The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, July 14, 1887, Image 1
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y.
VOL. XvI. PICKENS, S. C., TIIURSDAY, JULY 14, 1887.
TIL MISSISSIPPI COLLE(JF.
ITS OlIGIN, ITS 1'ISESENT EQUI'MENT
ANI) ITS WORKc.
An Observer's Account of Gen. S. 1). Leo's
Farner's College--The Class-1toon and
the Farm.
(From the News and ('ourior.)
AGIcUIJruItAL AND MECHANICAL COr
LEGE of MlssIssII'I, July 4.-Referring
to a number of notes taken in a mid
summer tour of four of the most import
ant Southern States, I do not know that.
I could select a more interesting subject
than the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Mississipl)i. This may be
stated without discounting, in any wise,
tho many places, institutions and tl.ings
of note along the lines of railways v hich
connect Charleston with the pecutl itrly
S " favored land in which Vie institution
named is situated.
TIl[S COLLEGE.
To begin with, however, the term
"Agricultural and Mechanical Collego,"
as applied to this College, is a misnomer.
The mechanical department has not yet
been provided for, but may be realized
at iny time when the institution is so I
far favored by the Legislature of Missis- I
sippi. The College is, therefore, prac
tically an agricultural institution with1 its
handmaidons of the mechanical art; in t
expectancy.
But whatever this institution may be it 1
has e.used a great stir in social, agr:cul
tual and political circles ever since its I
establishment, seven years ago. It was
cradled in opposition, strong but not
fatal; it has traveled over a rough road
and still survives; and it has lived (own
a certain class of opponents and is still
doing battle against sorao formidable
foes. As between the enemies of the
College and its friends the lines are very
sharply drawn; and even the conilara
tive stranger, who runs, may read.
'ri-: IssUEs s'rA'rED.
Broadly stated, the question is on. of I
utility: Does it pay the taxpayer to :.Up
port the College; and, granting the ob
j eels of the College to be fully cal ried
out, do the results warrant the State in
continuing its appropriations? The his
tory of the College up to the pre:.cnt
time carries with it the solution of every
ouc of these problema. Sometling of
this history is, therefore, essential I)
clear conception of the interesting titu
ation.
iT olIoIN.
From what can be learned from the
various published reports, the College
owes its origin to the Act of the General
Government, passed in 1862, to encour
ago the establlshment of industrial col
leges in the States. This Act, an))ng
other things, prosided for the "envow
mont, support and maintenance in each
State of at least one college where the
leading object shall be, without exclud
ing other scientific and .assical stuci ics,
and including military tactics, to tc ach
such branches of learning as are related
to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in
such manner as the Legislatures of the
States may respectively prescribe in or
der to promote the liberal and pract ical
education of the industrial classes."
Mississippi's share of the agricultural
land scrip fund amounted in 1878 to
$227,150, which is now in the State
treasury bearing five per cent. interest.
The \IMississippi Legislature in 1878
divided this fund between Alcorn Uni
versity (for colored youths) and the
present Agricultural and Mchlan icalI
College of Mississippi, giving to each
$113,570. Subsequently the Legislat nire
expended $15,000 of this money in the
purchase of lands, leaving to each of the
juistitutions named a balance of J98,575,
which yields an annual interest at live
per cent. of about $1,928. The State
Legislature up to within the past year
or two has appropriated the sum of
$32,50() annually for the support of the
institution.
To enable the State to avail itscit of)
the Federal aid it was necessary to erect
the College buildings, and these M ere
completed for occupation by the tu
dtents and professors in 1880. Thelase
buildings are about a mile and a half
west of Starkvitll, and occupy p)ositions
on both sides of a branch of the Mobile
and Ohio IRailroad. The principal build
Wings taco the south and are just north of
the railroad and on the crest of a hill, to
which the ascent from the railroad is
over a well-kept lawn. These buildings
are:
First, the academy, three stories in
height, of brick, and 127 feet long by 70
feet wsidu. T1hie upperi story consists of
six class-rooms for the use of citain
professors in toaching; the second1 story
4 consists of six rooms for the use of other
professors, andt on the first floor are the
College hall or chapel and thie olhices of
the presideont, (Gen. Stephen D). Lee, aend
the secretary, Prof. TI. 1F. Watson.
Second, the dIormitor'y, three stories
in height, with basemen't. I.t has a front
of 275.feet, running east and west, and
two wings, each 140 feet in depth, ex
tending at right angles to the main
building. The fIrst floor contains the
* library, musoumn, a leoture room, the
cammandant's quarters and a wvriting
room. On the second floor are two large
* rooms, an armory and a guard room.
'i'he remainig rooms on this iloor are
chambers for the students. On tIn . ",.
story are about fifty roona, -used 'xclu
sively by the students. Te ac,commao
dations of the dormitory are for fromi
200) to 250 students.
Third, the laborator'y, 56 feet long by
38 wide, a two story building, the upper01
story of which contaLins a large lectuire
room, an analytical room for the stu
oents, a private work-room for the pro
fossor of chemistry, ndn apparatuis roomus.
T[he lower story is used p)rinlcipally as
storerooms and analytical rooms, ulsedl
by Prof. A. M'. Meyers, who is also the
State cheoLot of Mississippi.
The mess hall is a two story wooden
building. On the first floor are a dining
hall capable of accomnmodating three
hundred students, kitchen and bakery.
On the upper floor are two halls used
4two rival literary societies of theCo
loge.
