Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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X99UEO SEMI-WEEKLY. l nr<}EisT & sons, Publishers. 1 % ^amitg ieirspiitt: 4or the promotion oj the gotitirat, facial, g,flriraltural, and Commercial Jnterests of the geogte. ESTABLISHED ^855. YORKVILLE, S. C? WEDNESDAY, MAY 1902. NO. 41. ; j g THE SPUR BY A8HI1I Copyright, 1901, by Charles B. Etherlng CHAPTER XV. THE ADVENTURE OF THE PirER. room to the two men had been assigned on their arrival in the city ColoI nei Korna found Dar VV re" tiolue uiiuuicb anft er that unfortunate individual had been dismissed by the princess. "I suppose that was English you were speaking as I entered." said the colonel. "I do not understand it" "That is well for your soul," returned Darrell. "The language was violent." "What was the matter?" asked Korna. and then without waiting for an answer, "What are you going to do with that thing?" This question referred to the faded cloak which Darrell had taken from the Idiot, Musef. "I have made a fool of myself. Colonel Korna," said the Americau. "Please do not ask me how, but take my word that it was done in a way that the most brainless monkey ever born in a tree could not have bettered. Having done it, I was naturally reminded of this idiot's belongings. Do you suppose there Is any beeswax in Vladikaukas?" "Is that question a part of your disguise?" laughed Korna. for Darrell had put on the cloak and taken up the pipes upon which Musef had played. Darrell convinced Korna that he was serious, whereupon the latter replied that it would be singular if a town of the size of Vladikaukas contained no beeswax, but he did not know just where It could be found. "We have had great news," he added. "A spy has come down all the way from Stavropol. The report of the railway wreck which has delayed the Russian force is confirmed. Moreover"? "I am out of favor with the khan," said Darrell, Interrupting. "I do not feel that I should listen to your military secrets." Korna stared, and then, seeing that Darrell was serious, be was about to express his sympathy when he was hastily summoned to the khan's presence. Darrell put away the cloak and pipe and went out into the town, where he ?mn11 ef/vtuio Anati fnr 1UUUU LLlclU^ DIIJclll piu1vo uj/cn, ivi there was excellent order in the place, and secured without great difficulty a supply of beeswax and black goat's hair, with which he built up a beard almost as wild as Musef's. A beard constructed in this way by a man experienced in the art will bear close inspection. Having completed bis task, he wrote a note to Korna in these words: My Dear Colonel?I ara going to try to get through the Russian lines with a copy of the khan's cipher message to Prince Kilziar. If I am not heard of within ten days, will you please inform the khan of my attempt? I would have you maintain silence for that Interval, it you can do ao without serious inconvenience, and if I do not return I would have you remember me pleasantly, as I shall remember you so long as I retain the faculty. He left this where Korna would find it and then, mounted upon a grotesque little mule that he had purchased, made his way out through the Circassian lines, the seal of the khan upon the order that he bore being his warrant. The mule was a sturdy brute, and, though Darrell made a wide detour, so that he seemed to be coming up from the east. It was not later than 3 o'clock in the afternoon when he was halted *-? nrv/vn plcrhf uy nusitliui iJlL'&tria u |IUU luc nbu> wing of their force. An utter recklessness had taken possession of Dnrrcll since his wretched interview with Vera. He had ridden along the road rehearsing the demeanor of Musef as he had observed it, practicing the peculiarities of speech that bad distinguished the idiot and fitting crack brained jests from his own memory to the language in which they must be uttered. He had given some attention also to the pipes, but found it easier because of his especial aptitude to imitate the sound of the instrument than to play upon it When the picket cried out "Halt!" Darrell cuffed the mule's ear and cried "Halt!" to him in an excellent copy of the Russian soldier's tone, whereat another soldier laughed. Meanwhile the mule kept straight on and did not stop until the soldiers had him by the bridle, one on each side. "It Is Musef the Traveler," said the soldier who had laughed. "I have seen him in Stavropol." If Darrell had been In a humor favorable to fear, this utterance would have alarmed him seriously. He had not attempted a