Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ISSUED SEMI-WEEKLT^ t. m. grist's sons, Publishers. J g #3 mitt) Jteirapager: ^for the promotion of the flatitiial, social, ggriculturat, and Commerriat Interests of the people. | terms-^oo^a yearjn maiieg. ESTABLISHED 1855. ~ YOBKYILLE, S. C., FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1903. ISTO. 77. By WILL N. HA Copyright, 1902, by Harper Bros. All r CHAPTER XXIX. TiHE mass meeting at Springtown was a most important S5SS! event. It was held in the courthouse in the center of the few straggling houses which made up the hamlet. The entire Bishop family, including the servants, attended. Pole Baker brought his wife and all the children in a new spring wagon. Darley society was represented, as the Springtown Gazette afterward put it, by the fairest of the fair, Miss Dolly Barclay, accompanied by her mother and father. The courthouse yard wr.3 alive with - * * A1 groups or men, eageriy raising over uie situation. Every individual whose land was to be touched by the proposed road was on hand to protect his rights. Pole Baker was ubiquitous, trying to ascertain the drift of matters. He was, however, rather unsuccessful. He discovered that many of the groups ceased to talk when he entered them. "Some'n's up," he told Alan and Miller in the big. bare looking courtroom. "I don't know what it is, but I smell a rat an' it ain't no little one nuther." "Opposition," said Miller gloomily. "I saw that as soon as I came. If they really were in favor of the road, they'd be here talking it over with us." "I'm afraid that's it" said Alan. "Joe Bartell is the most interested, and he seems to be a sort of ringleader. I don't like the way he looks. I saw him sneer at Wilson when he drove up just now. I wish Wilson hadn't put on so much style?kid gloves, plug hat and a negro driver." "No, that won't go down with this crowd," agreed Miller. "It might in the slums of Boston, but not with these lords of the mountains. As for Bartell, I think I know what ails him. He's going to run for the legislature and thinks be can make votes by opposing us?convincing his constituency that we represent moneyed oppression. Well, he may down us, but it's tough on human progress." At the hour appointed for the meeting to open a young man who held the office of bailiff in the county and seemed proud of his stentorian voice opened one of the windows and shouted: "Come in to court! Come in to court!" and the motley loiterers below began to clatter up the broad stairs and fall Into the seats. Joe Bartell, a short, thickset man in the neighborhood of fifty, with a florid face and a shock of reddish hair, led about twenty men up the aisle to the jury benches at the right of the stand. They were the landowners wuose consent to giaui the right of way was asked. Stern opposition was clearly written on the leader's brow and more or less distinctly reflected on the varying faces of his followers. "Ef we needed it, it ud be a different matter." Miller overheard him say in a sudden lull as the big room settled down into sudden quiet "but we kin do without It We've got along so fur an' we kin furder. All of us has got good teams." Wilson in his crisp, brusque way made the opening speech. He and his capital were going to dispel darkness where it had reigned since the dawn of civilization. All that was needed, he finished, was the consent of the property owners appealed to. who, he felt confident, would- not stand in their own light. He had hardly taken his seat when Joe Kartell stood up. Alan and Miller exchanged ominous glances. They had at once recognized the inappropriateness of Wilson's speech and did not like the white, twitching sneer 011 Kartell's smooth shaven face. It was as if Bartell had been for a long time seeking just such an opportunity to make himself felt in the community, and there was no doubt that Wilson's almost dictatorial speech had made a fine opening for him. "Fellow citizens an' ladies an' gentlemen." he began, "we are glad to welcome" amongst us a sort of a second 6avior iu our Sodom an' Gomorry of crackerdom. What the gentleman with the plug hat an' spike toe shoes ain't a-goin' to do fer us the Lord couldn't. He looks nice an' talks nice, an', to use his words. I don't believe he deceives appearances I'll bet one thing, an' that is 'at he won't deceive us. Accordin' to him we need 'im every hour, as the Sunday school song puts it. Yes. he's a-goin' to he'p us powerful an' right off. An', fellow citizens, I'm heer to propose a vote o' thanks. He's from away up in Boston, whar. they tell me, a nigger sets an' eats at the same table with the whites. When his sort come this away durin' the war. with all the'r up to date impliments of slaughter, they laid waste to ever'thing they struck, shot us like rabbits in holes an* then went back an' said they'd had a