Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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l ^rssXJEl^^EMX-WEEKX^^ l. m. grist & sons, Publishers, j % r#amit|> glcicsgaper: 4or A" promotion of (he political, Social, ^ricultural, and Commencial Interests of the ?outh. _ {T?BMs-^oo^YEA^iN^iMcg. ESTABLISHED 1855. ' YOBKVILLE, S.C., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 1899. NO. 7. BY GUY I Author of "ABid For Fort Marriage of 3 Onnurinlit 180S he T> Armlntnn nnH Ooilll VVFJ "6MVi AWVV? ? 1 Synopsis of Previous Installments. In order that new readers of The Enquirer may begin with the following installment ol this story, and understand it just the same as though they had read it all from the beginning, we here give a synopsis of that portion of it which has already been published: Dr. De Normanville, an English pbysisician at Hongkong, bears of a woman called the Beautiful White Devil making her home on an island in the Pacitic of which she is the sovereign and leading a Eiratical life in a white yacht on the ocean. t. De Normanville receives a call from a stranger who engages his professional services to go to an unknown place to treat an epidemic of smallpox. After an eventful voyage he finds himself on board the Lone Star, the yacht of the Beautiful White Devil. He is taken to her island home, where he fights the plague successfully and falls in love with Alie, the Beautiful White Devil. CHAPTER VII. treachery revealed. The next morning we saw a man on i horseback pall up before the dining hut. It was my old friend Walworth, covered with dust and showing all the signs of having ridden in great haste. On seeing Alie be dismonnted and removed his helmet, waiting respectfully for her to speak. "Have you bad news, Mr. Walworth," she said, "that you come in such haste?" "I have a letter for your consideration that is of tho utmost importance," he answered. "The junk arrived with if fwia wtAwninn '' IV VUIO UiUUiugi I-must here explain that communications from the outside world were conveyed by well chosen messengers once ( every month to a certain spot in the group of islands about two degrees west of the settlement. Thence they were brought on to their destination by a swift sailing junk, the property of the Beautiful White Devil, which had already conveyed and handed over the i outward mail in exchange. Thus a regular service was kept up, to the advantage of both parties. Taking the letter from Walworth's , hand, 6he gave him an invitation to ( breakfast and then passed with it into her own hut. I took him to mine, and when the gong Bounded for tho meal we sought the dining saloon together. A moment later Alie joined us, and I gathered from her face that there was , something serious afoot. Until the meal ( was finished, however, she said nothiug. Then, suggesting that we should bring our cigars outside, so as to be away from , any possible eavesdroppers, she intimated that she had something important to , tell us. We accordingly rose and fol- 1 lowed her into the open air, across the plateau to the glade in the jungle where ( I had told her of my love the previous day. Throughout the walk she did not < speak, and when she turned and bade ] us be seated her face was as bard set as ( when she had sentenced Kwong Fung ( to death in her veranda more than two j months before. "Gentlemen," she said, "I have } hroncht von out here in order that I may consult yon on a most important i matter. Dr. De JNormanville, before I | begin I may say that I bave bad an ex- , oellent opportunity of studying your character, while you bave bad an equal j chance of studying mine. You know now exactly what my life is, but at the j same time I cannot keep from myself a remembrance of the fact that you are , only here as a visitor. If you wish, j therefore, to withdraw before you hear ; any more, I will give you iree permia- I 6ion to do so. On the other hand, if you will give me your advice, I assure you i I shall be most grateful for it. You, : Mr. Walworth, have been my trusted . and faithful servant for many years i past, and I could not have a better. Doctor, I await your decision." She looked fixedly at me, aud I began i to see the reason of ber speech. < "I beg that you will let me advise t you," I answered promptly. "I think you know that you can place implicit trust in me?" "Iam quite sure of that, "she answered solemnly, and as she said, it she took from her pocket the letter she had that morning received. "This communication," she began, "is from a person in Singapore, whose word I have the very best of all possi ble reasons for being able to trust. Ho tells me that my own confidential ageut in that place, a man in whom I have hitherto placed the