Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, September 13, 1899, Image 1
*
^^ ^ ISSUED SEMI'WEEKL^^ ^ ^ ^
t. m. grist '& sons, Publishers. J % (JJamilji $eirspaper: cjfor the (promotion of (he political, Social, Agricultural, and Commercial interests of the jpeogte. { RMss,s-ol2E'coiy,EfivJ'imS*NcE'
established 18557 ~ YQRKVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1899. 3STO. 73.
THE MY8TI
COUNT
By FRED 1
Copyright, 1899, by the American Press Assocl
Synopsis of Pufa'ious Installments.
In order that new readers of The En
quirer may begin witb tbe lonowing installment
of 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:
Count Boris Landrinof, a young Russian
student at Oxford, receives a telegram
from his mother that his father,
Count Vladimer Landrinof, is missiug
and asking him to return to Russia
at once. Before starting for home
Boris meets his friend Percy Morris, who
tells him that he saw his father that very
day in London. Boris, on arriving in
Russia, finds that his father had gone to
the railway station, but bad not taken a
train. Here the trail was lost. Boris
learns from a peasant that he bad driven
three men to a post station. Percy arrives
in Russia, and he and Boris interview
the master of the post station and
are told that the postinater drove the
party referred to to St. Petersburg. Percy
and Boris direct him to drive them to
where he left the party, and he drives
them to the Landrinof" residence. Borofsky,
a detective, is employed, and it is
decided that Percy shall return to London
and endeavor to obtain a photograph ot
?"?" ?ooomWini? ?h? missiner count.
Percy secures the photograph, which
greatly resembles the count. The countess
then tells her son that her father had
a brother who fell into criminal ways.
Borofsky goes to London for the purpose
of bringing back the man who resembles
Count Landrinof. Borofsky follows his
man, who endeavors to elude him. They
have an interview, and the man agrees to
return with him to Russia. Borofsky and
tt\e supposed count return. Boris does
not believe that the latter is his father's
brother, Andrew Landrinoff. The man
(Andre) pretends never to have heard of
the count's criminal brother. Andre is
visited by a shabby student. Boris follows
the student, who, perceiving that he
is shadowed, endeavors to escape bv crossing
a frozen river. The ice breaks, the
student falls into the water and is rescued
by Boris. Boris demands information of
his father of the student and to secure it
takes him home and entertains bim as a
guest. The student admits that he possesses
the required information and demands
money for it. Boris agrees to pay
and he to accept 5,000 rubles. The student
tells bim that Andre was a Siberian prisoner;
that he escaped and came to St.
Petersburg; that the police were tracking
him when a plot was concocted to palm
the real Count Landrinoff as the escaped
prisoner. The plan was successfully carried
out and the count was arrested and
sent to Siberia.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE COUNT'S EXILE TO SIBERIA.
"Do you wean," I said, "that you
will be able to provide evidence that
this man Andre is the convict Kornilof
and not my father?"
"Perhaps," said the student, smiling
conceitedly.
"It is ridiculous," I cried hotly, "to
suppose that the police will refuse to
accept the evidence of a man's own
wife and child and will believe yours
for the asking."
"It may be ridiculous, but the police
never admit a blunder if they can make
any one else suffer for it instead of
themselves. As for my part in the busi* J
ness, you forget that I possess information
of various kinds with regard to
Andre, which might be useful and even
important to them and might throw a
light on this matter."
"I see," I said. "But I shall be both
surprised and disgusted if it prove to
be as yon say, and the authorities refuse
to believe our evidence. I shall
leave you now and consult my friends.
I believe your story as to father's capture;
so yon may consider your check
safe. At the same time yon are to remain
where yon are until other matters
are settled. You have no objection
to continue as my guest?"
"So long as my safety is guaranteed
I shall be charmed to remain," said the
student. "Does Andre enjoy the ran
of the hou3e? He must not see me or
know that I am here. He would murder
me. and your cause would be
ruined."
"He shall not come here or know of
your presence. I shall see that mistrusted
persons are aware that I have a
?an acquaintance staying in the
nouse.
"Good! See that the same wine is
served to me. like the generous host
yon are, and plenty of it!" He shonted
the last words at me as I left the room.
