Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lewis >r. grist, Proprietor. J A? Jiulrpcndcnt ^iniilij $tcicspaper: <J;oi; the flromotion of the folitical, Social, Agricultural and (llommrrcial Jntcrests of the ?outh. | TERMS?82.00 A YEAR IX ADVANCE VOL. 39. YOBKVILLE, S. C., VEDNESDAY. MAY 17, 3 893. ISTO. -2Q. ?hf ^torji teller. ! COMPLETE IN THIS NL'MHKIt. BELEAGUERED By W. THOMSON. ICopyrlght, 1891, by American Press Association.] L x-' ^ *,-*7 '" sf-**"' , ,'t '' "Halt, boys! Halt!" "Well, yes, gentlemen," said our old ! California friend, Bert Ashton; "I've ' seen some little Indian fighting away > back in the early days, when only by a J voyage around Cape Horn, a short cut ' across the deadly isthmus or a five months' journey overland could the gold fields, about which every one was then | crazy, be reached. j . _ "When it came my turn to join the j procession, as I didn't like salt water j much and Panama fever still less, I con- j eluded to risk all chances 011 the plains: | and so it happened that, as we were plod- j ding along one forenoon, Gus Taylor suddenly called out, 'What do you make of that, Cap?' pointing to a ridge two miles away, on the crest of which the naked V eye could barely discern two black w specks. j "Our guide and captain, Jim Bur' rows, unslung his field glass, and turn- j ing his horse gazed steadily for a few i moments in the direction indicated. Then uttering the single word, 'Apaches!' he galloped to the head of the train and cried: 'Halt, boys! Halt! an form corral ] quicker'n lightning! Thar's a swarm uv Apaches hoverin round back uv the rise, waitin till we git inter the pass. Them little dots is two uv ther scouts, an 1 j seen them signalin plain ez daylight. Ef thar's goin ter be a fight, right here on the open's the place fur it.' Long practice had rendered us expert at such work, and in an incredibly short time the corral was complete and the horses ^ and mules safely inside. "There were ten wagons in all, and our mode of corralling was as follows: First one wagon was placed in position and the team unhitched; then another was backed up to its front, over the pole, and so on until the desired circle or square was finished. In this case we chose a rectangular formation, with three wagons on each side and two across each end, as this arrangement * seemed to afford a greater inclosed space and better lines of defense than any other, while the high canvas tops of the 'prairie schooners' completely screened ail within the square from outside observation. "We had left St. Louis, Missouri, more j * ai it? ? <. man mree mourns ueiuie, uu vvuiuu ume our party consisted of twenty-four men with six wagons; but we had lately overtaken and given convoy to a little cara^ van ol four wagons and eight men, three of whom had brought their wives along, and two of these last had each a babe less than a year old, so that our total number now included thirty-seven souls. "Up to this time our journey had been singularly prosperous, as we had not lost a man nor an animal, though we had been engaged in several skirmishes with wandering bands of Piutes while passing through Colorado. But we had now reached the country dominated by those incarnate scourges of Arizona and New j Mexico?the Apache Indians; and, as j Captain Jim said, 'would hev ter keep our eyes peeled ef we 'spected ter save our ha'r.' "However, we had come within a 6hort I distance of the great pass which cuts j through the Chirihuica mountains, and was then the only road between the Rio Grande and Fort Yuma, without seeing a single one of these fierce warriors, and > but for the sharp eyes of Gus Taylor we I might have entered the defile itself quite unaware of their proximity; in which ' ca3e, as we afterward knew, not a man j would have lived to tell the story, and j as for the women?well, I'd rather not 1 think of that. ^ "Jim Burrows, an old friend and pupil j of the renowned Kit Carson, and him- ! self a famous Indian fighter, had already j made two or three overland journeys, ; and was pretty well up to all the dodges of the redskins, and when we had got | things into shape, he said: 'Now, boys, ! these varmints hez showed ther hand a j lee tie previous. Ther game was ter 1 wait till we got inter the pass, then pitch ; v. into our rear and drive us, like ez not, j right onto 'nuther lot uv 'em a-waitin | fur us 'mong the rocks. Ef thar's 'nuff . uv 'em ter resk it they'll likely tackle us | here sum time 'fore night an try ther J purtiest ter git inter the corral, or coax j us out; but whatsomever happens, don't J let 'em get in, or not a mother's son uv j us'll ever see Californy.' "The surface of the great plain on ^ which we were camped, although appear" ing at first sight level, was really quite rolling, and we had lately skirted several deep, dry coulees, in which numbers of 1 enemies might even now be lurking. Meantime, the two videttes had vanished 1 from the ridge, and one of our party ventured to remark that he guessed it was a false alarm after all. The captain opined differently and quietly replied: 'Don't fool yerself with no sich notion. I kin _ __ read Injun signs like a book, an I seen them scouts tell ther band our 'xact number, how many critturs we hev an all 'bout us, plain ez preachin. Thar's a big slew uv 'em somewhar not far off, an we best erit dinner 'fore ther onto us. We'll hev ter teetotally whip an demoralize 'em right here, an purty quick, too, ' fur we haint got but two days' dry feed fur the stock, au all the water'll run out 'bout the same time. These Injuns is Apaches, yer want ter notis'?the allfiredest fighters, cunninest hoss thieves an cruelest reds ginerally in the hull kentry. Thar aint no sized band uv nary 'nuther tribe on the plains 'ud dar i ter tackle a corralled party sich ez this; j but these fellers'll try it on ef they kin skar up 'bout ten men ter our one. see ef they don't!' "Everything around us looked so quiet and deserted that it was hard to believe ; serious trouble was brewing, and the j whole party proceeded to get dinner with the careless air of men having nothing to fear?this apparent coolness j having the desired effect of reassuring the terribly frightened women. The i meal was finished without interruption, and some of the boys were just giving the stock half rations of corn ami water, when from oat a coulee about a thou- { sand yards to the northeast emerged a single plumed and armed but unpainted Indian, who, to our great surprise, rode straight toward us. waving in the air a dingy rag which he no doubt considered * white. " 'Wal, I'll be blamed ef that ain't cheek!' exclaimed the captain. 'We'd ort ter shoot the skunk right down the minit he gits in range. He's comin ter . pretend ter talk trade. Yer see lie ain't 1 got no war paint on, an he reckons ter j git his people 'rnong us on that old dodge, j go's ter wipe us out easy without a fight, v But white men's habits is 60 strong on ' me that I reely can't kill him in his t tracks, an I guess we'll jest hev ter let I the mis'ble cuss go.' f "Meanwhile the innocent looking warrior loped along until within fifty yards, when he checked his pony and grunted j out a lot of gibberish. Jim Burrows, ! who understood most of the dialects of ' tion among the crowd nine heavy Colt's revolvers, at that time a rather rare and costly weapon, so that we could deliver thirty-two shots at long range and no less than eighty-sis at closer quarters without reloading, the navy Colt being quite effective up to fifty or sixty yards. "Jim's 'developments' were not long in coming, for about twenty minutes after the baffled rag carrier had disappeared a great cloud of hideously painted braves rode slowly out of the coulee and drew np in a body on the plain. Then one of their number walked his pony away in the direction of mound for a hundred yards or so, stopped, turned it twice around and galloped back at top speed to his comrades. 'What's the meaning of that little caper. Cap?' inquired Sum Bid well. 'It means,' replied Jim. 