Th'lere is also a hospital containing
eight rooms, which are very seldom oc
cuod. South of the railway is a pnm
two story brick mansion, occupied b;
General Lee and his family; and at vari
ous points on the grounds are residence
for the other professors. '1'he otho
principal buildings are a farm-houso, I
dairy, a barn, an engine-house, and thn
stables for the stock, each of which k
entitled to some special description.
FARMINU AND TII1TCULTUIt.
The Collego owns 1,7(2 acres of land.
which is divided into cultivated fields,
pastures, orchards and vegetable gar
dons, and ornamental grounds. There
are, of the 1,7iJ2 acres, about 60() under
actual cultivation in (1iflerent crops.
These (00 acres are divided into the
farm departmenlt and the horticultural
department. The former includes the
cultivation of the usual plantation crops,
such as corn, cotton, peas, etc. The lat
ter includes all the common vegetables
and fruits.
In the farm department the student is
familiarized with the planting, raising
[md harvesting of the large commercial
crops, the actual care of the cattle on
the farm, the construction and use of
barns, stables, pens, and with the prac
ical use of all the irproved agricultural
nachinery now in the Southern States.
n the farm work is included a special
ourso in dairy husbandry, covering the
heory of breeding stock, feeding for
nilk, and of making and shipping milk,
ream and butter. This is all reduced
A practice in what is called the creame
y, for the purposes of which there are
naintained on the farm 200 head of cat
le, pure bred, grade and native. There
s also much attention paid to ensilage,
he raising and curing of hay, clover,
tc., all of which, it should be borne in
nind, is done by "the boys" themselves.
In the horticultural department there
re gardens in which okra, tomatoes,
abbages, beans, Irish potatoes and
'ruits of all kinds are raised.
(OU1Sl 01' sTU)T.
The course of study prescribed for the
tudcnts is made up of (1) biology, the
nest important branches of which are
'ertilization and the relation of insects
Lud plants; (2) agriculture, including the
)rinciples of stock-breeding and feeding,
irainage, cultivation, curing and mar
ceting of crops, improvement of soil and
nanuring; (8) horticulture, fruit and
regetable culture, botany, silk culture,
te.; (4) chemistry, us applied to the
mItalysis of soils, plants, foods, water,
tc. ; (5) English, course of reading in
)rose and poetry, logic and mental
cience, with written essays monthly;
,) mathematics, all the elementary
>ranches, up to analytical geometry,
alculus and civil engineerilg.
THE MIITAIRY hU\NCh.
There i. also the military organization
>f the College, with General Lee at the
icad of the military department, and
second Lieutenant i1. C. Davis, United
3tates Army, as commandant of stu
ler ts. The students are all uniformed
n cecdet gray and are divided into five
ompanies. Practically, the discipline
>f the College is military, and the rules
nd regulations in this respect are of the
1sual military institute order. All the
Alasses are taught company and battal
on drills, dress parade, guard duty, etc.
i'he senior and junior claases are taught
arget practice and service of the field
>iece; in the junior year Upton's tactics
tro taught, and in the senior and junior
ear there arc lecturcs given on the
science and art of war.
The military equipment of the cadets
;onsists of two 3-inch field pieces, 250
illes, cartridges, etc., all of which is
urnished by the United States Govern
aent, with the exception of 100 rifles
urnished by the State.
LIFE OF THE STUDnT:.
The foregoing sketch of the work
lone at the institution gives only a dry
dbstract of the essential details of the
ifo of the student. Th~lis life is, how
sver, one of great variety and activity.
L'he goveirnment of the institution is all
>f a rep)ublic within a republic, and is
livided shiarpily between the military
mud agricultural features. In fact these
eatures are quite dlistincet, and in nowise
:oniflict with each other, the discipline
>f the one securing discipline in the
>thor.
When the college boy here goes out
nito the field lie do01Ts his miltary trap)
>inigs and puts1 on his 01(1 clothes, old
hioes, old hat, etc., just as his father
lees on the hiomesteadl farm in aniy
ounty in Missisaippi. in other wvords
1e goes out to work and lhe dloes not go
ui holiday attire.
In the morning, in the class-room or
>n dress parade, hie is as gorgeous as you
might desire. Heo has a fine uniform
vith plenty of brass buttons, all of which
It) wears with the self-conmplacency of
ainmg paid for them b)y honest labor
brough long and dusty in summer or
vet and( dreary days in winter.
In the afternoon you may meet him at
tome 1place, any pilaco, on the farm and
you will not know him. Hoe wears a
douch hat, very honest 01(d clothes anid
very honest old face. Maybe lie is
weeding turnips or digging plotatoes, or
you will meet him out on some of the
green pastures (driving the cJws, or if
you peeph inito tile cow stables you see
him playyilg the milk maid. You will
mneet him at any giveui p)oint over all the
broad acres of the farm, an?d in niinoty
ine eases out of a hundred lhe is do-ng
somethiing that will help him to payi is
expenses at the College. And this lie
dloes ill at faishion thlat deserves a special
At nighit, aifter an1 atfternioon's work, lio
goes home to study antd in the morning
he alilears again at miliitary chrysalis as
gaudy and as happy as oni the day before.
'Losi'. ol' Til si-ssioN.
di ust. nowv the Colljege is abt out to close
for the presenIt year. 'The commence
aienit exercises for i887 were opoedt yes
(Oirdav at I I a. m., at wvhi ch timI e D1 r.