good hunt. But they've been livin' high up thar senee the war, an' the'r timber is a-pluyin' out. an' they want some more now. an' they want it bad. So they send the'r representatives out to find it an' lay hold of it. How does he happen to come heer? As well as I kin make out. old Alf Bishop, a good man an' a southern soldier?a man that 1 hain't got nothin' agin, except maybe he holds his head too hign?maae up ms mind awhile back that lumber would be In demand some day, an' he set to work buyin' all the timber land he could lay his hands on. Then, when he had more'n be could tote an' was about to go under, he give this gentleman a' option on it. Well, so fur so good; but, gentlemen, what have we got to dc J BAOTSB p DI? M Author of .K13.Es IN, " Westerfelt." ights reserved. with this trade? Nothin* as I kin see. But we are expected to yell an' holler an' deed 'em a free right of way through our property so they kin ship the timber straight through to the north an' turn it into cold Yankee coin. Wn Hnn't rvmnt in this shuffle. f?entl<* men. We git our pay fer our land in bein' glad an' heerin' car bells an' steam whistles in the middle o' the night when we want to sleep. The engynes will kill our hogs cattle an' hosses an' now an' then break the neck o' some chap that wasn't hit in the war, but we mustn't fprget to be glad an' bend the knee o' gratitude. Of course we all know the law kin compel ns to give the right of way, but it provides fer just and sufficient payment fer the property used; an', gentlemen, I'm agin donations. I'm agin 'em tooth an' toe nail." There was thunderous and ominous applause when Bartell sat down. Wilson sat flushed and embarrassed, twirling his gloves in his hands. He had expected anything but this personal fusillade. He stared at Miller in surprise over that gentleman's easy, half amused smile as he stood up. "Gentlemen," he began, "and ladies," he added, with a bow to the right and left. "As many of you know, I pretend to practice law a little, and I want to say now that I'm glad Mr. Bartell ain't in the profession. A lawyer with his keen wit and eloquence could convict an innocent mother before a Jury of her own children. [Laughter.] And that's the point, gentlemen. We are Innocent of the charges against us. I am speaking now of my clients, the Bishops. They are deeply interested in the development of this section. The ! elder Bishop does hold his head high, and in this case he has held it high ; enough to smell coming prosperity in the air. He believed it would come, | and that is why he bought timber lands 1 extensively. As for the accused gen- 1 tleman from the Hub of the universe, ' r mncl on it thnt I hoiro bnnnrn him fnr ' several years and have never heard a word against his character. He is not a fanner, but a business man, and It would be unfair to Judge him by any other standard. He is not only a business man. but a big one. He handles big things. Th!s railroad is going to be a big thing for you and your children. Yes. Wilson is all right. He didn't fight In the late unpleasantness. He tells the women he was too young. Wilson is here to build a railroad for your good and prosperity, and he can't build one where there is nothing to haul out. I? he buys up timber for his company, it is the only way to get them to back him in the enterprise. Now. gentlemen of the opposition, If there are any here today, don't let the thought of Wilson's possible profit rob you of tnis poiaen opportunity, i nve at Darley, but. as many of you know, this is my father's native county, and j I want to see it bloom in progress and blossom like the rose of prosperity. I want to see the vast mineral wealth buried in these mountains dug out for ! the benefit of mankind wherever God's 1 sunlight falls." Miller sat down amid much applause, a faint part of which came even from the ranks of Bartell's faction. After this a pause ensued in which no one ' seemed willing to speak. Colonel Bar- ( clay rose and came to Miller. "That was a good talk." he whispered. "You understand how to touch ' em up. You set them to laughing; that's the thing. I wonder if It would 1 do any good for me to try my hand." "Do they know you have any timber land over here?" asked Miller. "Oh. yes: I guess they do," replied the colonel. "Then I don't believe I'd chip In," ad- 1 vised Miller. "Bartell would throw it up to you." "I reckon you are right," said Barclay, "but for the Lord's sake do something. It never will do to let this thing fall through." "I've done all I can." said Miller dejectedly. "Bartell's got the Whole gang_hoodooed, the blasted blockhead! Wouldn't he make a fine representative in the legislature?" The colonel went back to his seat, and Wilson came to Miller just as Alan approached. "It's going to fall flatter than a pancake." said Wilson. "My company simply cannot afford to buy the right