'that they're goin to pile in soon's the two bands jines, an tother one's ter hurry up. Jest keep yer eye on the ridge now. Them scouts hez bin layin low a-watchin furasignal, an you'll see ther answer mighty suddin, I reckon.' Sure enough, in a couple of minutes we saw a big squad of mounted warriors loom up over the crest of the rise and ride swiftly down in a direct line for the band at the head of the couIAA TI'NA fAKrtoo Kninrv f A*I1M illiu OVI MIUll lllig IUC11 llt^UUUi nui whoop, lay flat on the backs or clnn^ closely to the sides of their plunging, aim distracting mustangs, as if each man were a part of the animal itself. But we were not quite in the mood to admire even so realistic a 'wild west' show, knowing that the actors in the drama were the most ruthless, bloodthirsty and superlatively cruel savages on the American continent, and burning to exact, as the price of its enjoyment, no less a fee than that of our lives and fortunes. "As the howling reds came on, faster and faster, we naturally turned to our captain for guidance, and I declare the man looked as composed and fearless as if merely engaged in some pleasant pastime. Nay, more; his rugged old face actually broke into smiles as the joy of battle lighted up his deep gray eyes, and in strangely soft and quiet tones ho said: 'Don't fire at all, boys, till the varmints comes ez clost ez they will come? that'll be 'bout eighty yards this time, I reckon; then shoot tor kill. When you can't see no Injun dror a bead on the cayuses, an don't throw nary shot away. Mebbee they'll make off on the fust round with ther killed an wounded; mebbee they'll jest dror our fire an then come 011 agm. hopin ter ketch us with empty burls. So you nine fellers that hez revolvers post yerselves, three on each front, an ef they make a rush, keep on shootin a. stichly stream till we git fresh loads in, an you kin git yer irons all right agin while we're a-firin. Ef we kin stand 'em off a half dozen times an knock over a good slew of 'em they'll never dar ter bother us agin on the hull trip.' II. "By the time Jim had finished his little speech the'Indiaus were no more than four hundred yards away, and now began to shoot from all parts of their triangular line, along the whole length of which their firearms seemed to be pretty evenly scattered. But this salute did us no harm whatever, and we were greatly relieved to find, from the flashing lock pans and round, full reports, that all their pieces were the old flintlock, smoothbore buffalo guns?a weapon far inferior to even a common army musket. "Hardly checking their speed after | the plains, crawled under one of the wagons, and telling a couple of us to cover him with our rifles, walked out to meet the envoy. The conference, however, had not lasted half a minute before the savage wheeled his pony and rode off at speed, while the captain returned to us with a comical grin on his wrinkled visage. " 'It's jest ez 1 'sposed, boys,' ho explained, 'the fool galoot sez thar's a band uv thirty bucks (jest thirty, see?) camped down in the holler, an :hey'd like ter trade off a pony or two fur pork an flour an baccy an sugar. I didn't say nothin much, only jest obsarved in a kind of modest, casuwell way that my name's Jim Burrows, an, seein the game war up, he didn't wait fur ter say goodby. but moseyed off ter git his paint on agin. An now, ez me noospaper men *sez, we'll hev ter wait further developments.' "All the men of our party were armed with ordinary muzzle loading, single Vmrrolpd rifles and there were in nddi icc. a. lie uiiiicu luitco i/tititj ciicu yjmj a thousand yards away, we were able to i approximately estimate their numbers, j which most of us placed at three liun- i dred, but the captain at two hundred i and sixty?a sufficiently alarming dis- I parity, though the true significance of this would depend a good deal upon how ! the savages were armed. If with bows i and arrows, tomahawks and knives only, j we had not so much to fear; but if with : rifles also, the comiug fight might prove a long and desperate one, and the result extremely doubtful. "The enemy seemed now to be holding an earnest, though .by no means harmonious, consultation, evidently debating as to the expediency of an imme diate attack. Two or three times an ex- ' cited group of warriors broke off from the main body, and, setting up the war whoop, dashed for a little way toward us, only to turn back again when they found their companions did not follow. 'Them young bucks,' said Captain Burrows, 'is red hot fur a fight, an they'll bring the hull caboodle 'round ter ther way uv thinkin in no time. Thar's too many scalps an too much plunder in this ere outfit fur sich a big crowd ter give up till a pile uv 'em's wiped out. They're bout ten ter one now, an jest's likely ez not thar's more a-comin. But we're all right s'long's they don't git inter the corral, an when they do?wal, thar won't be nobody left ter kill then, only the two babies, an they'd likely carry them i off alive.' "At this plain intimation of what was expected of them, rather than let their wives fall into the hands of the brutal Apaches, the married men turned pale, and a thrill of shuddering horror ran through our ranks; but a moment later the brave Anglo-Saxon spirit reasserted itself, and a bold, defiant cheer rang out, stunning the astonished savages into watchful quiet. Soon we noted a movement on their part which seemed to indicate that all differences had been i arranged and a definite plan of actiou | agreed upon. Three warriors, appar- ! ently chiefs, rode out from the crowd, one straight ahead and the others diverging to the right and left, until all were about two hundred yards in advance and at the same distance from one another. Then they halted, and to each leader's support rallied a separate band of followers, who, deploying on either side of these pivotal points as they came up, finally brought themselves into j touch with the next detachment, until | the three formed one continuous single line about six hundred yards long. "Our guide, after closely scanning these maneuvers through his glass, informed us that at least one-fourth of the enemy carried guns of some kind, whether rifles or smoothbores he could not say; and, us they thus more than equaled us in total number of firearms, we awaited their next move with some little anxiety. We were not long kept in suspense; , for, on a signal given by the central chief, the whole horde dashed forward and, yelling like fiends let loose, bore straight down upon us. We had expected them to follow the usual Indian tactics of sweeping around and around us in wide circles, but instead of doing this they charged upon three sides of the square only, leaving that one facing the pass entirely free, as if they actually i hoped to scare us into attempting to es- | cape by that way. "To an unconcerned spectator, the 6ight which the plain at this time presented would have been a most interesting one, as these superb horsemen, grotesquely painted and feather bedecked, -l in the dark, ana tney u miner not oniess they've got a mighty sure thing uv it.' "The afternoon was wearing away; four o'clock hail come; no sign of an enemy was to be seen, anil the captain called a little council of war to consider the feasibility of replenishing our store of water from a spring which, lie said, was situated at a short distance within the pass. As this was no farther away from us than was the head of the coulee, it was finally agreed that six volunteers should take the saddle horses, kepf for hunting purposes, and, slinging > ten gallon keg between each two i them, make the attempt, the remainder of us agreeing to give an alarm in case the Indians again showed up. "Accordingly the party, armed only I with revolvers, set out on their imporI tant mission, and we saw them enter the I defile, apparently unnoticed. Ten minutes passed in silence, and then we were startled to hear a resounding war whoop, a succession of rapidly fired pistol shots and the loud shouts of our men as, I partly mixed up with, partly pursued | by, a band of twenty Apaches, they rode belter skelter, and always fighting ? i. , v it... 