personation. It was impossible that he should be mistaken for Musef by any one who had more than the feeblest recollection of the original. It had not occurred to Darrell's mind that the imbecile could have so wide a fame. His sole idea bad been to taae tue guise or a mumless character. If detected as a counterfeit. he might expect a spy's fate. "I don't remember you." he said, "but still you may have seen me. I played under the windows of the jail." It was the other soldier's turn to laugh, and he welcomed the chance. His comrade took the jest without offense. "It was through a window that 1 saw you," he said, "but the window, of a grogshop, not a Jail." "It seems I was a little early for you with my serenade," rejoined Darrell. "I'll give Jt to you now if you'd like to hear It." : OF FATE. 31r TOWNE. ton. He put the pipe to bis lips and played a few notes. "Here, quit that!" cried one of the soldiers. "We're close to the lines, and the noise may be heard." "You have no ear for music," said Darrell. "Get along!" the last words being addressed to the mule. The soldiers had let go of the bridle and had stepped aside. The animal started with alacrity, for Darrell had learned how to appeal to him with a touch of the heel. "Halt! Come back here!" cried the Russians in duet, and one of them threw a stick that lay handy beside him. It missed Darrell and by good luck hit the mule. Secretly encouraged by his rider, the brute ran away, but at no very great speed. "Don't shoot. I'll catch him!" exclaimed one of the Russians, and Darrell, looking back, saw him coming, while the other, rifle In hand, was now unable to fire, even if he had wished to do so, because of the risk of hitting his comrade. Darrell urged the mule to better speed. The running soldier halted, calling out a threat, but at that moment Darrell reached the crest of a little rise In the road aud saw ahead of him, at no great distance, an advanced portion of the Russian line. Ten seconds more and he knew the picket would not dare to shoot. "I'm stopping him!" he called, making a great feint of struggling with the bridle rein, and the soldier, seeing that the mule's pace was slackening, lowered his gun. | "It's all right T' Darrell shouted over his shoulder. "I've got blm now. I'm safe." And having brought the mule to a more moderate pace, he sat up straight in the saddle and, putting the pipe to his lips, rode on, discoursing weird, uncanuy music. Soldiers were advancing toward him; behind him the picket, swearing and laughing at the same time, waved a signal to the squad beyond and tapped his forehead to denote the mental condition of this extraordinary rider. Darrell was soon surrounded, but by cleverly playing his role he escaped being sent back. The squad took him into the lines, and he was bandying rough Jests with them when an officer advanced, commanding silence. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Excellency," responded Darrell, "1 have come to dinner." He slid off the mule's back and leaned against the animal as if too weak to stand. Then in response to questions he told in a crack brained fashion the story of wandering that lie had carefully prepared, founded upon the possibilities of Musefs character. He had traveled with a caravan; he had left It and had lost his way. All the houses by the road were empty. lie had found no one to give him food. "I believe the fellow Is really starving," said the officer. "Let him have something to eat. Search him, bowever." Darrell was searched, but nothing suspicious was found, for he had prepared himself for such an ordeal. His garments throughout and the emptiness of their ragged pockets befitted the character which he had assumed. Vera's order, tightly rolled, was inside Musefs pipe, but it did not occur to these men's minds that a wind instrument which could be played upon might contain any article contraband ;; ^^ "/? in Musef the Traveler." of war. It was far beyond tbelr wit to suspect that the man's music proceeded from Ills own lips, quite independent of the apparent source of it. "Feed him and keep an eye on him," was the officer's order, and Darrell obtained food of which he was really much in need. Afterward he was allowed to sleep on a pile of blankets in the rear of the line, where some officers' horses were tethered. A fringe of trees approached near to tills spot, a spur of the woods. In the latter part of the afternoon there was a smart and sudden shower. Some of the soldiers onuMtf olinltmi nn/lni? fhft t rnno fltlfl It r?llVllCI UUVtVI lUC tivvn, u*?v* ? was remembered