of way. Can't you choke that illiterate fellow over there or?or buy him off?" "He ain't that sort," said Miller disconsolately. Alan glanced at his father and mother. On their wrinkled faces lay aiupla 1 evidences of dejection. The old man swemed scarcely to breathe. Op to 1 [kartell's speech he had seemed buoyantly hopeful, but his horizon had changed. lie looked as if he were wondering why he had treated himself to such a bright view of a thing which had no foundation at all. At tliis juncture Abner Daniel rose from his seat near the sto'e and slowly walked forward till he stood facing the audience. Immediately quiet reigned, for he was a man who was invariably listened to. "(ientlemen an' ladies," he began, clearing his throat and wiping his mouth with his long hand. "This ain't no put in o' mine, gracious knows. I hain't got nothin', an' I don't expect to lose or gain by what is done in this matter, hut I want to do what I kin fer what I think is right an' proper. Fer my part, I don't think we kin do without a railroad much longer. Folks Is a-pokin' fun at us, I tell you. It's God's truth. T'other day I was over at Darley a-walkin' along the railroad nigh the turnln' table, v/har they flirt engynes round like children on a flyin' jinny, when all at once a big strappin' feller with a red flag In his hand run up an' knocked me off'n the track kerwhallop in a ditch. It was Just In time to keep me from bein' run over by a switch engyne. He was as mad as Tucker. 'Looky' heer,' ses he, 'did you think that thing was playin' tag with you an' ud tap you on the shoulder an' run an' hide behind a tree? Say, ain't you from Short Pine destrict, this side o' the mountains?' I told Mm he'd guessed right, an' he said, T 'lowed so, fer thar ain't no other spot on the whirlin* globe that produces folks as green as gourds.' Well, gentlemen, that floored me. It was bad enough to be jerked about like a rag doll, but it was tough to heer my section Jeered at. What makes you say that?' I axed Mm as I stood thar tryin' to git a passle o' wet glass out o' my hip pocket without cuttin' my fingers. [Laughter. led by Pole Baker, who sensed the meaning of the reference.] 'Beca'se,' ses he, 'you mossbacks over thar don't know the war's over. A nigger from over tkar come In town t'other day an' beerd fer the fust time that he was free. Two men over thar swapped wives without knowln' thar was a law agin it. Half o' you una never laid eyes on a railroad an* wouldn't have one as a free gift.' I turned off an* left 'lm an' went up on the main street. Up thar a barber ketched me by the arm an' said, ses he: 'Come In an' le' me cut that hair. You are from Short Pine, ain't you?' I axed him why he thought so, an' he said, ses he, 'Beca'se you got a Short Pine hair cut.' 'What's that?' ses I. An' he laughed at a feller cocked up In a cheer an' said: 'It's a cut that Is made by the women out yore way. They Jest turn a saucer upside down on the men's heads an' trim around the edges. I could tell one a mile. They make a man look like a bobtailed mule.' [Laughter, loud and prolonged.] "Yes, as I said, they are a-pokln' all manner o' fun at us. an' it's chiefly beca'se we hain't got no railroad. The maddest I ever got on this line was down at Fllmore's store one day. A little, slick chap come along sellln' maps of the United States of America. They was purty things on black sticks, an' I wanted one fer the wall o' my room. I was about to buy one, but I thought I'd fust make shore that our county was on it, so I axed the peddler to p'int it out to me. Well, after some j'arch he put his knife blade on what he called this county, but, lo and behold, it was mighty nigh kivered with round dots about the size of flyspecks. 'What's the matter with it?' I axed 'lm. Oh, you mean them dots,' ses he, an' he turned to a lot of reference words In KVi/% /tAi*nni? a# mQT\ 'Thom ' fiPQ hp them's put thar to indicate the amount y ignorance in a locality. You'll find 'em in all places away from the railroads. A body kin say what they please agin railroads, but they fetch schools an' books an' enlightenment You've got a good many specks,' sea be, kinder comfortin' like, 'but some o' these days a railroad will shoot out this away, an' them brainy men amongst you will git the chance God Intends to give 'em.' Gentlemen, I didn't buy no map. I wouldn't 'a' had the thing on my wall with the specks a-starin' me in the face. It wouldn't a' done any good to scrape 'em off, fer the'r traces would 'a' been left No, friends, citizens an' wellwishers, thar ain't but one scraper that will ever rake our specks off, an' thafs the cowcatcher of a steam engyne. I say let 'er come. Some objection has been raised on the score o' klllln' cattle. That reminds me of a story they tell on old Burt Preston, who has a farm on the main line beyant Darley. He was always