'loolli wliiln tli/? OUl. VI llie jiinsui iiuiui. .. Baiae instant, from the coulee, rushed once more the main body of savages, who, speeding along at the base of the triangle, sought to g<*t between the retreating horsemen and the corral. " 'Great snakes!' roared Burrows, now at lust raging like a lion, 'the cunnin varmints liez fooled old Jim this time! Stiddy, boys, stiddy! Them fellers'll hev ter fight tlier way in or we'll all go i under. Nol nary man break cover, an don't shoot till they git clost up, so's we kin pick off the reds from 'mong them.' "But the gallant six, as it proved, did not require our help, for, when yet two hundred yards from the wagons, they had reduced the number of their treacherous assailants to thirteen, and these, seei iug the game was played out, turned tail and fled to the heavier force, now about twice that distance from us and themselves. "Our men then darted into the opening made by a displaced wagon, the gap was again closed, and we proceeded to take stock of damages. Every man of the j heroic six had received numerous arrow wounds, but none were disabled. All their horses, too, had been struck, and one of them afterward died. I "Gus Taylor was in command of this "Great her. vens, captain, look there!" this first volley, and reloading without the use of ramrods, as they scurried along the enemy, emboldened by our | silence, charged rashly on until within seventy-five yards, then drew sharply up and delivered a mixed fire of arrows and I bullets. Most of the former, of course, | fell short, and the latter did no damage other than piercing one or two of the wagon tops. The captain was about to give the order to fire, and some of the , men were already taking aim, when one of the women, a Mrs. Morris, who could i not be kept in her safe retreat, suddenly screamed, 'Great heavens, captain, look there!'' and to our consternation we saw rushing down on us, from the mouth of ! the pass, a compact body of mounted Indians, ninety or a hundred strong. "The ruse of the cunning redskins was now plainly apparent. Those attacking us on three sides were to keep us in play and engross our whole attention, while their allies, taking their cue from tlio firinrr IiotW) to Jirmroach nil observed on the fourth and get among us with tomahawk and knife, when our complete annihilation would be easy and certain. The situation was one of i imminent peril, but our veteran guide did not for a moment lose his head. I Quick as lightning he moved eight of us to the new point of danger, leaving the same number on each face of the corral, and then, for the first time raising his I voice to a shout, clearly heard above the I increasing din, delivered his short, sharp commands with a sort of grim pleasantry: 'Wal boys,' he said, 'it's root, hog or die with us now I reckon. We'll do the rootin an let the reds fill tother part in the bill. Don't waste a ounce uv lead no ways, only ter plant it in the carkiss uv a hoss or Injun. Now then! Shoot keerful; fire!' "By this time the fresh assailants, fortunately still in a huddled mass and sitting erect on their ponies, were rather nearer to us than were the other bands, and as the eight rifles allotted to that side belched forth their contents no less than eleven of them bit the dust?three of our bullets havi ng evidently found double billets. The discharge was absolutely simultaneous all around the defenses, and when the light wreaths of smoke cleared away we saw that nineteen ponies in all lay upon the ground? it ? .1 i ..4.1% some aireuuy ueuu uuuulucis suugjncs vainly to rise. All the unhurt riders took refuge behind the carcasses, but some, not so fortunate, were stretched lifeless upon the plain. "We had thus, at the very first fire, killed, disabled or unhorsed a number of the foe greater than their own, but yet, though temporarily staggered, the four bands, supposing us to be now defenseless, came on, while their arrows flew in hurtling clouds and their demoniacal yells of rage rent the air with a harrowing discord which only the ravening hosts of hell might hope to rival. In less than ten seconds they would be upon us! To reload and cap would take even our practiced hands twelve! But now the revolvers came into play, pouring out their fifty-four shots in one continuous stream, and with such effect that several of the wild riders fell at each round, and the astounded Indians, utterly unable to account for the phenomenon, recoiled in terror, wavered for a moment, and then, on all sides, turned to fly. Yet not without further scathe, for twenty-three rifles were by this time recharged and, as they wheeled to go, nearly every one of them brought down its man. Still, true to the habits of their race, they did not, as the}* went off, leave one brave behind. "Even in the midst of our fighting fury we could but admire the rude chivalry or superstitious piety which impelled these children of the desert to carry off every last one of their wounded or dead comrades?and the performance itself was wonderful! Wherever lay a fallen brave there would ride two warriors, one on each side, who without for an instant checking their ponies would stoop swiftly down, and seizing the prostrate form between them bear :t off beyond the reach of possible dishonor. "None of the enemy retreated to the pass, but all made for the great coulee and shortly disappeared within its depths. Not one of our party had thus far received a scratch, and so short and all absorbing had been the fight that, but for the dead bronchos scattered about the plain and the keen eyed vultures already hovering :doft, we might well have supposed the whole affair a wild phantasmagoria of a troubled midday dream. "Captain Jim was greatly elated at our successful defense and unstinted in his praise of our steadiness. 'Ef we kin give the pisen sarpints 'nuther sich a dose, boys,' he exclaimed, 'we won't need ter think uv 'em no more, fur all creation wouldn't coax 'em in no third time. But I reckon they won't 'low us no chance ter do it. More'n likely they'll try on the stavin out dodge now, or inebbee a night Vprise, fur the Apache Injuns is 'bout the only tribe that'll fight ' squad, and it was solely owing to his I si prudence that a single member of it es- ! n caped. It seems that he took his men to j j< the margin of the spring, but caused j o four of them to remain mounted, while 11 the other t\vo began to fill the kegs, into j v which, however, they had dipped only a j e few gallons when the ambushed Indians, ' n then numbering twenty-five, emerged r from behind the nearest point of rock, ; i fortunately forty yards distant, and j c i poured among them a flight of arrows, , u instantly answered by a volley from | d their ready revolvers. Three of the sav- ( f ages fell at this fire, and two more at the j "V nest, and by the time the remaining | ti j twenty had closed up our fellows were j r ! all in their saddles and away. Taylor [ a concluded by saying that if his party | t had carried only single shooters all j would inevitably have been slain, but the repeaters so surprised the enemy, none of whom had been in the first ti fight, that they were half demoralized t< i from the start. v "Perceiving that* all their schemes v had so far failed, the hostiles now be- d gan a regular blockade, intending, a: doubtless, to keep it up until want of ! h water should compel us either to surren- ' c< der or charge out on them, to be over- j s; whelmed by numbers in a hand to hand P fight. | ? "Reverting to their old time practices, J s; they all that evening until nightfall : circled about the plain on every side, I C! but always beyond rifleshot, and tho j 01 last thing we saw was a strong party | 61 entering the puss to guard the precious ; " water, while the greater body returned : c' to the coulee. 1 " "Then we quietly enjoyed a hearty [ supper?tho wounded men as much as ! v: any?a double watch was set, and those : ^ not on guard dropped off to sleep. But I the hardy guide, who seemed proof j T against fatigue, never closed an eye. , e' The night was intensely dark, and up to j ^ ten o'clock not a sound except the gen- | *i tie trampling of our cattle brcke the op- j pressive silence. Then, first one by one ; ir and shortly in a combined chorus of ? snarling yelps, there floated through the ! A stygian gloom the horrid concert of ! prowling coyotes and buffalo wolves, al- | ^ ready engaged in their loathsome feast. 'That's fustrate moosic. bovs." observed I 11 j Old Jim to the men who shared his j f( watch. 'Them critturs is our best j friends. Nary fear uv no 'sprise | w s'long's ther 'round, but when they quit *1 tlier noise, sudden like, you wanter look out fur squalls.' ^ "However, the whole night,-and even that most dreaded hour, the dawn of ' morning, passed without an alarm, j?1 though we several times fancied that we ? heard the weird chant of the far away a death song rise from the enemy's camp. . "The sun rose bright and cloudless 11 and climbed high in the summer sky, ^ I but still no foe appeared; and, as even P1 : with the greatest economy our supply of water and horse feed would barely suffice for thirty-six hours more, some . ; of the younger men urged the captain to resume the journey. 