that the demented wanderer went with them, hut not a man of that force saw him afterward, except a picket on the road toward Gredskov, who In the early evening challenged a shadow flitting by in the edge of some hushes, fired upon It and then decided that it must have been a wild animal if, indeed, It wa9 not a product of bis own imagination. At daybreak a Circassian outpost In sight of the walls of Gredskov baited a grotesque and travel worn creature, apparently demented, yet with wll enough to know his own business, and after brief questioning seut him into the city under guard of a single man to find Captain Varnek, for whom he asserted that he had an important message. If Darrell had declared that his business was with Pilnce Kill tar. It mlehl have been looked upon as the customary delusion of a "crank." and had he shown the Princess Vera's order al such an early stage of the proceedings other hands than his would probably have delivered it. Therefore he had named Varnek, the olflcer who had 1 ? lilo <iviw>tiHnn trhnin UCt'U lliai^CU n illi mo VAWU^.V.., Ivornn had described as a friend?certainly a man devoted to the khan and well suited to be DarreH's intermediary In this matter. It appeared, however, when they were within the city that Captain Varnek was not an easy man to find. Darrell's guide was directed here and there with the greatest positiveness in each case, but always wrongly, and Darrell was on the point of attempting direct communication with Kilziar when the problem was solved in an unexpected manner. In the open space beside the prison a great crowd was gathered, and ac Darrell and his guard passed in the course of their search they heard the sound of music and saw in the midst of the throng a considerable body of troops drawn up in hollow square. Two tall timbers with a crossbar 011 top seemed to define most dismally the occasion of this gathering. "An execution?" asked Darrell. "Foi what crime?" "I heard the fellow had assisted the escape of a prisoner condemned by order of the prince," was the reply. "lit used to be a turnkey in that prison." "Did you hear his name?" "Kevski, or something like that," an swered the man indifferently. "They will hang him?" exclaimed Darrell in horror at the fate of this man to whom he owed hi? own life. "By the feet," replied the soldier. "1 believe there's some idea of getting fi confession out of him, and when yot hang a man by the neck he hasn't sr much time to think the matter over. I could never understand why people should want to see such a thing." And he pointed to the crowd with a ges ture of contempt that did him mucli credit. Darrell was already breaking tlirougl the crowd, and in half a minute he had come up to the thin line of soldiers bj which It was restrained. At that ma ment the unfortunate Kevski was hoisted up, his feet bound together, the rope by which he was supported being made fast between them. He swung at first but little clear of the ground his hands bound behind his back, his body slowly twirling on the rope. This barbarity is not uncommon ir that region, and it has a terrifying ele ment of uncertainty, for the amount ol torture Inflicted by It can never bf known in advance, since it depends upon the endurance of the individual Men have lived Incredibly long anc have endured Indescribable torments while others have passed beyond pair In a few minutes. It Is always a new wonder to the most experienced that such a spectacle can be given the aspect of an enter tainment, yet here was the band bray Ing as if to gather spectators for ? mountebank's performance, and here were the people striving for the besl places. Jests were far easier to heai man expressions 01 sympmuj, muugi these citizens of Gredskov, bred undei an alien rule, had no knowledge of pub 11c punishments for justice's sake, bui only as the cruelties of an irresponsible tyrant. The band ceased with a rattle o! brass, and the next Instant Darrell was Inside the line of soldiers, holding tc his lips the pipes of Musef, from whlcl there seemed to issue a shrill and livelj tune. The thing was so quickly done that no one raised a hand to stop him as he began to march with a crazy dig nlty in the direction of the musicians The crowd laughed, the soldiers waited for an order, and the officers, seeing nc harm done, hesitated to give it. "You do not play so badly," said Dur rell, lowering his pipe and addressing the leader of the band, "but my musk Is much more popular." He waved his hand In the direction of the crowd, which rewarded him with cheers and laughter. The