a-gittin' his stock killed so fast an' a-puttin' in heavy claims fer damages, until folks begun to say he made his livin' by buyin' scrub cattle an' sellin' mashed beef to the corporation. One day the road sent out a detective to watch 'im, an' he seed Burt drive a spindlin' yeerlln' out o' the thicket on the track jest in time to get It knocked off by a through freight. The detective went back an' reported, an' they waited to see what Preston ud do. By the next mail they got a claim In which Preston said the yeerlln' weighed 800 pound an' was a fine four gallon milk cow. They threatened to jail 'im, an' Preston agreed to withdraw his claim. But he got downhearted an' traded his place fer a farm on t'other railroad, an' the last I heerd o' him he was at his old trade ag'in. I reckon that's about the way we'll be damaged by gettin' our stock killed. That's all I got to say, gentlemen. Let's git this road an' scrape our flyspecks off." TO BE CONCLUDED. Money No Object.?Many years ago the writer visited the Hawaiian Islands. In making a trip around one of the smaller islands we came one day upon a veritable bit of Eden. In the backgrounds were the mountains reaching to the clouds; about us a half dozen grass houses, each in its setting of verdure, shadowed by cocoanut palms, before us the quiet waters of the lagoon with the white line of the barrier reef, and beyond tnai me muigo seu. learning to the horizon. We sat down in the shade to rest and a native came out to interview us. He was a perfect specimen of uncivilized man. In the prime of life, six feet tall, straight as an arrow, with a frank open countenance and an inch-wide lace pattern stripe tattoed in blue the whole length of each leg. Said my guide: 'Do you live here?" "Yes." "Always lived here?" "Yes." "Why don't you go to one of the plantations to live?" "What for?" "To work." "For what?" "To earn money." "What do I want of money? I own my grass house; I own my vegetable patch: I own my canoe; I make my own nets and I don't wear any clothes. Why should I work?"?Boston Transcript. miscellaneous Reading. DOUBLE TRACKING SOUTHERN. Work Progressing Rapidly and About Twenty-Five Mile# of Track Laid. Few people In Spartanburg fully realize the great work that is going on along the line of the Southern railway and especially along the Washington division of this road, where the double tracking is in progress. Four thousand hands are now at work between Alexandria and Manassas. Of this large number, 2,000 are on the day shift and the same number work during the night hours. It is the intention of the Southern railway to complete this enormous undertaking as quickly as possible and agents are now going throughout the south getting together as many ablebodied men as ttiey can possibly secure. The contractors for this work are exceedingly anxious to increase the number to 8,000; half to do day duty and the other half at night. To the traveler on a Southern railway train between Manassas and Washington the sights to be seen bring to mind the stirring scenes that were enacted on these identical fields during the great conflict ^between the north and the south. To facilitate the work of double tracking tents are pitched all along the line of the road where this work is under construction. Not only have tents been pitched but in some instances houses have been built for the "bosses" of the construction gapg. The farmers along the way and in fact for miles and miles from the roadway, practically feed this great army of workmen. All the products of the farm, such as vegetables, milk and meats are taken to these camps and | ready sale is found for all such. The farmers are extremely happy over their good luck and they will feel It very perceptibly when these camps are moved farther' south. Up to the present time there has been completed about twenty-five miles of this double track. The work has been slow on account of the big bridge that had to be constructed over Bull Run creek. This work has required a large number of hands and on account of the immense amount of trestle work leading to the bridge, the work has been necessarily slow. Bridges will have to be built over the Rappahannock and other smaller streams. This will require some time and will delay the removal of the camps for some months. In constructing the double track the Southern has made it a point to lower all grades almost to a level. In doing this the old track,' In some places is ten to fifteen feet higher than the new one. At a number of these former grades, temporary tracks have been constructed and the speed has to be greatly diminished. In fact these temporary structures are In many instances the causes of the lateness of trains to and from Washington. The hands who are at work on the double track are paid off monthly and a large number of these are saving their money simply because