'Wal, no; not w much! not jest yit,' replied he; 'ef you 'spose the Injuns is gone, jest lead out a string uv mules ter git a bite uv grass.' j* "The boys jumped at this proposal, i and swinging one of the wagons aside took the animals out. All began to feed 6C ' eagerly, but they had not cropped a w 1 dozen mouthfuls when simultaneously rc i from pass and coulee once more rode the j vigilant redskins, and the disappointed , I beasts were again corralled. Determined I to cut us off from even this resource, the C1 I vengeful Apaches now resumed their 111 I patrol of the plain; but having a wholej some dread of our fires, aud seeing that : nothing was it present to be gained by 01 a nearer approach, they kept about five ^ , hundred yards away. One particular ^ | Indian, riding a piebald mustang, and * j seeming from his profusely decorated j person to be a great chief, made himself ai ! especially conspicuous by prancing about n. J the field, animating his braves and ap- 61 j parently giving orders. . "The utmost effective range of our j11 ordinary hunting rifles was about three hundred and fifty yards; but it so happened that Seth Morris, the husband of r? the woman who had done us so good a 111 service the day before, had brought with him a heavy target rifle, provided with a! telescope sights. This cumbrous weapon ? J had not as yet been once used on the c journey, but now its owner looked up ^ the oak casein which it was packed, put ^ it together, carefully loaded it with eight P j drams of powder and a long, conical ^ ball, and declared that he would try a 8V shot at the audacious chief. Captain ai Jim highly approved the idea, and Morris, lying down beneath a wagon and resting the muzzle of his gun on a con- j ^ venient spoke, gave a few turns to the ' i elevating screw at the rear end of the | v telescope and waited until his mark be- r<" j came stationary. Then, taking a care- ' ** ful aim, he fired, while we watched in | breathless interest. The heavy slug in its flight must, of course, describe the ! arc of a great curve, and it seemed to us ! such an appreciable time after it left I I the muzzle before we could gauge the : jV result that we had leisure enough lo fear it had missed. But no; ere the haif I formed thought found voice the ta'l i 01 warrior sprang high in his stirrups, j M threw up both arms and pitched head- Bj long to the ground! ^ "So thunderstruck were the savages by j " this, to them, inexplicable catastrophe j that for a full half minute they remained j absolutely dumb, but then from all sides j ! arose appalling cries of frantic rage as j w the circling bands swept in from every ; part of the field and congregated in a : serried mass around the fallen chief, 8P whose body they at once bore away to j the shelter of the coulee. For some little ' k< time after this the plain was quite de sorted, and when our enemies resumed \ fl1 the siege they were careful to keep be- i I11 yond the range of even the terrible tar- ce get rifle. Yet this gave us no relief, as J'1 it was clearly impossible for a party to ! ai reach the spring and return without be- : ing intercepted. ! f1 bi j I Ileplaeed Ihcmuzzle of a n rotrer i-iainst the I mist's car intil jiuUed the tri/ijir. j n "All the second day passed i:i this tedious manner, and (nice again, as night S( came down, the pass was duly garri- ,i: soiled. Tiie hours of darkness went by, j ^ and no attack was made; but just as the | 11 first gray streaks of coming day ap- | ^ paired in the east the tireless guide, who 1 had not yet slept a wink, effectually j ^ aroused all hands by quietly saying, 11 isoys, t lie cussed reus is a-gatnerin up ^ agin, an they'll he down on us in two ininits.' Nono of us, however, had now . the least fear of a home charge, and, as ,j a matter of fact, neither the large body of Indians coming from the coulee nor the smaller one from the pass ventured J on this occasion nearer than three liun, ilred yards, when, finding that we were t( 011 the alert, they again retired to a more respectful distance. Why, indeed, they ^ should risk any of their worthless lives n at all, when they might so easily starve ^ us out, was a mystery wo could not ! , fathom. Rj "We had now but quarter rations of ^ water for twelve hours left, and seme of v the men, rendered reckless and savage j, by the long constraint and tho distress j, of the women, advised that we should break corral and boldly fight out way ^ through, and bo many others came over to their way of thinking that the cap- ^ j tain was obliged to make a decided r( tand. 'Fellers,' said lie, 'don't let us liev j n o foolish talk. We're safer'n a church | (] ?st now. We kin putin twelve hours v n what water we've got. an twelve | t lore, sartin, with nary a drop, only s :hat we save fur the wimmin folks, an a f suthin don't turn up. this time terlorrer '11 be soon 'nuff ter talk nv a j: unnin fight.' j j, "This settled the question of breaking 1 ? auip, but we were so sure the Indians > t ared not charge on the corral that we , v id twice manage to pasture our animals ! f] or an hour or two right in their teeth. ! p Vhen we first tried it the savages move 1 j f award us in the old way, but the heavy 6 ifle again picked off one of the foremost, , t nd they concluded to patiently bide a heir time. j e in. I l.-.i ..11 ! i VV U llttu ail UIUCW nuai iijjjH - I u ites we could; Jim had been persuaded i ii ) lie down for a nap, and the rest of us j y iere doing our best to cheer up the poor , j( romen when wo noticed an extraor : k inary commotion among the Apaches, v s, violently gesticulating, they rode, g >udly yelling, from all points of the v oinpass toward the coulee. At the line moment wo heard a heavy, all p ervading roar, every instant increasing : 1 volume, and casting our eyes to the | v >uth saw a dense gray cloud pf dust j, ,vo miles in width, from out of which ' j line a thunderous, vibrating sound, as \ ? f a thousand slashing cataracts, bearing j, viftly to the north in the direction of c le coulee, hut which would evidently ! f lear our camp by several hundreds of ' 6 let. "Captain Jim sprang from his impro- 1 v ised couch, and waving his old som- ! ? rero in the air, wildly shouted: i r " 'Hallelujerl glory! hoys, we'ro saved! ^ liar's the biggest buff'lo stampede I've 1 f fer seed in this kentry, an wo won't ; t etch sight uv nary 'notlier red; not this ^ me.' j o "The left flank of the heaving, bellowig mass of tossing manes and trampling I r oofs was now abreast of us, and it re- j n uired all our efforts to calm the terri- j n ed horses. But where were the In- j g ians? Those of them who were between j j le corral and the mouth of the pass | j, light have easily escaped by running j g. >r the latter, but their temporary vil- I u ige, their squaws, old men and children j v ere in the coulee, and, in order to get I c lese out of the track of the onrusliing | erd they must ride across part of its j " ice, asinnst also, and to a much greater j j( ctent, the warriors who were far to j ^ le south and east of us, only those who ! z appened to be on the north having a ! g' lir start. Many of these last had 1 ^ Iready disappeared, and their more (lis- | int comrades, unavoidably strung out ? i a line fourteen hundred yards long, j y ere now madly urging their straining i ^ inies toward the head of the coulee, he foremost half of the lino reached it I ^ ell in advance of the terrible column, j j( ut many of the savages in the rear, rid- j +] ig at an acute angle to the surging . ave, could not clear its crest, and being rertaken by the rush avoided instant r satli only by darting away straight be- j .. ire it, each man wherever he happened ' _ > be caught. p "Some were carried into the coulee, r une to the east, some to the west of it, liile three or four unfortunates, who ide slow or wornout ponies, were over- ' helmed and ground to powder in the P vinkling of an eye. And still the ^ upendous body of frantic brutes, incalrlable in numbers and resistless in ^ light, rushed on, stopping, turning, verving uside for nothing; and we shud- ? iiingly realized how narrow had been ^ ir own escape, as in awe stricken silence , e watched them pass by?a process hich took all of ten minutes?so that J? le closely packed living mass must have ,. sen two miles deep as well as widefid 011 all this earth there lives not a um who will ever again see such a . ghtl "Only an insignificant strip of the vast srd entered the coulee, the flanks over- 01 pping it far to each side, and unless le Apaches had ponies enough to * unovo at once all their people some B. iust inevitably perish?escape to the j 6 ist, west and south being as hopeless as ! c ly attempt to split or divert the solid 0 aalaux must prove. Some idea may bo irmed of the otherwise inconceivable mltitudeof buffaloes when I state that, j P hereas before their passage the rolling | v .ain presented only a surface of grayreen grass, thero was now to be seen a n vatli of deep dust two miles in width e id extending southward as far as the re could reach. 