most implicit confidence, whom I have saved from ruin, and worse, who owes his very life to my generosity, contemplates selliug me to tho English authorities. My correspondent, who holds a high pusition in the Straits Settlements, informs me that this dastardly traitor has already hinted to the authorities that it is in his power to disclose my long sought rendezvous. He only stipulates that, seeing the nature of his communication, and the dangerous position in which he stands regarding me, the reward offered shall be doubled. The authorities, of whom my informant is one, have asked him to wait until the arrival of the new English, admiral, who is expected in Singapore, en route for Hongkong, early next mouth. As soon as he arrives this man's evidence will he taken and decisive measures adopted to rid the world of the notorious White Devil." "The traitor?the scoundrel?he shall pay for this!" camo from between Walworth's clinched teeth. I said uothing. But perhaps I was like the owl, and thought the more. At any rate I told myself under my breath that it would be an exceedingly bad day for the man if he ever fell into my hands, and, after a glance at Alie's face, 1 thought it would be a worse one for him should he fall into hers. "There is one point I may count in my favor, however," she . WWTS ML 300THBY. uiio." "Dr. Nikola," "The Ssther," Etc. pauy. Said, "and fba6 is, lie will be baraiy likely to reveal the fact that for the last five years be has acted as my agent, and for that reason it will be only pos sible for him to give his evidence on hearsay." "He mast be prevented from giving it at all," cried Walworth, looking swiftly up at her. "Bnt how?" she answered. "A warning wonld be. of no avail, I presume?" I said. "Not the least, she answered. Even if be took it I should always be in danger of him. In that case I should have to discharge him, and his very life would be a continual menace to ma" "Is he a married man?" "No, he is not." "Has he an extensive business? I mean by that, would his death or departure be the means of bringing misery upon other people?" "He has no occupation at all save what I have given him. No. He has idled away his life on the bounty I have paid him for keeping me informed of all that goes on." "And now he is going to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs? The man must be mad to contemplate such an act of folly." "There is a method in his madness, though," she answered. "He evidently believes I am on the evo of being captured, and as the reward is a large one be wishes to secure it before it is snapped up by anybody else." I thought for a little while and then spoke again. "Yon say he is unmarried. In that case he has no wife or children to consider. He has no business. Then he cannot bring ruin upon a trusting publio. I should say abduct him before he can do any harm. Surely it could be managed with a little ingenuity." Alie was silent for a few moments. Then she looked up, and her face brightened. "I believe you have hit on the very idea," she suid. "I will think it over, and if possible it shall be carried into effect. Yes, I will abduct him and bring him here. But we must remember that he has always been most suspicious, and be will be doubly so now. For every reason it is impossible for me to go into Singapore and abdnct him in my own proper person, so I must do it in disguise." "No," I answered promptly, "you must not run such a risk. Supposing he should recognize you?" "He has never seen me in his life," she replied; then, smiling, she continued, "And you have evidently not yet grasDed mv talent for disguising my self." "But somebody must accompany you," said Walworth, who all this time bad been turuiug my scheme over and over iu his mind, "and the worst part of it is he knows me so well that I dare Dot go.'' Long before this I had made up my mind. "I think, since you have honored me with your confidence," I said, turning to Alie, "I have a right to ask a favor it your hands." She looked at me with a little surprise. "And what is that favor, Dr. DeNormauville?" she asked. "That in whatever you are going to 3o you will let me help you. No, I am Dot making this offer without thought, [ assu e you. It is my greatest wish to be of any service I can to you." I saw Walworth look at me in rather i peculiar fashion, but whatever he may have thought he kept to himself. Alie paused before replying. Then she stretched out her little hand to me. "I accept your offer in the spirit in which it is made," she said. "I will ask you to help me to get this traitor out of the way. Now we must oonaider the modus operandi." Many and various were the schemes piuposed, discussed and eventually ^ :J. T 1 J cnrowii abiuw. luut'cu