of the fact that they have nothing to spend money for. They are fed by the company and their only expense is for clothing. As the winter draws near the tents that now shelter the large army of workmen will have to give way for more comfortable habitations. Just what jharacter of houses will be constructed has not been determined.? Spartanburg Journal. DRISCOLL AND HIS MILLIONS. Mine Owner Who Spends Only Thirty Dollars a Month. Patrick Priscoll owns four of the best paying silver and gold mines in the Chloride valley of Mogave county, Arizona, and lias an income of over $90,000 a year, yet he spends no more han $30 a month for his personal comfort, says the San Francisco Examiner. Many generous gifts, however, come from the Driscoll bank account to poor miners and their families. Driscoll is supposed to be worth between $1,200,000 and $1,600,000. His income from his mines is $6,000 a month, and he draws about $15,000 a year dividends on railroad stock in which he invested in the early days. He has no relatives as far as he knows. Thp old miner had experienced all the prospector's proverty and hardships until he was past middle age, when he drifted down to the Calico mines in San Benardino county, California, In 1881. There he found a mine which he sold for $15,000. This gave him his first capital to deal with in mining on his own account." From Calico he went to Arizona, and in two years located a base ore mine of silver, gold and lead In combination. The Diana and Antrim mines became his. He invested his profits in the Harqua Hala mines and doubled his wealth in a few years. From that time he has been prospecting to a degree undreamed of by him. He has never changed his manner of living. He is over sixty and in fine health. Every day he may be seen walking about the little town of Kingman or over to Williams, where he has lumber interests. No one would believe from his appearance that he had property. He lives alone in a cabin, cooks his own meals?of flapjacks, pork, bacon and oatmeal?and sleeps in a bunk of redwood filled with straw and covered with blankets. Among the many stories told of Driscoll In the northern part of the territory is one of the time he bet "a half" on an election and lost. When he was told that he must pay up, he got a penny somewhere in that region, where coins less than a nickle are never used, and splitting it in half with an axe, presented it to the winner of the wager in full payment of his bet of "a half." The old man loves to have people mar- I vel at his cheap, primitive way of llv-| ing while he is so wealthy, and he always relates in the Kingman and Ash Fork saloons what he hears strangers say of him about the "rich old Irishman who lives in a cabin." He has a grain of generosity and is not a miser, even if he does call himself one. A year ago, when a miner's eyed were blown out in blasting operations at Clifton, Driscoll made quiet inquiries concerning the man. When he learned that a wife and six children were dependent upon ine oimaea man s wag?a, me uiu fellow sent a bank check for $5,000 to the family, and the gift was kept so secret that it did not become known until several months later. Several times the bodies of Drlscoll's poor friends in the mines have been sent to relatives in the eastern states and even to Ireland at his expense. * DEPREDATIONS ON FARMS. Increase of Insects Which Causes Heavy Losses. The great Increase of insect pests in orchards and gardens entails an enormous expense upon the farmers of this country, and yet it is possible that the farmer himself is at fault to a certain extent by assisting in the destruction of animals and birds that would perform for him valuable service if permitted. Beasts and birds of prey are sufficient to prevent any alarming increase of birds that are capable of doing harm, but nearly all birds are carnivorous to some extent, as they cannot subsist on animal food. Birds prey upon worms, and the natural increase of all kinds of Insects would soon render the earth uninhabitable by man but for the assistance given him by the creatures which he so ruthlessly destroys without regard to future consequences. The carnivorous animals and birds no not increase as rapidly as the kinds on which they prev, and a single lion or tiger may serve to prevent a district from being overrun with graminivorous animals. If such condition did not exist the result would be famine. As the forests are cleared the destructive animals and birds are driven away or restricted in their capacity to do harm, but man seems to become himself a beast of prey and wantonly destroys for the pleasure of so doing. He considers certain animals, such as the fox, hare, raccoon, opossum and mink, as "game," the hawk and owl being always regarded as his foes. He adopts the dog and cat, the latter being more destructive to birds than any other