1 "So soon as the wondrous spectacle ^ as over the captaiu gave orders to j 1 reak camp and hitch up, and while this J, ork was in progress he and two others ide off to inspect the coulee. On their P iturn, half an hour later, they reported . rnt of the supposed Indian village not vestige remained except a few frag- 0 ,ents of tepee coverings, a broken bow two and a twisted gun barrel, which s< tter they had picked up out of the dust id brought with them. Naturally, al- 7 lough deeply thankful for our strange ! TTrv^nmorn oil 1 n n TAfVlPr RPT1- J " ? *? ?" * | ? as mood, and the old guide musingly . iid, 'Wal, boys, we've hed 'bout ez ! irrer a 'scape ez eber I lieered tell on. , hem varmints hez paid purty dear ir ther fun, but I reckin they'll git clear v the stampede when the buff'los runs f. larselves out. Then they'll hang onter 1 le herd, layin in a stock uv meat, an we ? on't never set eyes on any uv 'em agin ' | ^ "We now drove away from the event- 1 ^ il camping ground, stopped at the j . iring to refresh ourselves and the ani- i als, and having replenished our water j.1 igs resumed the interrupted journey, ;pecting to reach Fort Yuma without irther molestation; but, although Jim's rophecy, so far as Indians were con- . rued, was literally fulfilled, we were ?t destined to encounter grave perils of lother kind. "Meantime, while threading the east n end of the gloomy pass, we could : _ nt notice, with a shuddering feeling of ; ^ dief, how absolutely certain would I r ive been our fate had we ventured J , ithin its narrow, rock embattled re- | j. ?sses while these were occupied by the j f ..r?irv>o. f,.v til fill flllK Tllllf'A. ! . ley coulil easily have destroyed the hole party without themselves wastig an arrow or a charge of powder by liiply hurling upon its helpless inenif;rs an avalanclie of overhanging bowlers and broken rock. It was only irongh Captain Jim's wise leadership lat we had escaped annihilation, and 10 good fellow was greatly pleased hen all of us, especially the women, iok occasion to tell him so in terms of rateful praise. "That night, though still within the lountain defiles, we camped down in eaceand security and enjoyed the long, mnd sleep which all so greatly needed, nd the next morning 110 one unac11 ai 11 ted with the circumstances, who light have chanced to see the cheerful 'omen, merry children and jovial men t their early breakfast, could have nessed that all had so lately been in lonieutary expectation of a cruel death. "About the middle of the afternoon on lis day Burrows, who anticipated no irtlier trouble, rode on ahead of the ain to select a camping place, leaving le party in charge of Gtis Taylor. "All was going well; we were making itisfactory progress and expected to ( j * - 1 !...< ...1 | I'ernilUl ?J11U IOIIH I'tiun Jli^jUL, mini | J iddenly one of the horses of Bid well's j ?am gave out, dropped in the harness , nd after two or three violent plunges j ied. As this was not one of the ani- t lals wounded in the fight at the spring, ^ 'e were puzzled to account for his death, j ut a careful examination disclosed a ight mark behind the left shoulder lade, and on removing part of the skin ^ re found an arrowhead which had roken off between the ribs and, by the ' orse's continued motion, had been grad- i ally driven inward until it bad pone- f s rated the sac of the heart. I ? "This untoward event delayed us some ^ me, and when we had put one of the L-servo mules in poor Dick's nlaco and Y gain got under way, it was nearly sun [own. Just beyond the spot whereoi vas left the carcass of the faithful beas here was a quite considerable ascent t< urniouut, and on reaching the top mei nd horses were halted for a rest. "Sam Bidwell, brooding over his loss astinctively looked back toward tin uotionless form of his lute companion mt hud no sooner done so thun lie lit ered a sturtled cry, for there, in plair iew and not ten yards from the parti} layed body, stood two enormous grizzl) ears, doubtless preparing to enjoy east. Sam could not tamely endurt uch a sight as this, and he proposei hat ten or twelve of us should go dowi pd attack the monsters. All hand! agerly assented, and eleven men, be ides himself, at once set out. Just ai hey were leaving, Taylor called then iack and insisted that they should carrj 11 addition to their rifles the nine re olvers. The fellows laughed at tin lea, saying that they could not fail tc ill the bears at the first volley, bu dien Gus assured them that a singh rizzly had been known to g.'t awaj rith a score of small caliber bullet hole' a his hido they consented to talc? tin istols. "From the top of the hill to the placi ,'here the dead horse lay was about twc undred and fifty yards, but at that par icular spot the canyon was not more thai wenty yards wide, so that by dividing is party and creeping along through tin over on each side, Sam hoped to get tin onnidable foes between two fires ant laughter thorn offhand. "We, wlic remained with the wagons matched the hunters in great anxiety as hey made their way slowly among tin ocks and 1 ushes, until finally both par ies arrived opposite each other ant' airly abreast of the huge brutes, by this imo fully engaged satisfying theii unger and apparently quite unawart f danger. "For a minute or two after our com ades had gained their places they rt lained perfectly quiet, to steady then erves, and then, at a low whistle froir am, the twelve rifles cracked together !oth bears rolled over at the report, bui istantly sprang up again, and, side bj ide, charged savagely upon the part) nder the immediate command of Bid rell. It Wiis now almost dusk and w( ould but dimly see what followed, as tie six mer. on tho other edge of the ulch rushed across to the aid of theii allows; but wo distinctly heard the urious growling of tho enraged griz lies, tho loud shouts and occasional brieks of tho human combatants and tie fitful volleys of revolver shots. " 'Boys,' said Gus Taylor, 'some one's etting hurt. All of you, except the tiree married men, get your guns and re'll go down and help.' "At this moment, thundering along tie hard trail, his horse covered with 3am, came Jim Burrows, who, hearing tie first shots, had dashed in at headlong peed. Two words apprised him of the tateof matters, and he almost screamed Why, my God! hez them fool boys bin razy 'nuff ter tackle two full sized rizzlies with ther smallbore popguns! fere, Morris, quick! Hand out that big ifle o' yourn!' "The man hurriedly produced the aleady loaded sixteen pound weapon and laced it in the hands of Jim, who, foliwed by nearly the whole crowd, rushed own the slope. "As none but the married men had een left behind, I, of course,was in this arty, and when we reached the battle round a fearful scene presented itself. "Prone on the earth lay the insensible Drms of Sam Bidwell and three othei len, while the nine who still kept theii ;ec were frantically loading and firing leir revolvers at the ravening, blood wered brutes, which seemed to be sc ir disabled as to be incapable of inaklg a further rapid charge, though ii 'ould have been certain death to anj ne who should venture within possible ;ach of a blow from their inurderou; jrepaws. 