W. AI1. (Greer, of Ersk~iine College, South
Carolina, preached a siermaoni and again
lat night at S.;;(0 O'clock. Thlese exer
alsos are a great evtent in th e itamediate
locality, and in facL tie necessarily 1look
od upon, with great initerest all overI the
State, there being repraesentative y,ounIg
mleni here from almnost every couiuy InI
i%ismisippi and from several ether
States. Theo students iii atteiidtne
number 276.
W rites Mrs. Elia Ann SmithI, of Vor
million, Erio county, Ohio, to toll thc
ldie. everywhere that nothing caJrpassoe
i). arite' Iron Tonic for all irrogu
laiies. "It cured mu when the physi
cians and all otermedie.s .al .. .. .
SO\E BALLOON STOIU ES.
TIIICILLIN(G EXPEI iNCES O1 PI'o.
KI(NG AND TIIE WiSES.
Tra . cling Seventy lilc an iIonr--.an(ting
in a W'i4rowerne--Caught in a Snow Storm
Without a Valve Iope--)riven to Sea.
(From the Philadilphia Times.)
There ara no two names bettor known
in the annals of of American aeronautics
than those of King and Wise. Professor
Samuel A. King is now in his sixtieth
year. Since 1851 ho has been a practi
cal aeronaut, making his first ascension
in the summer of that year from the old
Zoological Garden, in Fairmount Park.
Since then he has made 28( aerial voy
ages and a great many lesser ascensions.
His wife, who is a quiet, modest little
woman, has made a number of ascen
sions with him and regards ballooning a
much safer mode of traveling than car
riage riding. She is afraid of horses,
but doesn't mind taking a jaunt through
the air a mile or so above the earth. In
one of her trips she once had a narrow
escape. It was two years ago at In
dianapolis. After a remarkably pleasant
ascension the balloon in descending sud
denly swayed when near the earth and
caught in a dead tree. The sharp branch
ripped the balloon open, causing it to
collapse, and landing the basket in which
she and her husband sat in a fork of the
tree, sixty feet from the earth. As quick
as thought Professor King braced the
basket with a rope, until he had cut the
balloon away, then, dropping another
rope to some farm hands, he loosened
the basket and was lowered over a limb
to the earth. Neither he nor his wife
received a scratch.
The only timo ho was ever hurt w.as in
an ascension from Augusta, Ga. When
he descended the balloon caught on a
dead pine and was torn. IIe attempted
to descend by the drag rope, when the
balloon collapsed and came down with a
crash, badly bruising, but otherwise not
hurting him. Some of his voyages, how
ever, have been exceedingly perilous.
SOME TIIInILLiNG VOYAOES.
On October 14, 1878, he went up from
Scranton, got caught in a windstorm
and cane down at Oak Station, Mont
gomery county, 140 miles from the start
ing point, the whole trip consuming but
two hours. On October 15, 1881, he
made his memorable ascension from
Chicago with Iashagen of the Signal
Service Bureau. He was up nineteen
hours, and descended in the Wisconsin
wilderness, where ho and his comrade
lost their way and sufThred terribly be
fore they again came in contact with
civilization.
One night he was suspended between
sky and earth for 13 hours over the Maine
and Canada wilderness. his exl)ericnce
that night was thrilling and remarkable.
The ascension was made at 1 p. in. at
Plymouth, N. II., his companion being
Luther E. lolden, of the Boston Jour
na!. For six hours they hung over a
mile above the wilderness, the balloon
not losing a foot of gas or the car an
ounce of ballast. When they landed
next morning they came down at the
head of a new railroad which was being
constructed 250 miles below Quebec,
near the Gulf of St.. Lawrence, over
which they had spent a portion of the
night. The road was 2t)0 miles away
from any other road or civilization.
They rode to Quebec on a buckboard,
driven by a French Canadian. Mr.
Holden always attributed their lucky
descent to an interpositioni of Divine
Providence.
In an ascension he mnade in August,
1875, from Burlington, Iowa, ho was
caught in a thunder storm, and came
near being struck by lightning. The
expansion of the air acted on the balloon
and drove the gas from the neck on to
his head, and through the open valve
with terrific velocity. iIe had a thrilling
descent through the clouds, and on
reaching the earth went crashing throuigh
trees, landing twelve miles from whtere
he ascendied, having been driven back by
the storm. The wvhole trip consumled
three-quarters of an hour.
AN AF.IAL~ nIiuDALI 11 TIi'.
On the Fourth of July of tihe same
year he took a party of seven, including
two bridal couplles, over Lake Eric fromi
Cleveland. The balloon sailed over the
lake to B3uflalo, where it struck a back
cuirrent and retulrned1, passing Clevelan d,
gradlually approaching the Canada shore,
which it struck at Po'int an P~ele. It then
crossed a strip of Canada andl 35. miles
of Lake St. Clair, landing 11 miles from
Port ]Iuron at midlnight, having made
-480 miles in 113 hours.
.On another Fourth of July he took
five newspape)r men from Uildo to
Quinton, N. .J. lie crossed the Alle
ghenies and followed the Susquehianna
as far as Hlavre de (Irace, took a sharp
turn and sailed (du1 east across D)elaware
into Now Jerstey, the whole trip taking
thirteen hours.