"I shall have yon watched, my fine
fellow," I said to myself as I hurried
away to confide my great news to Percy
and Borofsky, "for yon are a peurl of
great price." And I may say in this
place that from this time until?well,
nntil certain things had happened,
either Percy or Borofsky or I was constantly
on duty in the passage outside
the student's room, both to see that he
did not attempt to escape and to guard
against surprises from without, Andre
being a kind of bugbear that one must
suspect and fear all times.
I found Borofsky and Percy playing
billiards.
"Well?" cried the latter. "What
luck?" Both he and Borofsky laid down
their cues and waited for me to speak.
Now that I was here and my heart
bursting with the news I had to tell
them, I was unable to utter a single
word. I suppose I dreaded being discouraged.
I had formed lovely hopes so
many times and on each occasion they
lietu ucuu uaoucu iivu U4V %*** ? ? ? r
pose I feared to be told by JBorofsky
that all this which my student had told
me was mere buncombe; that he had
taken me in, and there was not a word
of truth in his story.
"You'll probably say it's all a tissue
of lies." I blurted at length, with difficulty.
"That's extremely probable," said
Borofsky, who had been soured of late
by his ill successes and was not in the
best of humors.
:ry of
landrinof.
nrxTTCTTAW I
VV U.J.UJULX1 ? * .
latlon.
"At any rate, old man, we'll conaider
it in its bearings," aaid Percy.
"Three heads are better than one,
though I admit yours is not such a bad
one. Is it so very incredible?"
"On the contrary, I don't think it is
so at all," I said, "but Bcrofsky may
f=g^ **
"Nonsense!" said Dorofsky. "She shall
not pay him another penny."
with his detective order of mind, and I
simply dread to b&told there's nothing
in it?because"?
"Well?because what?" said Borofsky.
"I shall criticise. It is my duty.
But I shall be only too glad to recognize
a real clew I"
"I think it is a real clew, and that I
now know what became of my poor father,"
I said. "You see, the student
couldn't have known that we"?
"Stop! You forget that we should
like to hear the tale itself before listening
to your comments on it," laughed
Borofsky.
Then I told them as clearly as I could,
and without the circumlocution that
my conceited student garnished the tale
with, how father had been cruelly
and wickedly entrapped and substituted
for a wretch who was wanted by the
police, and how the police bad fallen
into the ambush prepared for them,
and had in all probability deported father
to Siberia, while Andre was left
to live in luxury and freedom.
I paused when I had finished the
story. Then. "Great Caesar I" murmured
Percy. Borofsky meditated in
silence.
"Well, Borofsky," I said presently,
"dnn't kepii nie in suspense. I long to
hear yonr opinion. Is the tale trne or a
tissne of lies*"
"Stop!" said Borofsky. "Did yon
tell the rascal anything of yonr journey
to Erinofka and your finding of a clew
there?"
I reflected a moment. "No," I said,
"I don't think I did. I'm sure I didn't."
"Ah! Then the tale is true," eaid
Borofsky, "for it fits in with that
which we know, unless, of course, he
was sharp enough to put two and two
together and build his tale on the rumors
he may have heard of our researches
at Erinofka. His precious society,
or brotherhood, or gang of
thieves, or whatever you like to call it,
may have beard of our being on the
scent there, even though it were not
they who murdered the wretched little
peasant who brought you information."
"No," said Percy. "TheErinofka bit
belongs all right; it is part of our affair.
The little peasant told us a true tale
and sulfered death for it. Who murdered
him? Why, these infernal rascals;
possibly the student himself. The
story is consistent, Borofsky, from beginning
to end. Boris has got hold of
the right man at last. You were after
him, I know, for weeks, and therefore
the orprlit. in rnnra na trmrh ns his : hnt
Boris it was that uabbed him. Well
done, Boris, old boy I Yon deserve yonr
snccess. Gad, Borofsky! Yon wouldn't
have gone in after the fellow into an
ice hole! Come, would you now?"
Borofsky, pleased with the compliment
conveyed in the earlier partjjof
the sentence, smiled acquiescence.
"I don't think I would," he eaid. "I
can't swim. Yes," he continued, "the
story sounds consistent enough, and it
may be that our little rascal has come
over, body and soul, into the enemy's
camp."
