimony will be taken by the South Carolina dispen sary investigating committee, at least until after the election. "* Pickens.?The W. O. W. of Plckena county had a big picnic here, the exer? clses of unveiling the monument erect ed by them to the memory of their late sovereign, t>\ jej. ?jox, were nem in the cemetery, conducted by Dr. J. P. Porter. Orangeburg?The regular monthly meeting of the Orangeburg city coum cil was held at the city hall. The finance committee made an important report and the finances for the next few months were arranged for af this meeting. Columbia.?The letter of Mr. John Jj McMahan, calling for light in the man agement of the Confederate Home, taken in connection with the recent de velopments, the outcome of which was the suspension of Veteran Massey for thirty days, has caused a tremendous stir in political circles and among the old soldiers. Columbia.?It was decided at a meeting of the Richland county rural police commission to give Poltcemaw Unnrir nf T fntunaKin wVia ho/1 been suspended, another hearing. The hearing will be the first Saturday in September. Rock Hill.?The city council of Roclc Hill, by unanimous vote, adopted the recommendation of the public works commission that the city adopt the route over the J. M. Cherry property to the Catawba river for the purpose Df securing a permanent water sup ply, for which purpose $50,000 in bonds were voted recently. j