Ptrofessor Charles Wise, uncler whose
directioni the "I.ndependlence"' wvill be
sent up, is tihe son1 of the late P.rofessor
John Wise, Sr., who was lost while
making aln aerial voyage, iIe made his
first asBcenlsion thiirty-seveni years ago,
when but 18 years of age, at Shannandale
Springs, West Virginia. 1Ile went up
two( and oine-hailf miles and staid up
three hours1, landing sixty-six miles fromi
time starting point, to which pla1ce he re
turned in an ox cart. F"our years later
hoe made an ascension froni Newberry
port, Mas. oin the occasion of ai civic
celeb ration. T1hie winid was bldow ing to
ward time ocean andl( the committee o1'or
ed to pay the price (of the as~cenion
irathier thain take any risks, but after con
sulting with his fatheri lie decided to
make the ascenlsionl. After going up
IM,000lt feet very rapidly and1( descending
still more raid(Ily lhe struck P lum Islandl
h ar. As tihere were 1no inihiabitants and
no0 plc to grapple the only alter-native
was to jumpil out oif the car. This he dlid,
landing safely in the 51and(.
The Idloon, lightened of its load, shot
into the air and blew out to saea. Th'ie
uext morning it wasi picked up by a
whaler f600 miles away and brought into
[Provincetown, Thle whole ascent and
descent occ.upied one-half hour. The
sailors on the whaler, when they saw the
balloon floating in the water, ttmvh it
was an immense blubber and harpooned
it. It immediately collapsed and was
takon on board, tho Nowborryport papers
of the previous day being found in the
car. The professor has been over since
actively engaged as an aeronaut, and at
various times has taken up every mom
bor of his family, having in thirty-filvo
years made over 300 ascensions. his son,
John, Jr., who will take up the "inde
pendence" to-day, made his, first ascen
sion at the ago of 8, with his grandfather.
cAUolr IN A SNOW STORM.
One of the most notable ascensions
that has been made was made by him,
under the direction of his father, at
Waynesburg, Green county, when ho
was onty 14 years old. After wording a
half day at inflating the balloon, the sup
ply of gas gave out when the balloon
was only half full. The balloon refused
to ascend with the boy, when his father
decided to do a thing that has never be
fore or since been attempted. lie cut
the lower half of the balloon ofl. While
he was doing this some officious specta
tor cut the valve rope two feet beyond
the boy's reach, and in the midst of a
rain storm the 14-year-old aoronaut wont
sailing into space, and beyond the
clouds, hatless and coatless and without
a valve cord.
He was directed by his father not to
go over two miles, but bcidg unable to
reach the valve cord, he got caught in a
heavy snow storm and was driven forty
miles in forty minutes. Landing where
there were no means of communication,
lie was not heard from for two days.
The excit'e'n,t of the citizens was so
intense that they organized a committee
to search for and give him a reception
when found. When he was found the
citizens lilled his hat with money. lie
was nearly frozen to death during the
voyage, and when he descended was coV
ere(d with icicles. Since then be has
made 250 ascensions without an accident.
Two 1(IARmAnLE AS(ENSIONS.
The highestasceeion ever made was
on September 5, 18 2, by James Glaish
er, F. Ii. S. lie left the earth with
aeronaut (c ggswell at Wolverhampton,
England, lit 1.i p. in., and at 1.51 was
2,000 feet high, going up at the rate of
1,000 feet per minute. He kept on as
cending until the balloa attained an
altitude of W7,00t feet. ( laisher bCam1111e
utterly unconscious, but Coggswell
climbed up the ropes and pulled the
valve rope with his teeth. They de
scended at the rate of 2,000 foot per min
ute until the balloon formed . parachute,
when it came down easily, seven miles
from the starting point.
The longest and fastest balloon voyage
was made on .July 1, 1859, by Joun
Wise, Sr., La Mountain and Oliver P.
Gager, of New York. They left St.
Louis at Gi p. in., and landed in Jeffer
son county, New York, at 2.35 p. in. the
next day, the distance I eing 1,100 miles
as the bird flies, and 1,200 miles as the
balloon ilew.
MI0'NTA I N IiO)iiIiti.
IaIr IhuOatly I)leetis-TIrave"lers Wvho IlaaVO
I)isalappea real.
Jim Putnam county, Tennessee, before
the war, for seventy-five years, a road
within tLree miles of Cookevile, leading
from Louisville, Kentucky, through
down into Georgia and Soutlh Carolina,
was known as the Kentucky stock road,
and was at that time the prineipal high
way for traders Ibetween the two sections.
I'lanters, shive dealers and stock men
would drive their negroes, mules, etc.,
down to the southerin market, returning
with the money from their sale.
Such partiees were frequently missing
very mysteriously, no trace of them ever
being found. The road ran through a
wild, thinly settled mountain country.
T1hue stopmig lacnes, or dIwellings where
a traveler could get shelter, frequently
were thirty or forty miles apart, and as
recent investigations show, were kept by
robbers andl murderers of the wvorst de
scrip)tion, who for years followed this
business of wholesale robbery and mu
decr. About thirty years ago a man, who
is now a citizen of Cooke, found a skele
ton at the entrance to a cave, but no fur
thuer investigation was ever made until
a coup)le of years ago, and it was left for
a stranger to make discoveries thiat cast
in the shiade all stories of like deserip
tion, where the writer finds his terrible
chiaracters only in his own brain.