"And no wonder either, I should
say," said Percy, "since they starved
him in the other, while we offer him
food and raiment and shekels of gold
and of silver. This student knows which
side of his bread is well jammed!"
"The thing is, could the police have
been such utter idiots as this would
prove them." I said, "and, again, if
they have blundered, will they acknowledge
their blunder and allow poor father
to come back?"
"The police blunder often enough,"
said Borofsky. "There would be nothing
extraordinary in that. They would
have drugged the count, of course?Andre
& Co. I mean?so that be could not
protest his innocence when arrested; at
any rate, not in a comprehensible manner.
As for whether the police will admit
their blunder, that remains to be
seen. We must interview the pristaf
who arrested mm. i ne student win ten
you which district the house lay in."
"And if they simply laugh in our
faces, as my fellow says they probably
will, what then?"
"Then, apparently, he has another
card up his sleeve," said Borofsky,
"and since he seems to be very proud
of it and very anxious to produce it for
a wage we may hope it is a trump."
"If it is the key that will unlock father's
secret und bring him back to his
own," I said, "mother will pay any
amounf for it and feed the little rascal
like a fighting cock all his life besides."
"Nonsenee!" said Borofsky qnite
angrily. "She shall not pay him another
penny. This time he shall swallow
the pill which is not gilded. I shall
take him in hand myself. You have
done well, Count Boris, but not too
wisely!"
"Let's tackle the police first," I said.
"There's no need to quarrel over the
other matter yet awhile. I'll just go
back and find out from my man the address
of the house in which my father
had been placed in order to be arrested,
according to the scheme of Andre and
his friends."
The student was in a bad humor, I
found. I had forgotten to send up wine,
he complained.
"You shall have it presently," I
promised, and I bade him tell me at
once the address I required.
"Not till I have the wine!" said he.
"You shall have it the instant you
have told me," I replied angrily. "Do
you think I grudge you the wine?
What is it to me if you besot yourself
with two bottles or three?"
"Not a word till I see the wine!" he
replied obstinately.
Had he known it, his pigheadedness
cost that student dear, for I then and
there determined that his next secret,
if required, shonld not be unlocked
with a key of gold, as the first had been.
Borofsky should squeeze it out of him.
The little fool seemed to forget or ignore
that we had the terror side of him, if
we cared to attack him at a disadvantage.
CHAPTER XXV.
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE POLICE.
The student got his wine and I the
required address. Some remark was
made as to the length of time I had
been in his room, but I said nothing of
?? rt -i t l.j re j
tne unaigninea aeieai 1 uau sunereu.
Then I went with Borofsky to the
pristaf of the second oochastok of the
Vassily Ostrof divisional police, leaving
Percy on duty at home to hang
about the passage and see that my
friend the student was up to no mischief.
We found the pristaf at home and
Borofeky did all the talking for our
aide, excepting when I was addressed
and was obliged to answer.
The official looked coldly at us as we
entered. Russian officials have a most
disagreeable way. I have never seen
any Muscovite in authority without
this particular manner?a kind of disdainful
and supercilious hauteur which
neither affability nor humor nor gross
flattery will penetrate, but only, occasionally?rather
often?the almighty
and all penetrating ruble.
"Yes?" said the pristaf.
"We have called," said Borofsky,
"to consult you about a certain arrest
effected by you or your men on or
about the"?
"Stop 1" said the pristaf. "Why have
I to listen to this? Is the case still sub
judice?"
"Yes and no," said Borofsky boldly.
"It has been judged, or went without
judgment; but it must be reopened."
"Who says so?"
"Those who have suffered injustice
by it."
"Injustice? That is a foolish word to
use in this place. Proceed. Who has
suffered injustice?the delinquent?"
"The convicted, yes; he and others."
"Indeed! How so? He was convicted,
you say, and, of couree, punished. Has
his innocence only now come to light?"
"It is not a matter of innocence and
guilt, pristaf. A great blunder has been
committed"?
"A blunder! Deuce take it, what
blunder? Where?in thisoochastok? It
is impossible!"