animal, as it is not only active and somewhat nocturnal in habit, but rooo TV>a fnv nnnqqiim aidU CllJUUO bi WC0< X I.VA) and raccoon are along the most useful animals known, as they seek their food where field mice and ground Insects abound. The little damage done by them Is not worthy of consideration compared with the service performed. The only apology for their destruction is the occasional loss of poultry, but no careful farmer will leave his poultry unprotected from danger at night. The farmer has not yet discovered a method for preventing the destruction of his crops by field mice and Insects, but he devotes more time to seeking the lives of his friends, the owl and hawk, than he gives to the Insects which he cannot control. The damage to a portion of the corn and fruit by animals and birds is insignificant compared with the almost complete destruction of crops by insects. The mole,* which ridges the earth, simply does so while destroying grubs, as moles consume them in large numbers. The quail, which is harmless, is forced by necessity in the fall and winter to search for food under every leaf and in every spot where an insect and worm can be found, during which time so spent they destroy thousands ~ ? * ? Im l/\oo 1 If loQ f Via UL lUSCt'19, UUl 111 OV111C ivvauuwu %**%? quail has been almost exterminated simply for sport, which is one of the most expensive luxuries enjoyed by man if he only knew it. The birds that remain over winter, or which do not leave until late in the fall, to appear early in spring, feed not only on insects, but on the seeds of many plants which the farmer does not desire in his field, and the reduction in the number of these birds Is largely increased by cats, which feast upon the young in the nests in spring and which also destroy the eggs. This is a disturbance of the order of creation, and reduces the profits of the-farmer while destroying the guardians of his crops. The English sparrow in the country could be easily kept in check by the sparrow hawk and the well-known screech owl. the latter preying upon them at night and the former during the day, especially in winter, if the farmer would allow them; but on the approach of his natural friends he seizes a shotgun and puts an end to their usefulness, yet deploring the destruction of his grain crop in the growing season by birds which he protects and allows to multiply without hindrance. The subject most to be considered by farmers at their meetings is not so much the destruction of insects and field mice as the protection of the birds that destroy the pests, and this protection should be extended to the owl and hawk, as well as to those animals which keep rabbits in check. The loss of poultry cannot happen if such birds are given the same care and attention as other stock, and if the farmer will consider the matter carefully he will notice that he loses but few chicks by the hawk compared with those appropriated by cats, yet he destroys the one and pets the other. A single dog in a community will do more damage to sheep in one night than all the wild animals In a year, but the losses to farmers from depredations of foxes are so small as to be hardly noticeble. The song birds that are said to be driven away by the English sparrow would return if the hawk and owl were unmolested, from the fact that the large majority of birds migrate, the sparrow remaining as food for the carnivorous birds, but the wildest sparrow is sufficiently wise to remain close to haunts of men, where he is safe from his enemies. In winter no crops are growing, and there are but few, if any, small chicks. But little damage can be done the farmer by hawks, crows and owls at that season, while in summer they can secure food in abundance elsewhere. hence they should be given opportunities for keeping the sparrow within bounds.?Philadelphia Record. ARE LACKING IN CUNNING. Nearly All Criminals Display a Dearth of Ingenuity. It is one of the most remarkable facts , In the history of crime that many daring and clever criminals have been their own successful detectives and have brought about their conviction by acts of almost incredible stupidity. An amusing case of this kind occurred a few weeks ago at Rochester, when a finely developed young fellow presented himself at the local police court for admission as a constable. While he was being medically examined it was noticed that his feet were of quite abnormal size?in fact, the only two feet that could be compared with them were owned by a burglar who was very much wanted by those Kocneaxer ponce, ana a copy vi wuwc footprint they had. A reference to the footprint confirmed the suspicion that perhaps the burglar and the would-be constable were the same man after all, and the candidate was arrested on the spot, with the result that he confessed he was none other than the "converted" burglar. In