A partiy was oirganiized under the lead
ershiip of Mi-. Ferd Kincaid to explore
the cave wher-e the skeleton was found
thirt y years ago. Back on the mountain
side about one-half a mile from one of
the inotoriouis stopping plhaces describ ed,
the entrance to the cave was for-med1. A
hole, sominxtg like a we'll, going
straight down thirty -live feet, was first
piassedi through, and then the cave oipens
into large caverns, with a downward
course uundei- the mountain. At the bot
tom of the shaft the piarty found Inunani
bones 'udl with a little digging in the
debri. I iat bad accumulated at this
pioint, unearthied abiout sixty skeletons
oif men who have been murdered aind
th rown down this hole. Somae skulls
were found withI bullet holes through
thenm, others being mkashied wvith an axe
or instrumnuut of that kind.
Old citizens now living in this vicinit y
say that the keepers of these dens would
keep, track o,f the travelers when they
passed thruough with stock, and on their
return they would bie almost certain to
dhisapipear. T1he robbers werei even soi
bolt theny would take the clothing and
saddles and horses of their victims and
us~e thema publicly. T1hey would get a
mtani dIrunk, if possible, and, as whiskey
was plentifult and the cuistomii of drinking
coimmoni, it was nio hiard matter to do,
then in their drunken stupor kill, r >b
and throw their bodies ini the hole, and
without doeub t ninny meni, as this fearful
<isclosure proves, never retuirined to thiei r
h omue:i, am n xious friendsa waitedl and
wastced and wondered why they ro
tulrnedl not.9
Not far off, by the side of the road
still stands a house. 'Tho walls of one
r-oom are stained andi spotted1 withi liummax'
blood. Above, in the nmouuntains, about
twenty miles, wast still a wvorso pla(ce, if
possible, than thiis. Another case is
IIhere, anti womuld, if investigated, rep)eat
'lhe siekening story. 'Thue peopk. are
much excited over thin discovery, as
many descendantM of this robber gang
are still living all thr:mghi Pilunm COun
ty. Uut '"dead men tcil no tales," and
the history of these fearful crimes will
never be known.
The "avorlt.e Prescriptlin" of D)r.
Piece cures "'female weakness" and
kIndred affections. Ry dengtmltt.
LOSSES IN Til E UNITEI) STATES ESTI
MATED AT 1300,000,000.
Tornado-Centering liegilons--Frequeucy of
Cyclones In the MMssissippi Valley--187
a Tlld Tornado Year.
The terrible destruction of life and
property by tornadoes at this season I
causos much fear in several States. Be
cent investigations by Lieutenant John
P. finlay, signal service, United States j
army, reveal to some extent the danger
in each region, which will do much to
allay unnecessary alarm in the Eastcru <
States. At the same time other regions
before thought to be comparatively sate
are found to be more dangerous than i
had been supposed. t
The first striking result of the exami
nation of Lieutenant Finlay's map, show
ing the geographical distribution of tor- f
nadoes from 1882 to 188G inclusive is
that they uniformly avoid extended
mountain ranges. The Rocky Moun- i
tains present so insurmountable a barri- 1
or that the country lying west of this t
great range is almost entirely free from 'l
the long, violent tornado tracts seen in a
Kansas and Missouri. It is known that a
storm centers which form west of the I
ltocky Mountains are imperfectly de- s
veloped, and are not persistent or vio- I
lent in their course until the Mississippi c
valley is reached. Tornadoes form at an a
rverage distance of -153 miles southeast p
)f the main storm center, as shown in p
forty-ono cases cited by Professor 11. A. c
Hlazen, of the signal service. It follow:; ;
that the cold air from the foot of the p
Rtocky Mountains, coming in the wake
)f and eastward moving storm manifest
ing unusually low barometer, causes
sharp contrasts of temperature in Kansas I
and Missouri, and these contrasts, some
times as much as fifty degrees, result in
great tornado frequency in northwestern
Missouri and northern Kansas. It is (
further shown by the distribution of 1l
tornado tracts that the average of severi- I
ty and destruction steadily lessens as the 1:
storm centers move eastward from the
Mississippi valley. This waning of tor- u
nado power is gradual, but the danger I
does not entirely cease as the Atlantic I
eoast is approached. The coast lines of n
the Gulf of Mexico and of the Atlantie I
ocean are nearly free front tornadoes, IL
b)ecause great contrasts accompanying s
storm centers cannot develop, owing to t
the equalizing ettect of the ocean ten- \
perature and moisture.
IN TrlE MIssIssIPPI vALh:v.
O1 the total number of tornadoes re
ported nearly one half occur in the Mit;
sissippi valley, which is the region of
greatest violence. The lapse of time
must make this even more marked, be
causo the records of the Eastrn States 1
cover a much longer period, while the
number of tornadoes is less. The region t
of greatest frequency is along the north t
and west boundary lines of Missouri, inl- i
creasing toward the point of intersection.
Then conies northwestern Georgia cx
tending into Alabama. A very solid and
compact region of tornado development 1
is in southern Michigan, tending toward
the lower part of Lake Alichigan. F or a
distance of about 2(11) miles square, this
region nearly equals that of lanss in
frequency, though it has not more than t
one-tenth its extent, and its average se- li
verity is far less. In the lIastern State., C
the most remarkable region next to
western New York, is in the Connecticut '
river valley, which seems to be p)ersi9te
ontly followed b,y tornadoes through ~
Connecticut and1 iMassachulsetts into Now
HJamnpshire. T1ho open country here b
favors the development of a small torna- t
ilo with a tract about a mile or halt a I
mile long, andl from two hundred to live
Lbundredl feet in widith. Western Coni-a
uccticut andl Massachusetts favor thme
icccumulation of warm air from the
southwest, whlichi moves steaSdi ly niorth
ward, white Pennsylvanaia, Virginia and
western D elaware remain cool, thIiisat
eaiusing sharp contrasts of temperature.v
[nm soutuheastern Pennsyvanmia the 1benda
>f the D)elaware river there is a group of I
A)rnadoes conterinag naar Trentona, N. d.