"I admit that the department in this
quarter is not to be suspected of blundering,
as a rule," said Bcrofsky. "Justice
reigns supreme in this oochastok
and in the bosom of its enlightened
pristaf, but this time you have been the
victim of an organized conspiracy."
"Well, proceed," said the pristaf,
not in the least flurried or softened by
Borofsky's flattery. The fellow took it
for what it was worth, and he knew
the value of the compliments of those
who came to make appeals at the police
court.
"Proceed." he said. "Wehave blundered,
but through no fault of our own.
Some one has been too clever for us.
Yes; proceed, sir."
"You must allow me to tell you the
details of the affair, pristaf," said poor
Borofsky, feeling that his remarks beat
like waves upon the hard rock of this
man's official impenetrability.
"Why should I?" said the pristaf.
"It is surely your duty to investigate
matters which are declared to you to
need investigation and to set right that
which is wrong. Here is a case in
which, as I say. a terrible mistake has
been made"?
"I am not the judge," said the pristaf
coldly. "My duty is to carry out the
instructions of my superiors and to
keep order in my district."
"Nevertheless a word from you signifying
that a mistake may have been
made would cause those superiors to
reconsider the matter which is concerned.
On the other hand, should yon
refuse to say that word the court could
scarcely reopen any question unless
influence and pressure were applied
from without."
"Come. This is mere wnste of time
and idle talking," said the pristaf,
looking closely at Borofsky and at me.
I think he wished to discern whether he
had cause to fear any such influence
and preesnre from without as Borofsky's
words made hint of.
"I have no time to waste on such
matters as you speak of. My experience
ia that blunders are invariably imaginary.
The court knows its busineea, and
we know ours. Why should we blunder?
You say there has been an intrigue.
Who are you?"
"Borofaky, private detective, engaged
in this mutter, which is more important
than you appear to suppose, Mr. Pristaf,
and which will go further than
this court"
"So? A private detective?a young
one indeed. The detective art is not to
be learned in the nnrsery, young air.
And who is this other?"
"Count Boris Landrinof," I said.
The priataf distinctly winced.
"Oh!"he8aid. "The son of Count
Vladimir, no doubt? What can the son
of so eminent a person require in a police
court?"
"That is what I wish to explain to
you, pristaf, if you will allow me!"
said Borofsky. "If you will turn back
to the month of July last, you will find
that you effected the arrest of a"?
"Stopl What has Count Landrinof
a- oil fMcV"
i bu uu vtiiu an vu40
"May I not tell the story from the beginning?"
said Borofsky. "It is impossible
to eiplain all without beginning
at the beginning."
"Stop?the date of this arrest?"
"Seventeenth of July of this year."
"Good I The place of arrest ?"
Borofsky gave the name of the house
as provided by the student. The pristaf
turned back the pages of his daybook.
"Good again," he said. "Now, what
is the mistake complained of? Is it you,
Count Boris, who complains, or Count
Vladimir himself?"
"It is I," I said. "I both complain,
and I will move heaven and earth but
you shall set right your blunder, pristaf.
Never think you will frighten me
with your hauteur I"
"Excuse me, count, but you have
gone beyond me," said the pristaf. He
spoke more politely to me than to Borofsky,
but I could see that my words
did not please him. "You have not yet
explained the nature of the complaint
The name of the arrested on the day
and at the address named was, I perceive,
Kornilof, an escaped convict a
murderer and a rogue of the first water.
Good. There is no doubt of his guilt
for he is known to have escaped from
Siberian exile. He was tracked to St
Petersburg, arrested here and taken
back to complete his sentence. There
can scarcely be a mistake here. Indeed
yon have pitched upon a oase, young
sir, in which there can be lees question
of blunder than in any other almost in
onr sheetB. It is not your father who
complains, I understand, but yourself.
Let me warn you that this is a dangerous
case in which to interfere. Should
you prove yourself interested in this
Eornilof, the authorities would be
obliged, in spite of respect for your
parent and other considerations, to regard
your future actions with suspicion
and perhaps even to put a watch upon
your doinge. Now, then, what have you
to complain of?"
"Speak for me, Borofsky," I said.
"No, excuse me, I will hear no complaint
from any but the complainant
himself."