il woo uut uuvu nearly midday that wo had decided on one to our liking. Once this was settled, however, we returned to the camp. Orders for starting were immediately given, and by the time lunch was over the packs were made up, the loads distributed, the ponies saddled and we were ready to start upon our return journey to the settlement. It was a long and tedious ride, and it was far into the night before we arrived at our destination. But late though it was, no one thought of bed. Too much important business had to be transacted before daylight. On arrival wo repaired instantly to the bungalow on the hill, where a hasty supper was eaten and an adjournment made from the dining room to the large cbartroom at the rear of the house. In this apartment were stored the latest admiralty charts of all tho seas and harbors in the world, and it was here, as I gathered later, that the Beautiful White Devil concocted the most cunning and audacious of her plans. Arriving in it, 6he bade us seat ourselves while she gave us the details of the plan she had prepared. "1 have come to the conclusion," she Eaid, "that your scheme is an excellent one, Dr. De Normauville, and I have arranged it all as follows: We will proceed in the yacht tomorrow morning (I have already sent the necessary in structions dowu to the harbor) to Java. In Batavia we 6liall meet a young English doctor named De Normanville, who will accompany me to Singapore. 1 shall remain with a companion iu that place for a short time while I do the sights, stopping at the Alandalay hotel, where the man resides whom wo want to catch. You will gradually make his acquaintance, and, having done so. introduce him to me. All the rest will be plain sailing. Do you think my scheme will do?" "Admirably, I should say." "It will be necessary, however, Dr. De Normanville, that you should remember one thing. You must not, for your own sake, be seen about too much with me. You are just to be a casual acuaintance whom I have picked up While traveling between Singapore and Batavia. Do you understand? After your great kindness I cannot allow you to be implicated in any trouble that may arise from what 1 may be compelled to do." "Pray do not fear for my safety," I answered. "1 am oontent to chanoe that In for a penny, in for a pound. Believe me, 1 am throwing my lot in with you with my eyes open. I hope you understand that very thoroughly?" "I am perfectly sensible, you may be sure, of the debt we are under to you," she answered. "Now we must get to business, for there iB much to be done before daylight." Accordingly we set to work perfecting all the ins and outs of our plan, and when it was completed and my bags were packed and dispatched to the harbor the stars were paling in the eastern heavens preparatory to dawn. Walworth bad preceded us to the yacht some time before, and nothing remained now but for me to follow with Alie and the bulldog. A boat was waiting for us at the same jetty on which 1 had landed on my arrival nearly three months before, aqd in it we were rowed out to the Lone Star, whose outline we could just dis f "I accept your offer." cern. It was an uncanny hour to embark, and ray feelings were quite in keeping with the situation. I was saying goodby to a place for which I bad developed a sincere affection, and I was going oat into the world again to do a deed which might end in catting me off from my profession, my former associates and even my one remaining relative. These thoughts sat heavily apon me as 1 mounted the ladder, bat when on reaching the deck Alie turned and took my hand and gave me a welcome back to the yacht they wore dispelled for good and all. We passed through and out into the sea. By the time we reached open water daylight had increased to such an extent that when we were a mile out objects ashore could be quite plainly distinguished. "Look astern, " 6aid Alie, who stood by my side upon the bridge, "and tell me II yon can discover me emruuue w the harbor." 1 did so, bat though I looked and looked and even brought a glass to bear upon the cliffs I could see no break in the line through which a vessel of any size might pass. "No," I said at last; "I must ocnfess I cannot see it" "Now you will understand," she said, smiling at my bewilderment "the meaning of those great doors. On the seaward side they are painted to resemble the cliffs. Could any one wish for a better disguise?" I agreed that no one oould, and indeed it was most wonderful. A manof-war might have patrolled that seemingly barren coast for weeks on end and still have been unaware of the harbor that lay concealed behind. | "Now you will want to rest I know," she said. "I think you will find yonr old cabin prepared for you." "And you?" "I