another recent case a young swindler who had robbed his employers at Budapesth succeeded in evading the police and made his way to the Island of Lusslnplccolo, in the Adriatic, where he promptly signalized his escape by having his photograph taken. A copy of the photograph was seen by a police agent, who at once arrested Its original and brought his little holiday to a very early conclusion. At the recent Northumberland assizes a miner was charged with breaking Into the premises of an Amble tradesman. While regaling himself from the tradesman's larder he had taken a bite out of a pat of butter, a "bite which proved fatal to him, for a plaster cast of his mouth was produced In court and It was demonstrated that his teeth fitted exactly into the Indentations left In the undevoured portion of butter. In another ease which occupied the attention of a Yorkshire jury a few months ago a burglar owed his conviction to a momentary literary curiosity. During his midnight exploration he entered the library of the clergyman In whose house he was an uninvited visitor and whiled away a few moments by taking down a book from its shelf and turning over its pages. Unfortunately he left evidence of his taste In the form of a dirty thumb mark In the book, and this "extra illustration" proved to be an exact copy of the thumb mark of a well-known criminal, who was promptly traced and arrested. That little weakness for literature cost the burglar seven years' rest from -his labors In other men's houses. But police records are full of such cases where a man has cunningly conceived and successfully executed a crime only to "give himself away" by some Idiotic act of which a child could scarcely be capable. When Courvolsler had murdered Lord William Russell one of the first things he did was to take part of his spoil, wrapped In brown paper, to Mme Plolaln, the mistress of the hotel where he had served as a waiter, and absolutely the most dangerous person in London ror nis purpose. Of course, with a woman's curiosity she opened the parcel and recognized from Its description the stolen property, and Courvoisier paid for his stupidity with his life. Wainright, the Infamous murderer of Miss Lane, might have escaped detection if he had not Insanely left the parcel containing the body of his victim exposed to the curious gaze of a stranger while he went In search of a cab, and Miller, when he vacated the railway carriage in which he had foully murdered Mr. Brlggs, left in It his hat with the maker's name inside?a hat which his landlord had purchased for him shortly before. And. as another sample of his folly, he had given his landlord's little daughter a jeweler's cardboard box on which were the name and address of the very man to whom he sold his victim's watch. When the murderers of M. Delahache, at La Gloire Dieu, near Troyes, ransacked his safe and carried away his gold, notes and securities, they contemptuously threw back Into the safe a small notebook for which they had no use. It proved very useful to he detectives, though, for it contained the numbers of all the stolen notes and was the instrument of the murderers' capture and conviction. In a notable Indian case some native burglars, when plundering a wealthy banker and pawnbroker, took away a pod of musk and buried It with the other spoil In their encampment. The powerful odor of the musk however, penetrated the soil and led the police infallibly to the place where the plunder was hidden, and Ir 'ther recorded cases the smell of spikenard and of opium, which burglars have not been able to resist, has led just as surely to their undoing. When some time ago a man in Michigan killed his wife in their bed room and explained that the deed had been done by an unknown ruffian, who had entered through the window, he had quite overlooked the fact that the window was nailed down and had clearly not been opened. As a matter of fact, he had actually removed one nail and left the other. But perhaps the most remarkable case of criminal folly was furnished by the murderer of Mrs. Emsley, of Stepney, some years ago. Not content with the almost absolute certantyof evading detection himself, the murderer, Mullins, actually volunteered to assist the poHce in their search and direct their suspicion to a shoemaker called Emms, leading them to a brick field, where he said he had seen Emms conceal his plunder. True enough the spoil was found there, but it was tied up with a tape of a peculiar kind, of which Mullins was known to have a supply. He was promptly ar rested and later was convicted on the most conclusive evidence.?London TitBits. SECRET OF SUCCESS. Two Experts Agree That It Is Nerve and Courage. Ex-President Cleveland, who has achieved the capture of some of the chief prizes of life, said some time ago that the principal requisites for success were courage, persistence