"Very well, then," I said doggedly;
"only he would have said it more politely
than I, maybe. I complain, pristaf,
that your fools of constables arrested
the wrong man. You must have seen
the prisoner?"
"Certainly," interrupted the pristaf.
"Therefore you are as much to blame
as they?perhaps more?and I warn you
that unless you set the matter right,
and at once, as I shall indicate, steps
shall be taken to get justice done in another
way, and in that case you shall
not go unpunished."
"But, Holy Mother!" cried the pristaf,
somewhat impressed, perhaps, by
my earnestness, "wnat is an tnis no
yon, count 1 Even supposing that I had
arrested the wrong delinquent?which I
deny?how should you know of it, of all
people you, and why should it interest
you ? As soon I would expect one of the
"la the young gentleman madt" he asked.
czar's sons to come to me with a similar
tale. Now, in a word, supposing that
we did not actually arrest this Komir\V*
nooin T /lov?V TVO
IU1 ?U1CU, Uguiu * ..V .... ?
another in his place. You are, then, interested
in this other?is that it?"
"I am."
"Name him, then."
"Count Vladimir Landrinofl"I said,
playing my trnmp card as boldly as I
conld. I longed to impress this man
with the seriousness of the affair he was
inclined to treat so lightly. I would
bluff him, frighten him, amaze him,
but he should believe me and obey mel
The effect of my words upon the
pristaf was certainly marked. Restarted
and looked at me and then at Borofsky.
Then he addressed himself to my
companion.
"Is the young gentleman mad?" he
asked.
TO nK CONTINUED.
V3T It has been noted that the reluctance
of women to tell their age is
no peace of modern sensitiveness. It
is as old as the hills. In the Old Testament,
although great numbers of
women are mentioned, there is but
C\, V, A tirohnm's wife ? whose
uuc?oaiau, ?**/ ?
age is recorded.
B6T Was the man great ? Look for
the mother, wife, or sister who made
him so.
IST The muflled drum might be appropriately
called a deadbeat.
ittiscclliutcous ^failing.
WILLIAM WIRT'S ROMANCE.
Colonel "Dick" Thompson Tells How th<
Great Lawyer Reformed and Won I
Bride.
From the New York Sun.
Terre Haute, September 2. ?Whei
former Secretary of the Navy Richarc
W. Thompson saw the story which ii
being widely printed about the reform
ation of William Wirt, attorney gener
al of the United States, he recallec
that it was far different from the truth
ful one he used to hear at Culpeppei
Unnon ~\Ta oihorn Via o/flQ hnrr
VUU11 "WUOVl f -W
90 years ago last June and where
Wirt a young man, began the practice
of law. The published story is to the
effect that a young lady, while oul
riding near Richmond, saw a young
man lying drunk at the side of the
road. She left her carriage and placed
a handkerchief over his face and thee
continued her ride. Some days latei
the youug man called on her, having
found her name on the handkerchief
He told her that he had signed the
pledge. He kept the pledge and rose
to be a famous man.
Colonel Thompson says that Wirt
undoubtedly was an excessive drinkei
when he was a young man. On one
occasion while on bis way to Charlottesville
he saw a congregation assembled
in a church and stopped tc
hear the preaching. The preacher
was a blind man named Waddeli, whom
Wirt described in his book, "The
British Spy," in eloquent language. A
Dr. Gilmer, who lived near by, saw
that Mr. Wirt was a stranger and asked
him to dinner. Mr. Wirt became
infatuated with the doctor's daughter,
who was a woman of rare conversational
ability. He called frequently
and dually asked Miss Gilmer tc
marry him. She replied :
"Mr. win, i am unwimug tu vuuceal
the fact that I entertain for you a
strong attachment. You are a man oi
brilliant parts and have it in your
power to reach high distinction ; but I
can never consent to become the wife
of a drunkard. If you will promise
me that you will not drink a drop ol
spirituous liquor for two years and
keep your promise, I will consent to
marry you at the end of that time."
He made and kept the promise, and
Miss Gilmer fulfilled her part of the
bargain, too.
"About the time of the inauguration
of General Jackson, which event I
witnessed," said Colonel Thompson, "I
heard Mr. Wirt make an argument
before the United States supreme court.