am going below too. Look I The coast is fast disappearing from our sight. There it goes beneath the horizon. Now will you wish our enterprise good luck?" "Good luck!" I said, with a little squeeze of her hand. "Thank you and may God bless you!" 6he answered 6oftlv, and immediately vanished down the companion ladder. TO BK CONTINUED. Burglar* and Matches. "There is this to bo said in favor of the sulphur match," said the retired burglar, "that it is noiseless when struck, but its odor is decidedly against it. More than once, when I have struck a sulphur match in the hall, I have beard 6ome light sleeper, when the pungent fumes of the sulphur permeated the atmosphere, turn in bed in the ad jacent room. I stuck to sulphur matches for a loug time?uuturally enough, I suppose?but finally I came to use parlor matches altogether. They ure noisy, but odorless, and it may be possible to scratch them when teams are passing, or when the wind is blowing, or there is some other noise abroad. At any rate, I came to prefer, from experience, the noisy, odorless match to the silent sulphur. "Of courso the ideal match for anybody in my business would be one that should be both silent and odorless. It is a wonder to me that nobody has invented such a match. It is greatly needed, and I should say that it would be comparatively easy of invention. Now that I have retired, maybe I will devote myself to the invention of such a match and to do something to promoto the interests of an arduous and uouo too remunerative calling."?New York Sun. ittiacflknrous -Sending. THE CONFEDERATE DEAD. Fall Number Will Never Be Known?What the Available Figures Show of Losses by Battle and Disease. New York Sun. ' If the president means by caring for ; the Confederate dead that national cemeteries shall be provided for them as in the case of the Union dead of the war, then the question, Where are the Confederate dead? becomes one of1 vital importance. So does another, j How many Confederates died and were killed during the Civil war? ( The official returns of death losses i in the Confederate armies on file in the ( war department in Washington are incomplete and unsatisfactory. Nearly all the rolls of Alabama troops are missing, and those of none of the states are complete. The actual extent of their losses by disease and casualties in battle must remain a matter of conjecture. The losses in the Union armies from the complete pay rolls, according to the original tabulation supposed to hata been accurately kept, were subsequently largely increased in the item of "killed or died of wounds," based upon the papers officially known as the "final statements," and through the investigation of pension claims. This tabulation, as finally revised and corrected, shotos that those who died of disease in the Union armies were in the ratio of two to one of those killed in battle or died of wounds. That is to say, 109,639 men were killed or died of wounds, while 224,586 Union soldiers died of disease. Almost immediately after the war was over the national government set on foot measures to identify its vast e armv of dead in so far as it was possi- w ble to collect the remains in national cemeteries and mark their graves. Seventy-six cemeteries were establish- * ed throughout the Uuion, which in- g eludes one in the city of Mexico, where j. the dead of the Mexican war are col- j lected, northern and southern lying , side by side in that far off cemetery. The majority of these beautiful cemeteries, carefully cared for and upon r which large sums of money are an- j nually expended, are in the southern i states. But thousands of the Union dead life buried in the north, where : they died in hospital and while at t home on sick leave. In nearly all cases ( the government owns the ground, and _ all the improvements are of a lasting [ character. There has been an endeavor to erect grave markings which would l last for ages. In these cemeteries the ( soldier's grn'$ is marked by a small marble block projecting about a foot above ground, sometimes with his , name carved upon it, but generally it t merely carries a number, and in a book in the superintendent's charge there is a corresponding number, with the dead , man's name opposite, or the sad word "unknown." 