'Stand back, all uv you, iiouted Burrows; 'ye mought ez well loot at er log ez the bodies uv then ritters,' and coolly advancing in froni f us all he leveled the heavy gun ant jnt its long bolt through tho brain oi lie nearest bear, which thereupon drop ed stone dead?as easily killed in tliii ,*ay as a dog. "Tho remaining grizzly, on seeing its late fall, staggered with bloodshot yes and foaming mouth toward Jim ir last desperate rally. The experienced unter stood stock still until the anima rus almost. pon him, and then springing o one side he placed the muzzle of a re olver which he had jerked from one ol lie men against the beast's ear ant ullcd the trigger. "No more instantaneous could havt een the effect of a lightning flash, foi 11 receiving the shot the shaggy moil ter sank lifeless to the ground witl carcely a tremor. "'Now, boys,'said lie, 'ye see thest armints is nuthin ter kill when a fel >r knows how. Ef you'd shot 'em it lie brain 'stead uv wastin lead 011 thei arkisses all this misfortin' wouldn't 21 appened. I've seen a grizzly smasl liree men arter a common small riflt ullet hed gone clear through his heart. "We now turned to our wounded com ades, all of whom, at first sight, we be ieved to bo dead; but after a hasty ex initiation the captain pronounced them hough terribly torn and lacerated, 1101 eyond recovery. Every one of the four eside? fearful flesli wounds, had 2 houlder or arm broken, and, althougl 11 in time became sound again, this tin ortunate business, the result of igno aut rashness, delayed us for more tha. hree weeks. But at last, gentlemen,' oncluded Mr. Asliton, "we reachet California, and some of us, as you know rero well repaid for all hardships." A Poet's Great Discoveries. "Wonderful, is it not, that two of tin greatest truths of nature should havi leen first discovered by a poet, who wa: lot scientist at all?"' said the professor 'It was Goethe whose genius inspiret ntuition first lighted upon the botton let of botany, since recognized, namely hat Oiicli plant has but two parts?leii nd stem. The reproductive portionsristil, petal, stigma, calyx and corolla.ro only modified leaves. Now ant hen, its if for the very purpose of prov ng this proposition, a green rose is de eloped with leaf-like petals, and it i he same way with other things vege able?they ;dl revert occasionally t< heir primitive forms. "The other grand discovery made b; roethe was in the nhilosophy of the ani nal kingdom. One day, while walkinj hrough tlie fields, lie came upon th keleton of a beast that had died. 1 iractical anatomist, if he had paused t< :onsider the remains, would have dis ussed with himself merely the relatioi >f the bones, but the poet viewed th vhole framework of the animal that hat jeen with the enlarged vision of a the >rist. While doing so the fact dawnei lpon him, recognized at this later da; >y science, that the skull of the creatur vas, after all. only an enlarged vertebra tr expanded section of the backbone riie conclusion immediately followei hat the brain was but a magnified pot ion of the spinal conl. "Tims was a new ili overy in the phi osophy of nature first hit upon. Seienc low recognizes it as a truth. Just a lie flower is only a leaf modified for re iroductivo purposes, so the brain is sim ily an extremity of the spinal cor ,'xfoliated into an elaborate, highly con ,'oluted organ of thinking."?Washing :ou Star. Bay "Look here," said the father c he gentle maiden, as he popped hi lead into the parlor where the spoon ng couple sat, "I wish you to undci turn! that lam going to shut oil' th ;as at half-past ten." "All right, aid the youth. "For my part, rish you would shut it off now." ; JlhsccUanrous Reading. 1 I " HKWAKK OF DKMAtiOMIKS. A County Allianccnmn ruhllsli- i os Wliiit llo CoiiooIvoh to In- a Timely I j ' Warning to the Order. , Editor of tiik Yokkyii.i.k Knqi i- j * | UKU: I'leasc permit the use of the j 1 columns of your valuable journal for | . I the purpose of calling the attention of ( t the Alliance brethren to a subject | , j which is of the greatest importance to I [ j all true members of that noble order, j j who have sought, by means of this as- ! 3 sociation, some amelioration of the I temporal condition of those who are : 3 J engaged in the occupation of farming. ' . I Tr tin.co will soritiiislv rofhW unnn the I r | question which is here presented for . j their consideration, they will speedily i j | see the necessity for immediate action ) j in a matter of such grave moment, and j t | the advisability of removing a weight | ? | which threatens to become as a millr ; stone about the neck of our grand or- J i j ganization, dragging it down from the j j ; high position which it was intended i 1 to occupy, and causing it to become ? | merely the tool and the plaything of > j the artful and designing politician. - I No member of the Alliance, who i j has paid that attention to the interests ; [ of this order which their importance 3 demands, can have failed to perceive 3 1 than an effort is continually being I made to prostitute the Alliance to the | purposes of the political adventurer, j , ! Under the skillfully-concealed manip- = J I ulations of unscrupulous demagogues, i J ! the attempt is repeated at frequent in- ; - , tervals to commit the Alliance to the | 1 I support of men who have joined our i 3 j ranks, not for the purpose of fighting j r j our battles, but with the secret object 3 i in view of promoting their own selfish j ends. Under a pretense of true friend | ship and sympathy, and by means of | promises to remove the heavy burdens j which now oppress us, certain dema- | 1 gogues have deceived the Alliances in 1 some parts of the State and have ink duced the members to stand as a unit j ' in their support, in the hope that some r relief could thereby be obtained. Seeking only their own ends and striving ' after the spoils of office, these men, up1 ! on their elevation to place and power, 1 quickly forget the pledges which were ! given in the day of their probation, 5 { and are ready and willing to sacrifice j the material welfare and prosperity of I | the people for the sake of their own j | aggrandizememt. } The writer hereof is, and expects to ( j ' remain, an earnest and zealous Alli^ j mice man ; but, however much it may I be regretted, it must be confessed that, , ; until our order is freed from the evil [ j influence of the demagogue, there , seems to be little hope, through its ^ action, for relief from the ills under | which we labor. Even now, the order j . : itself is daily being injured and weak- | j | encd by the machinations of these self[ I seeking politicians who are endeavor; I ing to subvert it to their own base . t uses. No good purpose can be subj served by thus intermingling polities . | with the legitimate business of the I ; Alliance. The great majority of our j . | members in this section are men who j [ hold true allegiance to the Democratic j party, and who can as such select good I 1 men of that party for office. Such i being the case, there can be no neces, sity or propriety in the intermeddling of the Alliance, as an organization, in > political matters. The course which has been pursued by certain Alliances in this State of ; holding political meetings after the [ conclusion of tlie legitimate business > of the order, is fraught with great danger to the stability of the organi; I zalion, and is not to be approved by r | those who have its true interests at ? j heart. The attaching of these politi3 j cal tails to the Alliance kite is always ! the work of some shrewd politician, i I [ who desires thereby to float aloft some j i ' scheme of his own contriving and for j t his own advantage. Such misuse of 1 i the purposes of the Alliance can only j f , be prevented by ridding it of these ; ' i political schemers who are seeking its ! j aid to promote their individual inter- ; ests. Let us, then, strengthen and j J build up the Alliance by relieving it from the weight of these demagogues J and self-seeking politicians, who have no regard for our prosperity and who desire only that we should be kept in ' j a position to advance their selfish in- i " tcrests by casting our votes for them . whenever demanded. In order to pro- I mote the true purposes of our associa- j tion, we must first banish from our : 5 ranks these office-hunting political ad- ! ; venturers, and it will then become an j easy matter to make use of our united ; | strength to promote the purpose orig- i t : iually sought to be accomplished by f : our union, the protection and advance- i j , ment of the agricultural interest of the ! f j country. While it is contended by some that , * '? I? i - -i__* .t.? ?:?| j tl)C Alliance (11(1 UUl I'll'Cli llie uiiijuin^ , of those who are now in office in this > State, my Alliance brethren will agree . j with me in the assertion that, in near- j . 