Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ISSUED SEMI-WEEKLY. l. m. grist's sons, Pubiuhen j % dfamilj Jlf trspa pe r: Jfor the promotion of the political, Social. Agricultural anil Olumtu errial Interests of th e people. {^gRVwiti??iorT.EMCi eiSr^ E8TABLI8HED i855. YORKVILLE, 9. C? TUESDAY, AUGUST '41, 1906. NO. 67. SOUTH COHOSH J How the Spirit of Libert; Uncoiiquera By REV. ROBER From the YorkvIIle Enquirer of 1876 INSTALLMENT XXIV. Capture of Patrick Moore and the Battle of Cedar Springs. After the fall of Charleston, the main army of the British marched through the state, by the way of Camden and thence to Charlotte. North Carolina. If we will lay a map of the state of Smith Parnllna hafnrc us. we will See that the route of Cornwallis was near the centre of the state. His path led through a rich country, comparatively well cultivated and settled by as determined Whigs as were in America. In his march he passed through or near the counties of Williamsburg, Sumter, Kershaw, Lancaster, Fairfield, Chester and York. No other route could have been chosen by the British which would have led them through as many and as strong Whig settlements. The Revolutionary record of Wllliamsburgh is the brightest in America. Every other section of the thirteen colonies had a a few Tories and loyalists; but Williamsburg had only a single individual who was the friend of King George. As might have been expected, the march of Cornwallls through the state greutly encouraged the Tories and loyalists in all sections of the country. From the Savannah to tne roiomac, joy and gladness pervaded the breasts of this class of citizens. The Whigs were made to suffer, but It can hardly be said that they were dispirited. It was a dark day but the Whigs did not cease to hope. In fact, misfortune only nerved them to prompt and energetic action. Old men whose heads were blossoming for the grave, forgetting the ravages which time had made upon their constitutions, shouldered their rifles, and with the elastic step of youth, hastened to meet the foe. Beardless boys followed their fathers to the camp; and mothers and maidens took hold of the handles of the plow. Whilst the men and boys fought, the women tilled the fields and reaped the harvests. .From me lzin 01 may, ksu, iu mc 7th of October, of the same year, the Whigs of Georgia, upper South Carolina and western North Carolina, had been watching the British with the anxiety which a crouched lion watches his prey. After the fall of Charleston, the Whigs of Georgia and western South Carolina sought refuge?some in what was then known as Mecklenburg and Rowan counties, North Carolina, and others found a safe retreat in the valley of Nollichucky, in the homes of Colonels William Campbell, John Sevier, and Isaac Shelby. These noble men opened up their homes for the reception of those Whigs who nad been made homeless by the foe and with these Whig neighbors, they longed for a fit opportunity to avenge the wrongs of their countrymen. So soon as Colonel (afterwards general) Charles McDowell of Burke county, North Carolina, heard of the fall of Charleston and the contemplated advance of the British, he determined to raise a force and throw himself in front of thj advancing foe. To effect this, he sent a requisition to Col. Isaac Shelby, of what was then known as Sullivan county, North Carolina, (now Tennessee) Tor all tne men ne couiu raise. Shelby was in Kentucky surveying lands for Henderson & Co. When he heard of the fate of the army under "Gen. Lincoln and the fall of Charleston. he determined to lay his compass and chain aside and again gird on his sword, never again to take it off until his country was free. In July, he returned to his home, and found the requisition made by McDowell. He went to work with all the energies of his great soul and in a short time raised a body of three hundred mounted riflemen in Sullivan county. On the 19th of March?two months prior to the fall of Charleston?the citizens of Washington county, North Carolina had met and raised a force of one hundred men to be sent to Gen. Rutherford, to assist South Carolina. These troops owing to the fact that Gen. Rutherford was hurried off sooner than he was expected, did not leave Washington county. In the summer they wim prooaoiy some owiers, uuuei the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Sevier and the three hundred mounted riflemen from Sullivan county under Col. Isaac Shelby, joined Col. McDowell near the Cherokee ford on Broad river. Patrick Ferguson, a major in the British regular army and brigadier general of the loyal militia, had been ordered by C'ornwallis into the NinetySix district, for the purpose of arousing