band master turned an eye upon the colonel of the regiment, who had wheeled his horse In that direction. He was a man of jovial aspect, and he seemed to b( somewhat the worse for liquor. Dar rell Judged him to be not averse to this comedy and wns not deceived when Virv xcrlfH o rrrnnf nPPnr?tntlnn ni wratli, waved his naked sword over tlu piper's head aud then brought it dowr with a wide sweep to light, flatwise, or the offender's back. It was not a very safe trick, for the Circassian swords are sharp as razors. "Upon ray word." exclaimed the offi cer, observing tliat Darrell did not ever wink, "you don't scare easily!" "I haven't sense enough," responded Darrell. "Only the wise are afraid the others are soldiers." "You mean that soldiers are fools?' demanded the oiiicer, grasping this simple jest with some difficulty ant1 uncertain whether he had got the righl of it. "Not those that wear swords," re sponded Darrell. "It is wise to ordei other men to light; the folly is in obeying. And, by the way, that is a very fine sword of yours." "What do you know about swords, madman?" demanded the officer. "More than yourself," replied Darrell "begging your excellency's pardon, foi I can do something with a sword thai you can't." "You are a boaster!" cried the colonel - raising his weapon. i "I will prove my words," ahswei Darrell. "Can you play a tune upoi t sword?" I "No; nor any other man," retort , the colonel. t "I can play upon a sword as well I on this pipe," answered Darrell. 4 , you don't believe me, lend me youra , This cool proposition excited laugh1 among the spectators who were n< enoueb to hear it and also consideral Interest, for It seemed that the madm . really meant to execute some trick. . "I can't spare It," said the coloi . curtly. > "This, then, will answer," rejoin : Darrell, and, with a movement swift i conjuring, he snatched a Bword frc the scabbard of a captain who had e I vanced as if with some message for I I superior. i The man, utterly amazed and perha . alarmed, started back, and before I had recovered himself Darrell h raised the sword to his lips in the mc ner of a flute and was piping in a w , that might have amazed a higher ty of audience. The colonel restrained t enraged captain with a gesture and 1 tened with a drunken wonder that, less desperate circumstances, wot I have afforded Darrell much amui , ment [ Suddenly the wretched prison j swinging by the rope, uttered his fli cry, a long and pitiable scream. It w what might have been foreseen; I 1 deed, Darrell had expected It earlii He turned, with an affectation | wrath. "I can't be interrupted In this waj 1 he cried, springing toward the t< tured man. I It is probable that every one expect 1 to see the supposed maniac still K( ski's cry by plunging tl" sword it his body. The colonel had time to ci ' out: "Don't strike! Upon your own life' f And then, before his horse could i spond to the spurs, he saw the oraz f musician leap up and sever with a blc the rope by which Kevski was st ; L I "Don't strike! Upon your own Life." i pended. The man fell upon bis bat for his head had been drawn up ar I the distance being so short, sustain no Injury. Darrell dropped the sword and, se Ing the pipes that had dangled by i cord around his neck, broke them acre i his knee. It was all done in less tb a second. He clasped the disnrm captain, the first man to reach hi ? around the body with a grip that net ' ly stopped the heart under his ri I and held before his eyes with the fr hand the order of the khan, taken frc ' the broken pipes. "I am the khan's messenger," whispered. "My order concerns tl t man." And then aloud. "The seal ' the khan!" Hearing the words and beholding t paper in Dnrrell's hand and Impress 1 also by the sudden change in his to 1 and manner, the soldiers that h ' seized him offered him no great v lence, but hold him while the capta ' took Vera's order and gave It to t 1 colonel. He recognized the seal, batter though it was, and for some secon 1 he hesitated what course to pursue. 1 "If you would win the favor of t khan," said Darrell, "you will discc ' tlnue the punishment of this ma ? The prince will be satisfied when y : inform him that the American, Di rell, arrived In Vladikaukas yesterd morning." "You are sure of this?" "Absolutely," replied Darrell, "a: you may please the prince further wi the information that the American b entirely lost the khan's favor." "You seem to know many thing; said the colonel, bending down frc the horse and looking closely into D< rell's face; then to a subordinate a; pointing to Kevski: "Put that man r der guard. This one goes with me 1 fore the prince." TO BE CONTINUED. Largest Rtuernlil In the World. A vase cut from a single emera has been preserved in a cathedral Genoa, Italy, COO years. Its dlmeusioi I are: Diameter. \2\u inches; height. 