Southeast of Lakes E~rie and Ontario
;here is also a lively region, which is ian
3xtension due to thme still high contrasts
f temperature common in the Missis
aippi valley and southeastern Michiigan,.
bI northeastern Mississippi there is a v
cery marked extenisioni of the Gecorgiao
mnd Alabama region, though not <puite
3(jualing it in freqjuency.
nOssEs OF nIlIE AND Piloi''rV.
The value of property reported to the
signal service as dlestroyed in 205 years
years was aibouit $28,000t,000Ot . ieuteant t
L'inlay esthnates this to be about one-S
~enth the actual value, mking thle total
osses abosut $8300, 000, (000.
The nmber of deaths rio>rled wasb
I, I 5, and the injured 5,019.
These figures are doubtless nmehl be -t
ow the actual damiage, biecauase torauda o
reports includo the main facts only. Th1le
bransmaission of new,s is piartly obstratet- a
.d, antd isolated regions escapie rep>ort. I
Ilho comp)arisona of a nuniber of torana- a
lees, with the amiount of forest lanad by ~
Mtates, according to the United States c
zensus, indlicates that these stornis area
not applreciately influenced by the pres-a
mnce or absence of forests. To'radaoes
are caused by the persistenit maovemlen t
amnd accumuiilation of air masses( (on ana
Liiinuense scatle. Foresbts and of her loal b
features of lanadscape have little ethet .9
Thec signal service repoarted 280) torna
does for 1880, 180 for 1 885, 200) for I HM I,
101 for 1883, and1( from that linac back to
187(0 the nuuber diuminaishaes to 9. Tlhis
does not represenat a change in the atuaal
number, but only i ndicates addhitionaal
facilities for observat ion, duea to the
steadily increasinag interest tiaken lby the I
prests and peopJle, as well ias to thea or
ganizationa of a lairge st aId of v olunatary
toradol( rep)orters ini 188 I, aanader thla suI
porvision of Lieuteant liainlaiy. In 18a5
the numbler of reporters hadt increased to
1,500 and in 1886 to 2,500). Thlis hargeN
workinig force sent mi an unmense majass
of very valuable informiati'i, du~e to the I'
goodl will of the people. These reports (I
are usaed in estimatimg averges which
will servoa as fotudations upon01 which the
work cana and will be carried forward for b
centuries.. By this means the <@nger for eo
given refpons will be so well lymown that I I
tornado mnsurance premliutms an be esti- I
mated justly, and im that maanr much i
?xpenditure saved. There is every rca
on to believe that if the tornado records
vere carried forward for several hundred
Vears an astonishing regularity would 1)0
liscovered. 'T'he statistics already show
reat advance in this direction.
1887 A MIM -roltNA)O YEA1.
The number of tornadoes reported
rom January I to Juwo 11, 1887, is 123.
i 188G, for the same period, there were
It;, which shows that taken yearly there
ire great 11ietuations. The figures so
ar indicate 1888 is a very much milder
ornado year than 1886. In July the
astern States begint to Contrilbito their
)roportion in addition to those still due
n the \Vestern States. The most im
)Ortaut deductions from the signal ser
'ice statistics is that there is no evidenco
>f variation in the number of tornadoes,
)Ut only alt alpparent increasO caused by
etter reportorial anti press facilities.
It would require a vast lapse of time
o deuontstrate the theory that the out
ing awav of forests affects the number
nd leadly violence of tornadoes. They
aay be considered a ixed characteristic
f the United States, like the geological
ormation of the mountain ranges, and
lIe average number may be considered
s little subject to change. They seem
n inevitable result of the mcvemout of
umeuso masses of air over comparative
y level plains and on the boundaries be
ween the temperate and torrid zones.
ornadoes occur in India and Japan,
ud parts of Europe where land surfaces
re free from extended mountain ranges.
t would be a valuable contribution to
cience if the tornadoes that occur in
ndia and Japan were classified and re
orded. This might lead to the further
dvancemnent of the science of tornado
rcdiction in the United States, which at
resent awaits the action of Congress to
arry it to a high degree of perfection,
iing many lives and much vahiable
roperty.
- --- - -- ---
AN OI' FICIAI. [1511 51'4Tit'.
Iow)' ('i :iniIi 1.lIIgston'(i W 'l ill' y1 a0
siwotrd"-i il.
(1 (I t ': w : 1iii t( n :- tar, .Iinly 2)
A butlletin or the United States Fish
onionli si on just isstiued gives the follow
g acctout, as tscribed in ia letter to(
rOfiest riaiid, of tie killing of a mai
y it swon il-fi:ih:
"'th'e scooeluar V'en u, U suutl Vessel
f about twelve tont, owned anti com
uite(td-tl by Fr 'utkliil1). l niiigsfoid, to
,tn(.;ville, ?lb:.., w\iit a cre\w of thre(
it'n, (im~a:('td ii ilt g n rl1'P i;heri'st oil
toetoaist df lita;lehui:"tts. On Mondltay'
torning, .\ o; t , ('ap tain I auiftoii
tiled ri'omi btuot ii puitr.-,tait of svord
st. A 'ett I o'cloc. in the iorining.
rhen tiglh' iiiC northe I at:t trom llalibut
'oint, iii I psWien i,y, leshi wts seen.