1 Now, this great work of collecting, I indentifying and marking the burial S places of the Union dead was begun ^ immediately after the war, when it was i easy to come at every source of infor- J mation concerning tbe9e deceased sol- ^ diers, yet it is a shocking fact that out j of a total of 360,207 Uniou dead the c graves of 139,495 are marked un- C known, notwithstanding the great fa- j cilities then existing for identification. \ Of 33,520 Union Negro soldiers S buried in these cemeteries, 20,505 are ? unknown. Under such favorable circumstances, if more thaD one-third of the Union ? dead had to be marked uuknowu, what will be the result of any systematic . attempt to collect and mark the graves of the Confederate dead, 35 years after the war? Probably hardly one-tenth of the occupants of the graves found ? could, with any degree of certainty, be identified, besides which the buna) place of thousands of the Confederate v dead in the nature of things cannot be 8 found at all. More thau 50,000 Union ? men, killed or died of disease, were lost entirelv. aud are not carried on 1 these cemetery rolls as either knowu u or unknown. These figures are appalling, yet it is easy to comprehend their magnitude in view of all the circumstances?the war's length, wide theatre i and numerous battles and skirmishes in dense woods and broken ground. V It is likely that the proportion of Confederate dead, considering their inude- v quate facilities of all kinds for caring I for the sick in hospitul aud wounded f< on the battlefield, completely lost to h all ken, would be fully as great as the t Union figures, although their losses were considerably less in the aggregate v while greater in percentage owing to a the fact that such a great proportion li of Union regiments were never in y battle at all. Therefore in case of a systematic c effort to care for the southern dead as o the Union dead were cared for, should q the president's suggestion contemplate s such a scope, the questiou, "Where are the Confederate dead ?" assumes a- e deep significance. p In any national participation in the a care of the Confederate dead it is more v than likely that the character of the 1 undertaking will be similar to that iu o connection with the Uuion dead, but i; owiug to the lapse of time the results n will be far less satisfactory for the rea- o son given. o Colonel Fox, in bis valuable and e painstaking book on "Regimeutal t Losses in the Civil War," says that g summing up of the casualties or Dai- n tie and all minor engagements?using t olficial reports only, aod in their absence accepting Confederate esti- t mates?indicates that 94,000 men in g round numbers were killed or mortally f< wounded on the Confederate side du- s ring the war. That the aggregate u must have been fully this number is made plain by the following olficial tl figures from incomplete official Con- a federate rolls on tile in the War De- si partment at Washington. t< Died of Died of i State. Killed. Wounds. Disease. . Virginia 5,328 2,519 6,947 M. Carolina, 14,523 5,161 20,602 1 3. Carolina 9,187 3,736 4,760 t Georgia, 5,563 1,719 3,703 f Flordia 793 506 1,047 , Ylabama 552 190 724 J Mississippi, 5J07 2,651 6,809 5 Louisiana, 2,613 868 3,059 rexas 1,348 1,241 1,260 Yrkansas 2^65 915 3,782 renne-isee, 2,115 874 3,425 Regulars, 1,007 468 1,040 l border States,.. 1,959 672 3,142 Totals 52,954 21,570 59,297 While these returns are obviously 1 ncomplete, they are worth Doting, as < ohnm that. or looqf. IX SQ4 wprp I '""J V....V "I tilled or died of wounds, and that ] jertainly 59,297 died of disease. The ' >oly states where the figures approxinate to fullness are North and South Carolina. Those familiar with southern war statistics are confident that the Virginia killed and died of wounds exceed that of any other stale except )erhaps North Carolina, yet her losses n this compilation from the incomplete efficial returns are but little more than lalf those of the small state of South Carolina. The official records of the var show conclusively in the running eports that Alabama lost in killed and lied of wounds fully 15,000 men. The records of battles do not show hat South Carolina lost iu killed and lied of wounds such a disproportion ixceeding the other states, excepting tforth Carolina. Her troops fought rery well, and sometimes lost heavily, >ut the losses of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana regiments vere certainly as great if not greater, tesides which most of the states tamed, together with Virginia, had a ;reater number of regiments engaged n most of the great battles. But enough is shown in this table to :onfirm the official records quoted by Colonel Fox, showing that the Confedirate killed and died of wounds numtered fully 94,000. Of course the statement of the aggre;ate that died of disease is far below t_- . -. i tc xt?.i. /"i i:?? irtof on ne luitvi. xi xiuruu vaiuuua tuou >02 of her soldiers by disease it is I mrdly credible that Georgia, furnishng approximately the same number of roops, lost only 3,702 from the same :ause. It is probable, as has been tated by high southern authority in ecent years, that the Confederate osses from disease approximated closey to 125,000. The Confederate dead, like the Unon, lie buried on battlefields from Getysburg to the mouth of the Rio Jrande and at all the prison de>ots throughout the North. A few of heir dead have been exhumed here >nd there and removed by their friends, ?ut there has been no general care of the Confederate dead like that which iburacterized the Union policy. In some of the principal battles of he war, selected from all the various beatres, the gallant Confederates nade the following losses in killed lutright, the figures not including hose who afterward died of wounds : t Battle. Killed. lull Run (first Manassas) . 