5 I inches. Every precaution is used I.. C......... 1 I 1.,. ? lUMllf OUVL'l (U IUL1V3 1UU he opened to reach it. and the key i i eacli lock is in the possession of I different man. It is publicly exhibit* t very rarely, and then only by order the senate. A precautionary deer was passed in 147f> forbidding all pc : sons to approach the priceless treasu too closely. An uutiquarian advanc ' the theory that it was one of the glf made Solomon by the Queen of Sheb , and has written a book to prove b assumption. It is diillcult In the , matter of fact days to believe so larj : an emerald had ever been found, and t would be interesting to hear the vt diet of a gem expert after he had cat fully examined the vase.?Manufacte lug Jeweler. il fpswUanwms: fading. ? ? - Hi WASHINGTON'S BEGINNING. th kr How n Lottery Aided In Putting Up fr< 'If the Capitol Itself. av ?? . ' Efforts to provide more descent lei and reputable quarters for the chief ^e< mr i executive and his corps recall many interesting facts ip the early history of ad some of the public buildings in Wash- ap ,el ington. tic It was not until 1796 that the tempest- de g(j tossed congress of the 13 colonic* saw a8 the first evidences of the Federal city )m that excited the mirth of the wits, the no L(j_ forebodings of the timid. The circum- *rt jj8 ference of the city as it now spreads out under the great dome is greatly pg contracted from the imposing dlnienhe sions originally laid out by the engin- ' ad eer. L'Enfant. Where the superb pat- *e( . ati m- em umce now sireicnes in marine maay jesty the poetic Frenchman, inspired , pe by recent events in Paris, had marked ar he the site for a national tabernacle, go is- where national events were to be reo n in llgiously commemorated, where nation- ^ lid al obsequies were to be celebrated, and 3e- the dead honored by the country were CO! to be buried and their monuments perer, petuated?a sort of Pantheon to the cq ret glories of the republic. But the French- ^ as man's hopes and plans were early nip- ^ In- ped, for even in those early days "jobs" ^ er. and "rings" found their account. He 1 ^ of was beset on all sides by venal legis- ^ lators and self-seeking jobbers, and de r!" practically coerced into throwing up his jn >r- commission in disdain, leaving the city to be completed by Andrew Elllcott. ed In 1782. $500 in gold was offered, with>V out restriction as to calling, to the 'to citizen who should send in the accepted &N design for the president's house. Five pr hundred dollars and a lot in the new ~ city, or a gold medal were offered for . j re" the best design of the Capitol. To a Cc ^ generation that has become familiar ha ,w with the sums annually appropriated ^ 1S" and voted for postofflce and custom ed houses, our forefathers will seem thrifty ^ Indeed, embarking upon city building Cc with a grant of $19,200 from the states , to of Virginia and Maryland. j * This, however, was supplemented by ey a national lottery, for which 60.000 yt i tickets were sold and of which 16,730 . I were to draw prizes, the capital one jQj being a hotel which was to cost $50,000. fe) The price of the ticket was $7, and the th prizes ranged from $10 up to the hotel, jj, Nor need the student of current mor- ^ als and manners, depressed by the ^ laxity of our times, wholly despond aa when he reflects that the lottery was ro, made use of not only in the buiidine trj of our national Capitol, but churches, schools, colleges, even Harvard itself, were indebted to the wheel of money to secure their usefulness. No In 1796 the president's house and the Capitol were the only evidences of a city where the traveler now sees ^ squares and monuments, edifices and m< ? gardens and parks that eclipse Paris w' and Vienna in beauty and taste. When let the lottery failed and the sums voted du bv Virginia and Maryland gave out. aoi ^ Washington was less of a city than ve Cahaba. down in Alabama, which was ini :k, once the capital of that state and was de id. sold for taxes. Three hundred thousand as ed dollars were asked by the commission- de ers to go on with the work, and the to !z* country was distracted by such pro- an a fllgate outlay. The press of the time gh 168 thundered against such extravagance.? ah an Washington Times. at ed . ? . ini ID. THE TRUTH OP HISTORY. lai