1 ly every instance, these men were ; . elected by the votes of our member- j ! ship. It is greatly to be feared that i I 1 some mistakes have been made in the j , choice of these men as Alliance-Demo- j i ; crats. Let us not now make the ; i further mistake of endorsing their po- j litieal vagaries in any case in which i these men fail to show themselves to i be true Democrats. Let us not com- ; ' | mit the error of endorsing any action I i by them which is not consistent with , 1 a sound Democracy. While these j congressmen were elected by the sup; port of the Alliance, they were also chosen as true Democrats; and, un3 less they show themselves to he good 3 Democrats as well as true Alliancemen, 3 1?? ?1...1.1 l-iw'i.ivp tlir? Pniltlf (MlilllCe ; lib mut* iiw ?wv. ? v v..~ ? I and support of the Alliance. If they ' are good Democrats, their own l)e- ! 1 mocracy will he established by their ' conduct and their speech, and they do not need and should not ask any other or further endorsement. The great " I outcry and claim of persecution now being made by certain of the congress- j men from this State, because of an ' alleged black-list at Washington upon 1 which their names are said to have , ! been placed, is an dibi t to commit the Alliance to the endorsement of the j I Democracy of these congressmen. _ I Such a course would be very injuri- j T otis to the interest of our order, and * the effort so to vouch for men whose j ^ own imprudent declarations and ae1} tions have cast a doubt upon their 1 .. party fidelity, would go far towards I u causing the ultimate disintegration of e the Alliance itself If these men are I sound Democrats, their party principies cannot fail of obtaining reeogni] tion through their own speech and y action. If, however, as suspected at j Wnssliimrinn. llu-ir iiolitical principles i are not such as to entitle them to i recognition as members of the now 1 | dominant party, the Alliance should not suller itself to he led astray by them. These congressmen, so black i listed, were elected largely by Alliance I 0 votes, it is true: but they were so s elected as Democrats, and whether or . not they are true to the principles of i- that party can only be made to appear il by themselves. The Alliance is in no i- way responsible for the doubt which I has been cast upon the sincerity of their professions by their own misguided actions. The congressmen elected by the s Democratic-Alliance vote of South Carolina, who are unable to convince ._ our Democratic president and a Democratic cabinet of the sincerity of their ,, i faith in the principles of that party, I and who are, therefore, unable to point 1 out the political position which they I claim to occupy, must either be men of extremely doubtful Democracy, or I strangely unfitted for the offices to which tlicy have been chosen. In i either case they do not deserve, and should not receive, any endorsement of their uncertain and equivocal position at the hands of the Alliance of this State, which is composed of men whose Democracy has never been and can never he doubted or questioned. The Alliance is not and canuot be held responsible for any un-Democratic course on the part of such representatives, j who were supposed to lie Democrats when elected, and has no concern with their actions further than keeping clear , of the endorsement of any policy or j principle which does not consist with | the true principles of the Democracy, j It should content itself with the knowledge that these men were elected by | their votes as Democrats as well as | Alliancemcn, and that, if their course and action since their elevation to nr? 1 A t_ _ ... 1, A _ oince nas 1101 uccu sucn as iu suuw forth their devotion to the principles of that parly, it is not the fault of the Alliance, but is solely chargeable to themselves. It is to be concluded, therefore, that j it is neither necessary nor advisable that the Alliance should intermeddle further in this political dispute, lest it j should besmirch its own good name in the futile endeavor to restore these J black-listed congressmen to good standing in the national Democratic party. If these congressmen are ever again to be acknowledged as sound national ! Democrats, that result must be attain- j ed by their own exertions, and eannot j be accomplished even by an unlimited quantity of whitewashing resolutions by Alliances. Permit me. before closing, to reiterate the opiniou that the Aliance should free itself entirely from from the pernicious influence of the olhce-seeking demagogue, and should devote the united energies of its members to the promotion of the true purposes of our organization. Let us not permit the abuse of our order for the endorsement of the course of any politician, but allow the politician, whether he be a Democrat, a Third party man, or a Republican, to stand or fall by and with his own party; and let us not j permit the Alliance to be dragged in to j prop up that which cannot stand by its own unaided strength. The presence of the demagogue within the ranks of our organization is a serious inenance ! to its continued usefulness, and the evil influence of this class amongst us ' threatens to divert our order from the continuannce of its good work and tends towards even the ultimate dis ruption of our organization. When, however, the political demagogue shall have been cast out from our midst, i when the Alliance shall have been restored to its pristine purity and shall be free to proceed to the accomplishment of its appointed task, it will not be long ere we shall see prosperity again visiting our homes and plenty | smiling o'er the utmost borders of our land. Allianceman. Lancaster C. H., May 15, 1893. A FORT HILL STOCK FARM. Magnificent Property of a Charleston Gen- j tleman near Cleiuson College. For the Yorkvillc Enquirer. The following account of a splendid j stock farm near Fort Hill, was intended to appear as a part of Dr. Wm. Anderson's elaborate article on Clemsou college last week, but for unavoidable circumstances its publication had to be deferred until now : Before closing, I wish to add a very brief account of a model stock farm, | which, through the kindness of my i host, Mr. James P. Lewis, I had the pleasure of visiting during my delightful stay of two days at his hospitable home near Fort Hill. The farm, once known as the "Adger Place,'" is about ! two miles from Pendleton, and the same distance from Fort Hill, lying on a large creek, a tributary of Seneca river. It belongs to Hon. Augustine j Smythe, of Charleston, who has a handsome summer residence on it, and I is under the sole management of Mr. Bonneau Harris, a courteous gentleman and a thoroughly practical, intelligent and progressive farmer. From an old Southern farm, Mr. Harris has brought up the land during his thirteen years charge, to a high state of fertility, cultivation and productiveness, solely by his system of farming, as the rotation of crops, subsoiling and using only fertilizers made from the woods and stables. He never uses any commercial fertilizers. He has 100 acres each in corn, cotton and meadow, and thirty : acres in cotton. Last year, besides several thousand acres in corn and oats, gathered oil' the farm, he saved 400 tons of hay, of Bermuda, Herd's and tall oat meadow grass and Japan clover. There are four large two story barns on the place, which give shelter to sixty horses, thirty colts, one imported Percheron stallion, forty registered Jersey cows and calves, two registered Jersey bulls, seventy Southdown sheep, besides the best breeds of hogs and poultry. About thirty beau- i tiful pigs in a large clover lot was a sight worth feasting the eyes upon, j The colts were a very handsome lot, j and bred and trained principally for driving. They are nearly all thor- i oughbred, and command good prices. Air. Harris intends introducing the i Percheron breed of horses for heavier drinnrht and farm purposes. While the natural inference is that this farm is operated fur a profit, yet it is also evident that its owner and | manager take an especial pride in its beauty, and pleasure in its cultivation, and my final message to the readers , of The Enquirer, especially the farmers, is that when the visit Clem- i son College, not to forget to drive over to the "Smythe Farm." w. a. SPEED LESSENS THE DANDER. It may be said that in constantly demanding more