387 fort Donelson, 466 Ibiloh 1,723 i fair Oaks (Seven Pines,) 980 leven Days' Battle, 3,286 lull Run (second Manassas,) 1,553 Lntietam, 1,512 Jorinth, '. 1,200 ( fredericksburg, 596 a durfree^borough, 1,794 'hancellorsville, 1,665 * iettysburg, 3,500 1 Ibickatnauga, 2,389 c -lissionary Ridge, 361 Vilderness 1,630 1 Ipottsylvania, 1,300 Jold Harbor, 900 i franklin, -. 1,750 . Many important sieges and battles re omitted for want of space. The Jnion losses of killed in battle and lied of wounds exceeded Confederate igures by about 13,500 men. The official records show that 26,774 Confederate soldiers and citizen prisoners died in Union bands during the our years of the war. Of the total of 26,774 Confederates vbo died in northern prisons, the ;raves of 19,920 were originally markd "known" and 6,854 "unknown." Vhether it is still possible to identify he graves marked as "known," I am inable to state; but probably tb'ere t'ould be some difficulty. VIEWS OF DR. STRAIT. 'akes No Stock Iu President McKlnley's ? Atlanta Utterance. t Washington Cor. News and Courier. e After the 4th of March Dr. Strait, I k ho was defeated for re-election iu the t ^ifty-sixth congress, will resume his i urmer practire as a physician, which * e gave up six years ago to represent e he Fifth district in congress. 1 Dr. Strait is taking bis defeat in a a ery quiet manner, being very willing, a fter six years' of diligent service for t is people to give up bis place to a 1 ouuger man. t Dr. Strait has some very pronoun- a ed ideas upon the leading questions c f the day. In talking about the ac- F (Uisition of the new territorial posessions of the United States be said : v "The United States has begun an xperiment which in the end, will d irove to be very costly. VVe have t j ? *(/.wmWahSoo uhH 1 Hp. ripnnlp C UUptCU LCI i 1 tui IVO uuv? VMV A ybicb are entirely worthless to us. e .'be inhabitants of the islands in my o pinion, can never be American- t zed, and tbe majority of them are ig- o lorant and uncivilized, having no idea it f self-government and very little I f commerce ; and I think that in tbe a nd the United States will find that p hey will have to sell the islands or a ive them up to some other nation, or, a or that matter, pay some one to take t hem off our hands." a Dr. Strait is also strongly against t he proposed care of tbe Confederate it raves by the United States, as set a orth by President McKinley in his d peech at Atlanta. When questioned S pon tbe subject this morning he said : "I do nut think that the proposal of be President will be given more than s< passing notice by the people of the g outh. We have managed for 30 years t< o care for them properly, and I see no n eason why we should not be able to ;ontinue in this matter unaided. As 'or the pensioning of old soldiers by he government, I would not tbink of such a proposal being accepted, and [ tbink this is the opinion of all true louthern patriots. MR. FEATHERSTONE'S OPINION. rhloks Prohibitionists and Local Optionlata Should Work Together, ' Mr. C. C. Featherstone, of Laurens, ;vas in Columbia last Thursday, says a lianatnh Ha a/aR nn hiifliness. havinc 10 connection with politics or the disjensary law. Mr. Featherstone said 36 could not talk about politics, and lid not care to have anything to say ibout the present iasues. In a person11 way he did express himself, and perhaps he does not know that pubicity is to be given bis views as to ivhat he thinks the best legislative polcy at this juncture. In his opinion the best thing, the safest course for the opponents of the Iispensary?Prohibitionists, local option men and all?to do is to unite and *epeal the dispensary law. When the Iispensary law is repealed then the Prohibitionists and local option men san come together, and he is satisfied hey will come together, and agree ipon something satisfactory to both tides. The local option and Prohibition votes are in the majority in both louses, and he is satisfied if they will >nly come together in some such way bat both will get pretty much what hey want. Mr. Featherstone thinks tbat^sucb a :ourse is due the people of the state, vbo expressed themselves so forcibly it the ballot box in the last primary. With all of the work of the dispensary idvocates, the personal friends of Gov:rnor Ellerbe and everything else, not o count the alleged promises, Mr. Featherstone, who stood as the oppolent of the dispensary, came within rery little of being elected on a platorm diametrically opposed to the dispensary system. Up to the present time there has not )een a bill of any kind introduced vbicb in any way looks to radical sbanges in the dispensary law. If the institutional, amendment proposed, ,bat no members of tbe general asserally should be candidates for positions vitbin tbe gift of the general assembly, vere passed, there is a likelihood that hings would be different in a good nany matters. There has been some talk among the nembers of liquor legislation, but lotbing definite has yet been agreed ipon. There has been some talk of a fill to exempt certain large cities from he operations of tbe dispensary lata, md it is thought that this will be ac:epted as a compromise. It is quesionable if such a measure could pass inless the dispensary people gave it tmphatic endorsement and support ind let it be known that it was a pure md simple matter of compromise. STAY AWAY PROM CUBA. ix-Governor Evans Gives Advice to South Carolinians. Columbia Cor. News and Courier. In a personal letter from Major Jno. 3ary Evans, now in Cuba, be gives tome interesting facts about his work, ind shows that tbe craze for officelolding exists in Cuba as well as in South Carolina. He writes as follows, imong other things : "I am very sorry that the newspa>ers have given a wrong idea of tbe >osition I hold, as it has flooded me vitb letters from all the states for posiinno Ptn T am not what vou would :all a mayor in civil life. I am simply ) the staff' of Major General Ludlow, governor of the district of Havana, ind have been assigned to the duty of >rganizing the city government. The irst thing, of course, to be done is the >rganizalion of a police force, and this ve are now doing and will have in iflect in a few days. Next comes the nunicipal courts, and this I am to ake up next. The responsibility is nuch greater than that of civil may?r, as you will understand. I hope, lowever, to pull it through successully. I appreciate the compliment rery much, as it came entirely unsxpected, and I had not at the time in acquaintance with the general. I lave tried to do my duty as a soldier, iven though' holding a subordinate >osition, and I am proud of the fact hat it has been satisfactory so far to ny commanding general. I wish you vould say through the papers what I inclose herewith, as it will save me ots of annoyance from adventurers md office-seekers. This is a remark.ble country, as rich as the valley of be Nile, but the people are a sorry ot; lazy and don't care whether they tave more than one day's rations head. The little uigs go naked, beause they prefer it, and not from (overty." The statement which Major Evans visbes published reads: "I am in receipt of communications laily from South Carolinians desiring o know something of Havana and the irospect here of success in business uterprises. It will be impossible for ae to answer all of these letters as my ime is almost entirely absorbed by my fficial duties. My advice to all such 3 to stay at home for the present, everything here is in a formative stage i nd prices are abnormally high. The leople seem to think that Americans re made of money, and they pay fnn niKot t Kou rvat". Whf*n be government is formed matters will ettle down to a reasonable basis and ben will be time enough to visit tbe < dand. This is a splendid country nd will soon bloom as a regular garen, but after all there is po place like ioulb Carolina." Magnetism In Surgery.?Nothing j eems too wonderful for modern sur- , ery. Tbe X-ray has cleared up mysaries that appeared to be beyond lan's skill to solve, and now tbe mag net comes to its aid. The "Literary Digest" gives us an account of a successful case of magnetic surgery, as follows: "A young laundress thrust a broken needle into her right hand while washing. The needle disappeared in the flesh, and the surgeon who was consulted several days after the accident, refused to perform an operation, fearing least he should he ohliped to make a ? 