'lte cptain, with on t i:aU, taking a
uoy, gtve"t chase, iil soon harpoonmed
he fisl, tlhrowinig o .' a ituoy i ill with
in' ll:tclri to tie lui -;po, u, aIt ''r wli"lh
lie fish we lef't ad the,' rturin to th'
'essel f'or tliner. Al tout anli hour later
lie captain, w\itih one man, againl took
is dory aitl wnt out to secure the Ilsh.
'icking upl) the huoy', (;aptail i Lnigsford
rok ho1ld of tlie hu', 1puling his boat
:)oartlhe swotiIsli, whlicll wa; quitt
irge and noti ;utdlV wv,uli('td. The liin
'ia taut. as the Ibo:1at :lowiv ltearled tlht'
sh, t hiiclh t i. Cap;:iii iiteiidetl to lance
n(d this kill it. \\ he; near the iish,
ut. 10) liii' ItWaLr to rt'atIht it witl the
mie', it qlickIly tIIUntl uand1l i'lhd at
t utler the boait, thristing its sword
i sw'ortl ip tlhoui;ghi 1t liottin of tlt
iott t.vt lity-thrre iines . As the fish
iruied aitt rush0(d toowti tlie ltboat the
00\ waos siibtlt.'t,ly shttiel, tti-aing the
aptaiii to fol over oil hi a uck; and
hile he was in toot ot'I( uf ris lig the
vordl eaine piering thrioghi thet botat
itd into his ibdy.At Ihis timie anoothecr
vordtlfish was~ ini 'ighot nooiar byi, antd thle
ata;ini, extcited1 r.n ja nxius to seetre
otho, ratised himoselfI up, oit kn lowinig
oat hoe was wounded. Seeinog the swortd, a
B seizedl it, exclaininig, ' We've got hiino,
iwvay !' lie lity in [bhe bottomo of [te
:>ry, hioldinog last to th l'sw(ordt unotil his~
assel entne alhongside, whoilethie fish, be
og undeltr thie boat, could niot he00 r''eh
1. Soon the Capinii said, 'I think .I
n hurt, andt quiite- badly." \\'ht-n theI
:sse o airived h le wenit on board, toiiok ii
w stepos, imod ft'll, niever rising aganin,
lie b oat andot fish werte soon1 hioistedl oni
>00 id, whoen thle swordi was ehoppi~ed1 oil
free the boat, andt [bho fish wais killedr
oit theek o'fithe veosel. The it;fshr
eighedut 21> pO ounis. ater its headtt and001
ilI were coot tif' andt tote viscera rooivetd;
he lievot e it we;ighe stom501ethinog overe
)It onds. Capjtin Lantogsfordit sor-e
ved thet inijury absout thoree days, dyinig
i Thiursd*ay, Aougusat 12 of pieritoitio. o
lie swordl hoas bIe dt;m epo sitted in theL
nited Stateos Nat iional Moluseum."i.
C.iolanl:soN. , S. ( X., Ju lly 6,----teriooos
oubole is foeae on0 [t;he ati ls of [lit'
tvnwtho Iliver0i nar Augusdta, (hro. Thoe
cv. David i;orooito nd hto'rs Spoener
otl Miiurray, .\b,r'iaoooat ;-soties, haveyt
eni praochootinag as that ltoality for' someit
liii. Theay have ot\t co tdahtoool [tweoi.
-ai; fanubjol oft th P''trO igotomt
bit esa. The a dot Iian. I ioiluuled ist ta
I whoi tdo .,t as.,p taie faithi oif Mor
.nis suOi g~ 'o to t toh beoftote I8 w~t)ill
detstroyedt by tiro; [liat 000no;arriages
*e ini aectordanceo w iith thle laws of (jodl
ofpt loose sooactioneda boy thle Morioni
hurcho antI tht 010 w~)o0 an h en ttaiiin to
.oltefio pterfetationi ini [ale fututre' utiless
ariiedi'o in thois lifte. Ntotice fo feavo [lie<
eni holy hias bteeno ;2'\l toi the mission-0 i
i-is boy theo moroia re'spaoniletcitizensux
it [.1h< y Ihav'e ia fus-it to compaly. 'Tlit
15s'onarties ar 0c1~e attd upj boy thecir conl
tots, 0110d dlechtre thI at [tey will resist
iy atttemplt tof thea rtegutlators to drive;
02e0 froml [lie counitry.
.0" at 'iy ~tonae of~'I ler copaita
die'. o, hu f unioltss that d oiseaseod livteo
0oo be rstored'o to hen'itby ac;ftin, it wils
ogfloe htings wvitho ('orrupitinog 00.u0 ter' s
0) 1ong too ltei' spoeedy otet.:ytit lo
t'i we, haveyt ctoaopftion,i wvohih isj
o i"N.t cot thit bioits, ini its woriist fioraoo
othoig <a hie lot're0 fhappuily c:i.o'o loto o
ly t lot; <huiger'h inte hioi thano is Dr)o.
'(oire oden Miedica:l I )P.,eo y." By
'ggist.
A deacon tof Steymour, Intd., loos
eon etxpllehtd from tho church for' de
aring his belief [liat the worldl is 1,000 ,
30) years old and that it is likely t'o
~and for another raillion before the
idgmnent ay com.a
TI. A. EDISON, THE WIZARD.