ir- dl< bs Senator Vest Tells of the Famous roi ee Hampton Roads Conference. ha m In the senate recently, Senator Vest an said he felt called upon to take notice on he of an erroneous statement by Senator fls lis Tillman, in justice to both living and ' of dead. That statement, which had co been found in the public press and up- an lie on the lecture platform for the last tic ed three years, was that at the historic de ne conference in Hampton Roads in 1S64 th id between President Lincoln, Wm. H. an io- Seward, secretary of state; Alexander an liQ H. Stephens, vice president of the Con- eh he federate States; R. M. T. Hunter, for- or mer United States senator, and John A. th ed Campbell, formerly justice of the Unl- Cu d9 ted States supreme court; President nu Lincoln wrote upon a piece of paper, te< be "save the Union,'" then handed it to th ,n* Stephens, said "Alex., take this paper ta in* and fill up for yourself the conditions wj 0,1 of peace between the two countries." ffi, ir" Mr. Vest said the story had been de- as ay nied by John H. Reagan, of Texas, who 1 was the last surviving member of the W1 Confederate cabinet. an a(* He knew personally, said Mr. Vest, st( ^ without having been present at that at( as combined interview, that the incident ex t was without the slightest foundation, ye "If true," said he, "it would place bl< ,m the government and officers of the Con- fig federate States in the category of ou criminals because it offered the Con- "C in~ federacy all that it ever demanded in fr< the wildest hope of the most extreme foi partisans of that cause if they would ut only return to the union." wt A deep silence had fallen upon the his chamber and every member on the floor th listened to him with rapt attention. tij With great deliberations he contin- da n ued: "If true it would mean that the lit n*a ,' Confederates could have placed on that ta J* sheet of paper the perpetual establish- tei ment of slavery and the right of seces- ini ... sion, the most extreme demand that su Ill a had ever been taken locally even In the ] ?(j dreams of any Confederate." From no ~Qf the lips of Stephens and Hunter had sp ee come to him, he said, the details of ba ;r. what took piace. Upon the return of ar re the-commissioners of the Confederacy to eg he heard their official report as Mr. wi >*8 Reagan heard it, he being a member fin ia of the cabinet and himself a member foi ,ja of the Confederate senate. "I am to- thi ge day the only surviving member of the ha ge gentlemen who acted as Confederate an senators," he said. gu !r_ Mr. Vest then stated that what did ga e- happen at Hampton Roads beyond ge u- question was this: That when the ea president and Secretary Seward met wi e commissioners of the Confederacy, r. Lincoln, addressing himsef to Mr. unter, whom he know well, said: "In e first place, gentlemen, I desire to iow your powers and instructions )m the Richmond government," oiding, said Mr. Vest, as Mr. Hunr told him himself, the words "Conlerate States." Mr. Hunter, to whom the inquiry was dressed, said: "Mr. President, we e instructed to consider no propositi that does not Involve the indepennce of the Confederate States of nerica." "Then," said Mr. Lincoln, ne interview may as wen terminate w, for I must say to you gentlemen, inkly and honestly, that nothing will accepted from the government at chmond except absolute and uncontional surrender." Mr. Vest then said that this termlnaI the Interview, and as the Confedere commissioners retired, President ncoln, addressing Stephens, who was e last to go out, said: "Stephens, you e making a great mistake. Your vernment is a failure and when the ish comes, as it soon must come, ere will be chaos and disaster which s cannot now foresee which must me to your people." 'This account of that Interview," ntinued Mr. Vest, "substantially and nost word for word as I have given came to me from Mr. Stephens and r. Hunter. Mr. Vest said that he considered it 3 duty to make this statement in orr that history may not be falsified; order that the men who were said have refused this offer at the hands President Lincoln, should not be ide to sin in their graves, adding, or if they had refused what was Baid have been tendered to them by the esident, they would have been accesries to the murder of every man who II from that time in defense of the infederate cause, and they should ve given the lie to the Intentions lich they professed when they riskeverything, everything that is held ar amongst men, in defense of the infederate cause." While the deep silence