and de termination. Senator Beveridge, whose swift rise in politics has astonished the old war horses, ranks the indispensable qualities in this order: Firtt?Sincerity. Second (and almost first)?Courage. Third?Reserve. Fourth (and lowest)?Intellect. Mr. Cleveland and Mr. Beveridge agree, it will be seen, upon the rather surprising proposition that superior mental ability is not a very important element In worldly success. Mr. Cleveland does not seem to think it worth taking into account at ail, and Mr. Beveridge puts it at the bottom of the list. It is so plentiful, he holds, that you can get it in the market on easy terms if you happen to be short of it yourself. And he quotes an illiterate but intensely vital millionaire who explained how he had won his own success: "Oh, by Just having the nerve to decide upon a plan, and then by hiring these brainy fellows to do my work, I can get the services of the best lawyer in this city for a mere fragment of a crumb of what I realize from his thought and industry. The secret of success? Why, sir, it is will, that is all?will, nerve, 'sand.' " Of course, it is pleasant for a man to have his own brains; but the theory advanced by the statesmen of New Jer sey and Indiana is comforting to the average man. For everybody must get along with the brain with which It pleased Providence to endow him at his birth, but courage, determination, persistency, sincerity and reserve are qualities that can be cultivated and brought to robust maturity by exercise. HONOR FOR THE MULE. Will Have Prominent Plaoe In St. Louis Fair Live Stock Exhibit. The Missouri mule, the mule that has helped to make Missouri famous, . will be honored at the Louisiana Purchase exposition, says a St. Louis dispatch. The long suffering, silent plodding,' Inoffensive and slandered beast is to be given a place in the live stock display at the world's fair. His prowess on the battlefield, as shown in the Boer war, in the peaceful Missouri valley, on the plains of the west, in the marshes of the south, is to receive recognition. N. W. Gentry of the state commission, consulted with F. D. Coburn, the chief of the live stock department of the fair. Mr. Coburn agreed with Mr. Gentry that the mule had earned a place and it was decided that fror.i the $250,000 set apart for live stock liberal cash prizes and many of them should be given to be competed for by representative mules. "No need to make a special effort to ?et fine horses shown at the world's fair." said Mr. Gentry, "nor to get fine cattle, sheep or swine. Just announce the premium list and they will swarm in. "Here Is where the mule is handi capped. He is a hybrid. He cannot reproduce himself, and no matter how fine the mule he cannot perpetuate the breed. Each Individual mule stands on his own merits. "At the Chicago exposition there were only four mules shown. At the 1904 exposition mules will be numbered by the hundreds. Colonel J. W. Jones of Columbia, Mo., secretary of the American Breeders' association of Jacks and Jennets, will work with the live stock department, and the finest collection of mules the world has ever seen will be the result. "The mule helped to build the beautiful exposition and it is only right that he should come in for recognition and be allowed to compete for honors." COTTON OVERCOATS. Mercerized Product to Be Used More Extensively. The telegraphic announcement the present week that well-known New England woolen mills are about to extend the use of mercerized cotton in their manufactures will cause no surprise to those who have followed the trend of affairs in wool and worsted manufacture of late years, says the Boston Transcript. The use of combed and carded cotton yarns that have been treated with caustic soda, "which is the basic principle in mercerizing, or in1 stering, to take the place of the silk stripe in fancy goods as well as a substitute for worsted in making the entire fabric, has grown apace the past two years, and is evidently meeting a want that has been unsupplied heretofore. Mention was made in these columns some years ago of a consignment of Clay worsteds that were sent here by the Bradford manufacturers, in which there was no particle of wool, warp and filling alike consisting of long staple cotton, so manipulated in the weaving and finishing as to deceive even the expert buyers. Large numbers of lightweight overcoats were said to have been made from the material, and found a ready sale in this and other markets. The domestic manufacturers are doing now what the English makers did then, but are extending their field into the lighter weight goods for men's wear. The coming fall and winter will witness a larger output than ever of these cottQn factors designed for th*e clothing trade. tir Norway has stringent laws against drunkenness. The country Is declared to be the most sober in the world.