I was too young to appreciate the force
of his legal contention ; but I remember
well his polished manner and bis
eloquence. I am inclined to give the
story of his reformation preference
over the recently published one for the
reason that the latter is located in
Richmond, where he did not live at
the time of his first marriage. The
lady he married in Richmond after the
death of his first wife was Elizabeth
Washington."
WHERE MIGHT*MAKES RIGHT.
Great Brltlan Arranging to Steal Boer
Gold MlDes..
Atlanta Journal.
In 1795 the British took possession
of the Cape country ; it was restored
to the Dutch in 1803, and England
again, and finally took possession in
1806.'
The Dutch-French colonists quarrelled
with the English continually,
and numbers of them "treked," or
tracked northward in search of farming
lands. Their first settlements were
in Natal; but from there also the English
drove them, and then they "treked"
into the Transvaal, where, on unpromising
upland, 6,000 feet above the
sea level, they became Boers?"farmers."
There they hoped the British
would leave them alone, and their
hopeB might have been realized had
not the discovery of gold been made
there in 1866.
Prior to that time, in 1852, England
had acknowledged the independence
of the Transvaal, the South African
republic. Iu 1854 the Orange Free
States were also declared independent;
but by both treaties and conventions
England retained suzerainty.
There was trouble in 1881, when a
force of British was repulsed at Majuba
Hill, the incident leading to a revision
of the convention in that year,
and again in 1884. It is the latter
which defines the degree of authority
reserved by Englaud under its suzerainty,
and the contentions over which
are involved in the present trouble.
By its terms the South African republic
has full powers to frame aud amend
its constitutions and admiuister its internal
affairs, but is prohibited from
makiug any treaty save with its neighbor
Oranirfi Free States, without the
I,VM o , m
consent of the queen.
By this time British, Americans, Germans,
and Freuch were pouring into
the gold country, and Johannesburg
began to take on the size and character
of an American mining town. This
annoyed the Boers; but their thrift
did not desert them, and although they
avoided mining and stuck to their
farms, they found many means to derive
uational revenue from the Outlanders,
or "outsiders." The government,
uuder President Kruger, levied
transport dues, stamp taxes, license
fees, franchise costs, custom and monopoly
charges on such a mining necessity
as dynamite.
The British in the country appealed
to London, and London appealed to
Pretoria; but there was no redress.
By 189G the Outlanders were paying
to the Boer government a revenue of
$5,000,000 annually, which consisted
almost entirely in a tax on mining.
Then a number of prominent English
and American miners formed in
Johannesburg what has passed into
history as the National Reform Union
committee, of which Lionel Phillips
was chairman and John Hay Hammond,
an American, an officer. They
were in communication with Cecil
Kbodes, resident director 01 tne .British
South Africa company, and Lean
der Starr Jameson, known as "Dr.
Jim."
What happened is of too recent oc9
currence and too sensational to have
1 passed from the memory of World
readers.
, The first battle of the Jameson raid
j occurred at Krugerdorp on January 1,
j 1896; the second at Doornkop the
. day following, when Jameson's al.
ready defeated raiders were all cap|
tured by the Boers. As to the compo.
sition and purpose of the raiders no
r better evidence can be quoted than
, that given by one of the raiders, Captain
Thatcher, and cabled to The
! World on January 18 :
"We were 600 strong. Besides,
; - - - w
U there were 100 Kaffirs. There were
, three wagons, eight Maxim and three
| Whitworth guns. We knew what we
I were going to do. It i9 all rubbish
i about our thinking we were going to
. fight natives."
, "Somebody blundered," wrote the
English poet laureate.
, President Kruger turned over the
, raiders to the British government,
which sentenced Jameson to 15 months
; in jail and some of his officers to
. shorter terms, after making them the
, horoes of London for weeks.
Kruger arrested hundreds of Out,
landers in Johannesburg on the charge
, of treason, and upou trial four were
sentenced to death. Among the latter
i was the American mining expert,
, John Hay Hammond, but their sentences
were commuted to fiue and im.
prisonment. Both the Boers and the
. British were fighting mad, and every
, one expected war would follow between
them, but it was averted in a
! curious manner.