0? - ? large cumber of incisions amid the ligaments. Tbe girl lost the use of ber right hand, and tbe least movement caused her exquisite pain. Determined to extract tbe needle with tbe aid of a magnet, they chose a very feeble electro-magnet. But a difficulty arose; the needle having entered point first, it would have to be drawn out backward, tbe broken part iu advance. The first trial lasted two hours without result. Before the third trial the girl said she felt a pricking in the palm of the hand near the place the needle ought to appear. At the ninth sitting, finally, in 20 hours after tbe first trial, tbe needle appeared, fixed itself to the pole of the electro-magnet, and came out whole, broken end first, without paiu or loss of blood. SLANDER OP WOMEN. Sutyect For Shotgun Rather Than the Law. Greenville News. Mr. McCullough's bill to make a slaoder against a woman a crime by statute in this state is well intended; but there are practical obstacles in the way of its success. To begin witb, there would be a humiliating and unpleasant process of proving by the woman herself that the things spoken against her were false and slanderous. What we need in that direction is a revival of the good, old-fashioned southern habit of lodging 18 buckshot?that, we believe, is the regulation dose prescribed by time-honored custom?in the person of the man who from malice or folly, assaults the character of a good woman. That is the best, quickest and most satisfactory and conclusive way of such matters. It prevents litigation, saves expense and annoyance and serves as a warning. We have ' observed that whenever an affair of this kind occurs in a community slander becomes tongue-tied there for a term of years and almost anybody's reputation is safe. As a rule women do not talk scandal against each other unless they are instigated or encouraged by men, and even the worst gossips of that sex are subdued by the knowledge that their male representatives will be held responsible in case a. scandal is traced to a family. The old rule was that respectable men should not use the name of a respectable woman in any way except in the presence of some of her close friends or of other women?in such nnmnonv Q fn malrA OlirA f.hflt. I.hfl HflA UV/Ui^/Uti J UU WV UJMMV WMSV VMM* VM? should be respectful. A man who used a woman's name lightly or in improper places or on inappropriate occasions was stamped as a blackguard immediately. Scandal cannot be prevented by law. It can be prevented only by the aroused decency of public sentiment and by the conscientious opposilion of good people. GIRLS AS YOUNG MEN'S ENEMIES. How They Puncture Hole* In a Young Alan's Business Prospects. "Girls are by far too apt to thoughtlessly punch boles in the business prospects of the young men of their acquaintance," writes Edward Bok in The Ladies' Home Journal. "They work this mischief in various ways. They consider it 'great fun' to step to a telephone, for example, and 'ring up' some young man while he is at bis office, only to send him some unnecesary message or indulge in some flip? ?> 'Pho? Qro frtrorat.flll ftf thA pauit uim? auvj v <v*gvv<va* ? -? fact that what may be rare sport at tbeir end of tbe line may cause serious embarrassment or worse to tbe young man at tbe otber end. Even if tbe young man enjoys it, his employer does not. Sending unnecessary or even fancied necessary notes to young men at their offices during business hours is another favorite 'pastime' of girls. Sometimes tbe 'fun' is carried further by meeting a young man at bis luncheon hour, or by even calling at bis office. Again, even a more dangerous element is introduced by girls urging young men to leave tbeir offices before closing hours to escort them to some place of amusement, some game, or to a train. "The danger in these acts is not in themselves, but in the injurious distractions which they mean. Business hours, though doubtless they seem inexplicably long to girls, are, in reality, all too short for the accomplishment of things necessary to a young man's success. Hence every moment when he is at business should be precious to bim, and it is mightily precious to the right sort of a young man. His mind should be focused on tbe problems before him, which mean either his success or his failure." ? The Samoan islands, over which the United States, Great Britain and Germany are quarreling just now, are located in tbe Pacific ocean and about ^ rni lfta nrtm ^ kA Ai>ot /lAuof af A ll_ ljuvu uiii^o 11 vui vu\j vaoi wacv VI liustralia. The group consists of three principal islands, of which Apia is the most important. The islands are not recognized as belonging to any one of the great powers ; but for several years past the United States and Germany have been disputing over their possession. ? The hottest place on earth is in the viciuity of Massowab. When the northwest wind blows from the desert the thermometei has been knowu to go to 160. The men of the Italian garrison there can sleep oniy by the assistance of natives employed to go to and fro all night and sprinkle the bodies of the sufferers with water.