rapid facilities of travel, people invite a corresponding i increase in the rate of danger to be en- : countered ; but, according to a writer in The Engineering Magazine, it is very doubtful if this proposition can j be maintained. The facts go to prove, | rather, that faster trains develop more i care on the part of railroad people, | and that there is really little, if any more liability to accidents on such account. As a rule the "Wild Irishman" ' and "Flying Dutchman" and "Cannon Ball" trains are run on schedules so arranged as to insure the utmost degree of safety, so far as all ordinary j contingencies are concerned. Their success depends largely upon this point, and the railroad companies will understand that they cannot afford to take any avoidable risk. The demand for increased speed carries with it the . demand for increased prudence. Fast trains must have men of superior skill and caution to operate them ; they must have good permanent-way to move upon, and they must be pro- i vided with all known appliances for security and comfort. The general effect, in short, is to improve the rail- j road system in all respects, and to eliminate, from it the carelessness and incompetency that would be a source t of fixed peril under the slowest of fixed | time schedules. There must always be more or less danger on a railroad train, but it is by no means sure that anything isgained in the way of safety by taking a train which runs twenty ! miles an hour instead of one which j goes live times as rapidly. On an English railway a high rate of speed is maintained, and this, when kept at a regular rate, unchanged by numerous j stops, is found to be safer than the slower rate, stopping often and subjecting machinery to concussions and jerks in starting and stopping, which disorders parts of the train more than is done by the uniform velocity of high speed. The writer has covered the space of live miles at the rate of seventy miles an hour, and notwithstanding this extraordinary speed, there was an entire absence of oscillation. So far as any motion of the cars was concerned, it was impossible to tell whether they were going at the rate of seventy miles an hour or twenty. The multiplication of fast trains, therefore, is a thing to he commended and encouraged, and the railroad authorities are wise to make them as fast sis ttyey can within reasonable limits of forethought and precaution. Curiosities About Oranges.? The name "orange" is from the Latin aurum, meaning gold or of golden col or. The fruit was originally a small bitter berry about the size of a common early Richmond cherry, and very seedy. It has been cultivated in Hindustan from a very remote period and was taken from that county to Arabia and Pesia in the eighth or ninth centuries. It is said to have received little or no attention from cultivators of fruits in either of the countries last mentioned above, prior to the beginning of the tenth century, there being a tradition that it was a "cursed" fruit, sent by Mohammed to destroy the unfaithful. This reminds me that our common tomato was formerly supposed to be poisonous, it being now less than oO years since it was only grown as a garden curiosity. Rut to the orange : In the tenth and eleventh centuries the horticulturists of Oman Syria began the cultivation of the tree in earnest, the fruit going under the name of "bigarade." By the end of the twelfth century it had become quite abundant in all the countries of the Levant, the returning Soldiers of the Cross (crusaders) bringing it with them upon their return from Jerusalem. It was well known, but not extensively cultivated in either Italy, Spain or France before the middle of the sixteenth century, four hundred years after its introduction into the first named country, the hindrance being a survival and an addition to the old anti-Mohammedan tradition, viz: That the use of the fruit would cause the partaker to enroll himself with the legions of Islam whether he desired to or no. The Spaniards finally attempted and succedcd in cultivating it in their West Indian colonies, and from there it found its way into Florida, Central America, Mexico and California, always improving in size and flavor until it became what it is to-day, one of the most perfect of fruits. A Thankful Spirit.?The chronicles of the time of John Brown, of Haddington, author of the "Marrow of Divinity," describe his first oscillatory experience. He had reached the mature age of five and forty without ever having taken part in labial exercise. One of his deacons had a very pretty daughter, and for six years the dominie had found it very pleasant to call upon her three or four time a week. In fact all the neighbors said he was courting her? and very likely he was, though he had not the remotest suspicion of it himself. One evening he was sitting as usual by her side when a sudden idea popped into his head. "Janet, my woman," said he, "we've known each other a long time, an'? an' I've never got a kiss yet. D'ye think I may take one, my bonnic lass?" "Well, Mr. Brown," replied she, arching her lips in a tempting way, "jist as ye like ; only be becomin' and proper wi' it." "Let us ask a blessing first," said the good man, closing his eyes and folding his hands. "For what we are about to receive, the Lord make us thankful." The chaste salute was then given, and warmly returned. "Oh, Janet, that was good!" cried the dominie, electrified by the new sensation. "Let us have another and then return thanks." Janet did not refuse, and when the operation had been repeated, the enraptured dominie ejaculated, in a transport of joy : "For the creature comforts which we have enjoyed, the Lord be praised, and may they be sanctioned to our temporal and eternal good !" History says that the fervent petition of the honest dominie was duly answered ; for in less than a month Janet became Mrs. Brown. Odd Freaks of Collectors.?A Jersey City man devotes himself to the collection of doorknobs, old and new, and claims a museum numbering over three thousand samples. Nebraska boasts proudly of a collector who gathers locks of hair shayed c. 1*?,1., I rum U1U IllTilua KJl UUUU Viiumiuiu when they enter the penitentiary, labeling and indexing them with great care. Philadelphia is the abiding place of a collector of cast-off horseshoes, who will risk his neck to secure a prize in the street, and whose house is decorated with them in all sizes, shapes and degrees of dilapidation. Boston can produce a collector whose specialty is old bricks, each having been secured from some historical local edifice while it was being demolished, and being tagged with a resume of the history of the building from which it was obtained. A New Orleans person is a collector of sugar samples, and is believed to have a llask of the granulated product of every plantation in the State, some being of actual historical interest. A Louisville collector has several hundred sample vials of the whisky produced within the borders of his commonwealth, but when he experiences the necessity for a bracer, takes it from an ordinary demijohn. Eakly Pruciiasks of thk Indians.?Captain West, in the year 1010, bought the present site of Richmond, Ya., for l,some copper." The Dutch governor, Minuit, bought the whole of Manhattan island, the present site of the city of New York, "for 00 Dutch gilders, some of them being of a doubt" i ? ' " i i 1111 IlH'lUI. I1UIM Jniiuiuviv ?.?/ panv bought thousands of acres of tine lands for less than that numbeaof glass beads, including the site of the city of Christiana, "for which was paid one iron kettle of the bigness of live quarts or thereabouts." Roger Williams bought Rhode Island, "Little Rhody," for "40 fathoms of white beads, strung." It has only been 2").") jears this spring since the site of New Haven, Conn., was bought for "12 coats of Knglish cloth, 12 spoons of mixed metal, 12 hoes, 12 hatchets, 12 porringers, 24 knives and 'some' French knives and spoons." Bq)"' Remenyi, the violinist, was annoyed by a "peanut fiend" who crunched peanuts while he was playing Schubert's "Serenade." IIe suddenly brought his solo to a close. Recalled with rapturous applause, to the surprise of everybody he said : "Ladies and gentlemen, I now make me a little speech. That peanuts eater me very much annoy, and I think he enjoy himself so much as nobody else in the w *,i .1. ilUUSU. 11 iicii IIU ^1:1 his peanut solo, I go on."