Emperor William of Germany sent
, a cable message of sympathy to President
Kruger, and the enfant terrible
of the family of nations by this characl
teristic act changed the whole situation,
r England was so mad at William that
. for a time she forgot or ignored Kruger.
She assembled such a fleet of
, war vessels as has never before in the
, history of the world prepared for war?
f and William sang softly.
But the trouble in the Transvaal
, was not remedied. The British min1
ers in the Transvaal have claimed that
they were denied the right to vote.
, President Kruger recently accorded
the franchise privilege to British subjects
who became citizens of the Transvaal
after five years residence. But
England demands that British subjects
shall be allowed to vote without abandoning
their British citizenship.
HE WAS A GOOD SOLDIER.
I Some Kemlocencei of Iillly Whltaker, oj
, the Fifth.
i Yorkville Cor. News and Courier,
i William Whitaker was one of the
first to volunteer for the war for south,
ern independence, and those who are
familiar with his record say there was
no better or braver than he in the 5th
South Carolina regiment, of which
Colonel Asbury Coward, superintendent
of the South Carolina Military
academy, was colonel.
"Billy" Whitaker survived the war
and is still living in this section. He
was only a private. Being without
education, he did not receive promotion,
as many perhaps less deserving,
but better qualified by reason of possessing
those qualities essential to the
proper discbarge of official duties did.
Notwithstanding the lack of education
and high social position, Whitaker
was recognized as a man with more
than the average amount of native
i wit, and as a result was a favorite not
only with the rank and file of his immediate
company, but with many of
the commissioned officers in the regiment,
and furnished no end of amusement
to his companions in arms by bis
droll and pertinent replies to questions
propounded by them around the camp
fire, and bis comments on occurrences
in camn. on the march and on current
events.
Since the surrender, and he was
present at Appomattox, he has devoted
a great deal of his time to relating
war experiences, rather than to the
more profitable and necessary occupation
of accumulating and saving a
competency for old age, which is now
on him, and finds him unprepared to
enjoy that ease and comfort, which in
the minds of many who toil and save
is the one joy to be desired above all
others in this lite.
Billy Whitaker is without an income
today and depends on bis daily
labor for a livelihood, but notwithstanding
this fact is bapdier and better
satisfied with the world and himself
than is J. D. Rockfeller, George Vanderbilt
or any of the Vanderbilt family,
or any of the other immensely
wealthy or moderately wealthy men
of the day, aud as for Hetty Green it
is quite likely that she would gladly
exchange half her gold for Billy's contentment
if it were purchasable.
Your correspondent has gone further
into details than the importance
of the hero might ordinarily merit, but
his object is to place the reader in
position to appreciate a recent deliverance
credited to this brave but humble
defender of our beloved south.
The deliverance was broueht about
in reply to a question asked Mr. Wbitaker
by a gentlemen living in bis
neigborhood, and who was only a
small boy during the war, and therefore
not a participant. The question
was about as follows :
"Mr. Whitaker, what was the most
trying occasion you experienced during
your four years' service as a
member of the Fifth regiment, or in
other words, what was the most uncomfortable
position in which you were
placed ?"
"Wall, I reckon it was when our
fellows was lyin' behind a ridge or
earthworks and the Yankee sharpshooters
was a poppin' away at us,
and their artillery was a tryin' to
drap shells among us, and the whole
business was spilin' fer a fracus, an'
Colonel Coward would ride out in
ironc 01 our lines ana say: 'At-tention
! Mager Beckham pass the command
down the lines.'"
As already stated, Mr. Whitaker
was on hand at Appomatox. He says
' that be was sorely disappointed that
day. He knew "we were in a purty
dum tight place," but that he "had a
notion that Bob Lee would manage
somehow or other to squirm out; but
when I seed a squad ov ossifers a ridin'
down the line with er white flag a
floatin' in the breeze. I knowed the
dawg was dead an' I jest dropped my
old muskit an' walked over into the
lmAO T ~IA\~A
UUC3 Ui l LI C xau&9, JL. S1U1CU up IU
where they wus a cookin' uv some
beef. I wuz most starved acid axed
one of the cooks to give me a piece ov
the meat. He kinder grinned, raised
the meat out ov the pot in which he
was a cooking ov it, and cut off a bunk
about the size ov my han' an' reached
it to me. I took it an' went right to
work. My ! My ! But it was the best
meat I ever tasted.