TELLINO ABOUT HIS EXPERIMENTS=
IN SUBIMARItNE SIGNALIN .
The Captaius of Vessels Seven Miles Apart
Can Talk With Each Other--In Philadel
phla Buying Electrical Apparatus for
Ills Laboratory. .
A smooth-faced, thick-set, youthful
looking man, attired in a gray suit and
accompanied by two handsome young
women, stopped briskly up to the desk
of the Continental Hotel office and regis- <
tored in a plain round back-hand,
"Thomas A. Edison, Orange, N. J." It
was the wizard of elecricity. The young
women were his wife and sister-in-law.
lie appeared to be enjoying the best of
health, and said the stories about his
being at the point of death while in
Florida wore without foundation. He
said he had come to Philadelphia to
purchase electrical apparatus for his new
laboratory at Llowellen, N. J.
TWO MILLIONS IN EXPE1IMENTS.
The laboratory, the erection of which
has just begun, will, when finished, be
as large as the University of Pennsyl
vania buildings and will be devoted on
tirely to experimenting. The machine
ry will be of the largest and most im
proved patterns, the machine shop alone
being 200 feet long. Mr. Edison, in
speaking of the cost of experimenting,
said he had expended over $2,000,000 in
experimenting, but as it was strictly in
the line of his business he had found it
iuoney well invested. In speaking of
his Florida trip ho said he was so well
tleased with the climate that he had
3rocted a permanent laboratory on the
banks of the Caloosahatchie river, where
bie will continue his experiments every
winter. lie has erected a number of
ilectric-light plants in several Florida
towns, but he has not devoted much
lime to plants.
SIONALING UNDER WATEn.
One of his most interesting experi
ments was in submarino signaling, by
which messages can be transmitted from
ihip to s1h) by means of steam whistles
operated by keys in the same manner as
telegraphic instruments. All his expe
riments have so far been confined to the
waters of Caloosahatchie, whore he has
succeeded in conveying intelligible mes
sages a distance of one mile. The prin
ciple on which he will endeavor to per
fect his experiment is the remarkable
facility afl'orded by water for transmit
ting sound.
Divers in the ocean have heard the
swish of a steamer's wheels fifteen miles
away and Mr. Edison thinks ho can
truisinit his message from ship to ship a
distance of at least seven miles. What
he purposes doing after ho has perfected
apparatus is to have the large ocean
steaolire celuipped with the steam whis
ties and transmitters. Under the water
line of each steamer will be a sounder,
coinnected with the captain's cabin by a.
thin thransmitting wire running through
t tube. When the captain of one vessel
wants to signal another he will sit down
to his key-board, turn the steam on his
vhistle, manipulato the keys and send
he message out into the waves that
reak against the sounder. This sound
viii pass unbroken from wave to wave
vith remarkable velocity until it runs up
gainst the sounder of some vessel or
essels which may happen to be within
each of the volume of sound.
As soon as the wav containing the.
0ound strikes the sounder on the hull of
he vessel or vessels within reach, the,
Liessage will run over the electrical wire.
oi the capitain's cabin, where it will ring.
n electrical bell. An attendant will
hen take down the message as it comes.
roma the water, by means of telegraphic>
:eys, as comfortably and correctly as.
hough he were sitting in one of Jay
leould's Western Union Telegraph oflicos
eceiving news about one of Jay Gould'e,
ig dleals,
l'A.ssING IT ALONo.
After the message has been received
he cap)tain can swing his vessel around,
ud( continue the message through seven
iiles of water, in the same direction,,
util it strikes another steamer, when
he operation may be rep)eatedl until the
hole breadth of the ocean has been
rossed. it will also be useful as a means
f signaling by a vessel in distress.
Mr. Edlison seenmed confident that his.
xp)erimnents would meet with succek4
ut regrets that he cannot send the mes
Ige by electricity, instead of a uteamie.
thistle.
I'Ianioi andI Organs.
All of the best makes. $25 cash and
>alanco November 1, at spotA cash prices
n a I'ano. ~$10 cash and balance No
ember I, at spiot croh prices on an
)rgani. Dehivored, freight free, at your
carest depot. Fifteen (lays test trial
nd freight both ways if not satisfactory.
Write for circulars.
N. W. 'LTUMP,
Albion, in Erie county, Pa., has a
uniosity iln the shape of a cloe which
tanids seven feet high, operated by
hainis and great weights, the dial bear
ng old iRoman iigures, with the entire
vorks made of boxwood and bearings of
mro ivory. It is a pectfct time-keeper
ld upward of luut' years 01(d.
--bouisa county, Va., is excited over
ho alleged fact that after a white hand
eOrchuief, which had been folded four
hick and laid over the face of a dead
vomnan, had been remnovedl, there were
our distinct Pictures of the woman,
thout the t4o of a 25 cent piece, plainly
printed on the cloth. Spirits of camphor
11(d been applied to the face before the
~ce before the handkerchief was laid
Lt is said that in Portland, Maineo
here is a man with a false nose, a glass.
~ye, bult three fingers and one thumb,
,nie car, false teeth, falso hair and a.
-ork leg. For all this he is the liveliest.
mnan in Portland. Ho walks ten mil.
avory day, rin or shine. Ho has had
three wives, and survives them all, and
has,oftuEod five chances to get mnarried
again,.so he says, since he buried hli
at wife, about a year ago.