the loyalists and Tories to action. Patrick Ferguson was by birth a Scotchman and son of the distinguished jurist. James Ferguson and nephew of Lord Elibank?Patrick Mury. During the siege of Charleston and at the battle of Brandywlne, Patrick Ferguson had distinguished himself. He was a skillful and energetic officer and a braver man never lived. After Georgia in 1779 fell Into the hands of the enemy, Col. Elijah Clarke, with about one hundred Whigs, fled from Georgia to the settlements beyond the mountains. Here among the inhabitants of the Watauga and Holston. Clarke and his confederates i? o-l.iulnu found warm irreuus. * ..?r narrations of these refugee Whigs from Georgia, kindled into a tiaine the patriotism of the men who had engaged in the sanguinary battle with Indians, on the 10th of October, 1774, at the mouth of the Kenhawa. With these daring spirits and his own followers from Georgia. Colonel Clarke returned to the scene of his former conflicts with the British. The enemy's posts were annoyed, their sentinels shot down and their officers picked off. Hence although the British through Georgia and South Carolina conquered territory, the officers commanding the posts of Augusta and Ninety-Six complained to the commander-in-chief. that "a body of rebels have assembled against the peace of this province." To annihilate Clarke HUH Hfi REMUTHHi y Was Kept Alive By an ible People. T LATH AN, 1>. I>. and his men and others operating in a similar way, Patrick Ferguson was sent out. When Shelby and Sevier joined McDowell at the Cherokee ford, in July, 1780, Col. Clarke was with McDowell. Some twenty miles from McDowell's camp, at Cherokee ford. Gen. Andrew Williamson had during the Cherokee war built a fort on the waters of Pacolet river. From all accounts, this fort was advantageously situated and strongly built. It was surrounded by a strong abattls and could be entered only by a small gate. When Lord Cornwallis sent his emissaries into North Carolina to warn the loyalists to be ready for action on his arrival, a certain Patrick I Moore, of what is now Lincoln county. North Carolina, greatly interested himself in behalf of the British government. When Cornwallis reached Camden. Patrick Moore, thinking that the time for him to take the held had arrived, raised the royal standard. Multitudes of disaffected Americans in his neighborhood, flocked to his standard. He Invited all the loyalists in the region of country between the Catawba river and the mountains to join them. With bright anticipations this Patrick Moore and his followers set out for the fort on Pacolet. On his march from Lincoln county to the fort, Moore met with no interruption. Here he thought no doubt, he was safe and in a favor* * - -?- AA/.WnK1a aoie situation iu irnuci ai.i,c|<u>uic service to George the Third. Col. McDowell determined that Patrick Moore should not remain in this stronghold. So soon as he was joined by Shelby and Sevier, he detached these two officers and Col. Clarke with six hundred men, according to the J American account: but according to the British with "two or three hundred banditti without cannon." The British account we are disposed to think is correct, except that they were not 1 "banditti." They were gentlemen then ] and afterwards through life, but the Inveterate haters of tyrants. At sunset, Shelby, Clarke and Sevier set out, with 1 the detachment under them for Patrick Moore's headquarters. As day began 1 to dawn on the next morning, they had 1 the fort surrounded. Shelby who was ' first in command sent William Coke 1 to demand a surrender of the fort. ' Moore replied that he would defertd ' the fort to the last extremity. The 1 lines of the assailants were drawn in 1 to within musket shot and preparation < made for an immediate attack. To ' ""offiiatnn f\f HlnoH \f ADIf* WJLS 1 again summoned to surender. To this he replied he would surrender on the condition that the garrison be paroled not to serve again during the war. This was granted. Ninety-three loyalists and one British sergeant were paroled. In the fort was found two hundred and fifty stand of arms, all heavily loaded. It was clear that Patrick Moore was neither a good officer nor a brave man. The British charged Moore with cowardice. Both the men and officers were anxious to defend the fort, but Moore after agreeing to defend it, went out and brought in the American officers and put them in possession of the gate. About the time that Patrick Moore surrendered, Major Patrick Feorguson arrived in the Ninety-Six district. His command consisted of one hundred choice regulars. The loyalists to the < number of more than a thousand soon ? joined him. His camp soon became | lilt? I CIIUtr*. VUU3 Ul an IIIC ucop=ia\*ww j of the region. His name attracted ] swarms of Tories. Although his command at first consisted of only one hundred British regulars, he soon I found himself at the head of an army i of more than two thousand men. The i greater part of these were natives, but 1 they were decidedly better soldiers < than his regulars. Ferguson was or- | dered to take possession of all the strong places in the district, enroll and 1 discipline the militia and in one word, i do everything in his power to strength- ( en the royal cause and crush the spir- < its of the Whigs. To effect this object, i public meetings were called and the men and officers of Gibb's, Plummer's, i Cunningham's, dairy's, King's and I Kirkiand's battalions of militia pass- i ed resolutions that every loyalist must be ready at a moment's warning, i to rush to the contest. Those who i lagged behind were to be regarded as the common enemies of the loyal cause, and were threatened with the confiscation of their property. Those who : failed to join their regiments prompt- < ly when called upon, were ordered to be forced into the British regular army. Everything appeared bright on the side of the British. The Whigs were silent from prudence and the Tories and loyalists were as much elated as if they had not a foe in the land. The rupidity with which Ferguson's army was increased, the eal of the loyalists and Tories in the countries, together with the acknowledged ability of Ferguson himself, as an officer. was sufficient to dispirit the i Whigs. Such however, was not the case. Col. McDowell had his eye upon Ferguson. He knew the record of the men in his command. Many of them had been warriors from their youth. They had met painted savages at the mouth of the Kenhawa; they had seen tne British at Brier Creek. Kettle Creek, Augusta and Savannah. Many of them had been made homeless by fires kindled by an invading foe. With implicit confidence in Cols. Shelby and Clarke, Colonel McDowell detached them, with about six hundred mounted riflemen to watch the movements of Ferguson. The instructions given these officers were to hung around the camp of Ferguson and cut off his foraging parties. Ferguson was in the meantime, watching for an opportunity to cut oft Shelby and Clarke and these men were no less anxious to dash in upon foraging parties of Ferguson. Although Shelby and Clarke were sent by McDowell for the same general purpose with the understanding that they would act In concert, each seems to have acted separately and alone; but still in such a way as to be a mutual aid, the one to the other. This occasioned some confusion in the narration of the deeds accomplished by the party. What was actually accomplished by Clarke and the men in his command is sometimes spoken of as being; the joint work of both Shelby and Clarke with their united commands. On Col. Clarke's march from Qeor\lnTVuroll at PhornlfAP ?>!?., IU JUKI l*i N/UV*VM?? ford, he detached Samuel Alexander, with a squad of men, to scour the Ninety-Six region and learn the strength and operations of the British. Alexander joined his command and probably very soon after Shelby and Clarke left McDowell's camp, at Cherokee ford. The report of Alexander was In substance, that Major Ferguson with a detachment of men variously reported from two to five hundred was out, in what is now Spartanburg county, on a recruiting expedition. The object of the British officer was to increase the number of his cavalry from the people of the country. To efTect his purpose many individuals who had been paroled and promised the privilege of remaining peaceably at home, were Impressed. On receiving this information. Col. Clarke proposed to his men, all of whom or at least the majority of whom, were Georgians, that they set out at once in search of this recruiting party. This was on the afternoon of the 30th of July, 1780. Clarke's command, which was about one hundred strong?all mounted?readily agreed to the proposition of their commander. All hands went to work and preparations were soon made for the expedition. Guns were put in shooting order and those that could, replenished their haversacks with food. About sunset they were joined by Hammond, McCflall and Lidde, each with a few men amounting in all to about eighty. The whole force now numbered one hundred and sixty-eight. The troops were mustered and the line of march was taken up through the woods and over more foot paths. Nothing was heard of the enemy during the night. Some time during the next day, it was learned that a scouting party of Tories was plundering through the country, at some distance from the main command under Ferguson. Their