"Purty soon I ran my han' into my
haversack, brought it out an' put a
part ov what I had got into my mouth.
The Yank was watcbin' me, an' asked
what was that I put in my mouth.
'Parched corn,' I said.
" 'Aint you got no bread?' he axed.
"I tole him no, an' he reached me a
great big hunk o' light bread. Then I
wus certain fixed. After I got through
eatin' o' my meat an' bread he offered
me another supply an' I et it.
"He then axed me how long since I
had drawd rasbuns an' I tole him not
since we had left Petersburg, an' that
wus about 10 days."
THE B0L0 OF THE FILIPINOS.
A Weapon Which Has Proved Inefficient
Against Our Troops.
New York Sun.
A letter from Lieutenant William
M. Copp, of the Sixth artillery, who is
on the gunboat Napidan, in Lagunade
Bay, gives the following interesting information
containing one phase of the
fightiDg with the Filipinos:
"An odd trait in the character of
fha noHuea ia that t.hnv nnvnr IfiRVfi
wuv MI#wtfvw " * " ''
one of their dead if they can possibly
get him away. They leave more now
than they used to, for this reason:
Formerly they had at least five men
for every gun, and about all these men
were good for was to carry away the
wounded and dead, although they
were armed with bolos. These weapons
were very effective against the
Spaniards, as the bolo men apparently
cared nothing for their own lives, and
the Spaniards did not have the courage
to stand when they charged ; so,
of course, they were cut to pieces, the
bolo being without doubt one of the
most terrible weapons at close quarters
in the world. It is very sharp and so
heavy that it will smash any sword in
pieces that I have seen. They use
them in the right hand, and a long,
heavy dagger in the left. I had one
of the many amigos who could handle
the bolo go through the motions for
me, and it was truly wonderful. The
rapidity of his moves was such that
the eye could hardly follow them, and
all the time he kept a constant guard.
The bolo is to cut, no point; the dagger
is used to stab, no edge. When
these bolo men tried the same tactics
on our men that they were accustomed
to employ so successfully against
the Spaniards, they were Killed in
large numbers, as our men did not run,
but simply shot them. Now so many
of these men have been killed, there
are fewer of them to a gun, and they
are not able to get the dead away
quite as well as they did formerly.
* * * If your servant goes away
for a day or two, you can be certain
he is with the insurgents and in some
fight. It is too common to excite comment
here when an officer's servant,
who has been absent several days, is
found in the insurgent's uniform killed
or is brought into our hospital for
treatment."
marvels' of surgery.
Remarkable Things That Modern Skill Can
Accomplish.
From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
A month or two ago a doctor was
called in to attend a boy whose ear
had been completely bitten off by a
vicious horse. The surgeon determined
to try and replace the ear, as failure
to do so could not result in a worse
deformity.
The missing ear was duly found and
handed to the doctor, who was then
engaged in bathing the severed part in
warm water. He had neither instruments
nor dressings with him, and as
the half hour's delay to obtain them
would have been fatal to success, he
stitched the ear in its place again with
a common needle and thread. This
was followed by antiseptic treatment,
and in six weeks the ear completely
healed, leaving no scars. Even had
this been a failure an ear made of a
waxy composition and an exact facsimile
of the other ear could have been
made and fixed.
In some cases it has been necessary
to remove the tongue j but by raising
the floor of the mouth and thus in
some way filling the place of the missing
organ the patient has been enabled
to speak almost perfectly.
The fitting of glass eyes is wellknown,
and the complete destruction
of the jawbone has no terrors for the
modern surgeon. The crushed bone is
removed and a piece of silver or aluminum,
the exact shape of the lost
jaw, fitted in its place. After this has
become firmly fixed, teeth may be fitted
to it. If a man's throat is defective
the operation of tracheotomy?the
insertion of a silver tube in the windpipe
with an orifice opening to the
throat?provides him with a new
breathing apparatus.
Artificial legs and arms are now so
perfect that with them a man can
walk, skate and even cycle. There is
a story also of a man who, injuring his
spine in a railway accident, was fitted
with a steel casing for his backbone,
and so enabled to walk and ride.