still reigned the chamber as he spoke and with ery eye directed toward him, Mr. ;st concluded as follows: "It may but a very short time till I shall in the 25 colleagues I had in the Conlerate senate, and I did not want Is statement to go Into the record of Is country without my statement of ese facts and my solemn denial that ere is no shadow of truth in this sertlon which has been going the iinds of the newspapers of the counY of the past few years." BATTLE OF THE OCTOPI. tvel Content Between Marine Monsters In Charleston. It was at the close of one of the demstrations at the shad hatchery tile Superintendent Conway was iding one of his "personally concted tours" along the banks, that me one called out that there was the ry devil of a row among two of the mates of the last tank. Superintennt Conway thought it was a "gag," that was the tank occupied by the vil fish. But it wasn't. It was a fight a finish between two of the octopl, d the crowd gathered around the iss front until they filled the broad 3le completely. Front positions were a premium and the contest grew tensely exciting. One was much "ger than the other, and, of course, It 3n't take until the end of the first und for the sporting blood present to ve the two devil fish named Jeffries d .Fitzslmmons. Jeffries for the big e and "Fitz" for the smaller, lankier h. To in the least way appreciate the ntest it was necessary to have been i eye-witness. By way of introduc>n which is incidentally always a tenr conventionally of the prize ring, e octupus, famed in thrilling stories id "trust" cartoons, is a sort of skull id cross-bones looking affair, with rht long arms or legs or fins or feelers whatever you want to call them. On e underside of these long arms that rl about with a serpentine motion are imberless tentacles, sort of sucking itacles at that. It is with these arms at they reach out and with these tencles that they hold on to their prey th a veritable death grip and stran? their victim in much the same way a boa-constrictor. When Superintendent Conway saw lat was going on he left the crowd, d rushing back of the tanks got a Ick and did all in his power to separe the fighters. This only added to the citement and the devil fish fight of sterday for rushing the sporting sod tnrough the veins made a bull ht in Mexico fade away into innocus desuetude by comparison. It was lo it, Fitz!" or "Twist him, Jeff!" >m the start. The whole fight was light in a single round of several mines, during which Superintendent Conly as referee jabbed and stabbed with 3 stick; but all to no purpose. Take e tour hands in a prize ring and mul)ly by four and in the 16 of yestery's bout it is possible to imagine a tie of the action enjoyed by the spectors. Multiply these by hundreds of ntacles. which were constantly opener and closing in their efforts to get a re hold ana mai may neip auuk. It was a clinch from the start, with breakaways. There was a kind of arring for openings and each comtant was tied to the other by four ms with four other arms in which continue the fighting. Then the knot is tied with five arms, then six and ally seven, with one arm each free r aggressive work. And all this time e tentacles were sucking harder and rdeT and the arms squeezing tighter d tighter in a mutual effort at strandation. During this stage of the me the big "Jeffries" seemed to be tting much the best of it and was sily a strong favorite. Even his own eked eyes seemed to gleam with the coming joys of victory. But lanky "Fitz' was simply waiting for his opportunity of- sending home his solar plexus blow. Just as the big octopus seemed to be a sure winner the smaller devil flsh darted out his free arm and thrust it directly into the open gill of his opponent and, holding it there with his tentacles slowly but surely choked "Jeffries" to death. It was a trump card and won the trick. Even Superintendent Conway, who has been on ii>timate terms with devil fish for years, said he had never seen anything like it. Now this, while a fish story, is an absolutely true one, and if you are sceptical you can easily corroborate every detail by asking Superintendent Conway himself, any of the attendants or any of yesterday's spectators, who saw the fiercest fight ever pulled off in any exposition?a fight to a finish be tween two devilish octopl.?News and Courier. LOST ON THE DESERT. The Pitiful Fate of a Six-Year-Old Boy Who Wandered Away. The family of Mr. Godfrey Hughes, a member of the firm of assayers owning the Customs Assay office, recently went to spend the summer months visiting friends who own a large ranch about 17 miles above Albuquerque. The family consist of the mother, two sons and a daughter. Last Saturday the children asked permission of their mother to go to a corral some 300 yards away from the house and on the other side of a knoll that obscured the corral from view, to play. Permission was granted and the youngsters bounded away for their afternoon frolic. Soon the little sister wearied and the elder brother proposed that they take her to the house. To this the younger brother, Emerson, who was only 6 years old, demurred, as he wished to play more. So the older brother took his sister to the house. Upon arrival there the mother asked, "Where is brother?" "We left him playing at the corral," said the boy. The mother then sent him back for the little truant. Shortly the messenger came back, panting from his hurried running, and exclaimed that his brother was nowhere to be found; that he was not at the corral. The frightened mother hurried over to the corral and there found the report of her boy to be true. She searched and ' searched, but could find no trace of the missing child. At last she came upon some nine iooiprinis, snowing mat me child had taken a direction the opposite to what he should have taken, and the harassed mother became more and more alarmed as the fact that her child had strayed and was in all probability lost became apparent. She followed the footprints for three miles and only ceased because darkness was approaching and she was powerless and had to call for aid. As rapidly as her nervous and exhausted state would permit she retraced steps to the house and alarmed the household. Immediately a search party was organized and despite the oncoming of night started out in quest * of the helpless child. Through that disheartening night the weary search continued. And the next day the trained services of 75 Indians were impressed, and all that long and trying day the search went on and yet no clue to the Wanderer. The grief and agony of the poor afflicted mother were beyond consolation. The continued discouraging reports that were from time to time brought her only added to accentuate her suffering. The tracks could be followed for a distance of 12 miles and then seemed to double upon themselves and finally became lost. Without rest the searchers continued in what seemed their hopeless quest. The thought of the poor little tot being out upon the dreary plains alone, with out shelter or food, wandering on the helplessness of the lost, crying possibly with fright, tormented by the pangs of hunger and thirst was simply maddening to the poor mother and friends seeming so helpless to terminate the trying situation. All of Sunday night the search continued, and early Monday morning the father, who had been Ignorant of the tragedy, was wired. He arrived that day and added his untiring efforts to those of the large party already out. To think of the dreadful pathos of It all! The poor child was not found until Wednesday morning. It was then found by a Mexican, who carried the exhausted little form to his cabin, where the child lingered for three hours and then passed away. The ordeal had been beyond the little one's endurance. The remains were taken back to the ranch and next day were interred in the cemetery of the neighboring village.?El Paso Times. ? Charlotte Observer: Mr. Joe C. Smith, a well-known cotton mill man of Newton, was here yesterday. Asked as to the prospects of the proposed merger of the cotton mills, he said that he had heard of no new move in the matter although the blank forms for agreement have been sent out to all the mill men for their signatures. The success of the merger depends, of course, upon the number of these agreements that will be signed by the mill men. Mr. Smith is in favor of the mer ger; but admits that the difficulties in the way are many and formidable. "It is pretty much like organizing the farmers into a cotton growers' trust," he said. * There are so many men to be brought together and so many ideas to harmonize. The trouble has always been to get the farmers together, and the trouble about the proposed merger is to get the mill men together." Mr. Smith, while admitting the difficulties of the undertaking, is not inclined to the belief that it is necessarily a failure. "It may pull through yet," he said. A. 1*. Hntler Dead. Col. Andrew Pickens Butler, former commissioner of agriculture, died at his home in Aiken county last Wednesday, aged 70 years. He leaves two married daughters, a son and several grin I children.