horses were spurred on, with the hope that this scouting Tory party might be surprised and cut off. The camp was reached, but they failed to surprise the rories. At a distance of some three miles, Clarke and his men rode round the rory camp, taking the road leading from Bobo's mill, in the direction of Berwick's iron works. At the iron ivorks they were joined by eighteen recruits. At the house of Captain Dillard, who was with them, they halted, ind Mrs. DiHard entertained the party is well as she was able with potatoes ind milk. From this point It was concluded that the party would change iheir direction and cross over to the -oad leading from Ninety-Six to Green >r Cedar Springs. Having marched through the woods for eighteen miles, they halted at Cedar Springs. Viiette's were stationed, with orders to nake no noise should any discoveries ae made; but to dash into camp and nake an announcement of their discoveries. The men dismounted, but the horses were not unsaddled and every man was ordered to keep his jridle reins in his hand. Shortly after Clark and his men left he house of Captain Dillard, Colonel Ferguson and Major Dunlap, with a -mrfv nf snldinrs arrived. Thev asked Mrs. Dillard if Clarke and his men had ;een at her house during the day. She eplied that they had. but had been jone for a considerable length of ;ime. She was then asked to what point they had gone. She replied that she did not know. This as we will shortly see, was not strictly true. Col. Ferguson ordered Mrs. Dillard to prepare supper for himself and Major Dunlap immediately. Making a virtue >f necessity she set to work to execute tr.e laSK. wnusi preparing nupini for these two officers, it was necessary that she pass frequently by the place where they were sitting. In passing pack and forth, she heard them concerting measures, for the immediate pursuit of Clarke. The bacon found in the house or at least a part of it was taken and given to the soldiers. Supper for the officers was soon prepared. After it was eaten, the plan was for Major Dunlap to take sixty cavalry and one hundred ind fifty mounted riflemen and pursue Clarke. By some means the British had learned the plans of Clarke and the locality where he and his men would probably camp. Mrs. Dillard knew that Clarke had gone in the direction of Cedar Springs, and she heard one the British officers inform the others that Cedar Springs was the point to which the Americans had gone. So soon as Mrs. Dillard had placed the supper on the table, she slipped out of the house and hastening to the stable, she bridled a colt and mounting It, without saddle or blanket proceeded with all possible speed to Cedar Springs. Here she arrived about half an hour before daylight. The vidette took her at once into the presence of Col. Clarke. She was at once recognized and proceeded to warn Clarke and his men of their danger. She told them them they must at once get ready to fight or fly. At the same moment \xrk?io- iqhv \ft*q Thomas rd prised the Americans of the approach of the British. The command was given to mount. In a moment every man was in his saddle and ready to meet the advancing force. Before it was light enough to distinguished friend from foe, Duniap with his Tory band came charging into the American camp. He received a warm reception and instead of surprising the Americans he himself was surprised. The contest lasted only for a little more than a quarter of an hour, when the British beat a retreat. The Americans followed the flying foe, for more than a mile, when Duniap was met by Ferguson with a strong reinforcement. The Americans returned to the scene of conflict, picked up their wounded and retreated by the way of Berwick's iron works, towards North Carolina. The British under Ferguson, pursued as far as the Iron works and then gave up the chase. At the iron works two of the wounded American soldiers were left. These fell into the hands of Ferguson, but he treated them kindly and permitted them to remain. The American loss was, in killed four; and twenty-three wounded. The British loss was much greater. Of sixty cavalry, twenty-eight were left dead on the field and seven Tories. The number of British wounded was never accurately ascertained. As the men fought hand to hand, most of the wounds were inflicted with swords. Col. Clarke was slightly wounded on the neck. The battle of Cedar Springs was fought on the morning of the first of August, and except the snack of milk and potatoes received at the house of Captain Dillard the men had eaten nothing since the evening of the 30th of July. The hoises had neither been unsaddled nor fed. TO BE CONTINUED. iHisccllancous grading. DEATH OF COMANCHE CHIEF. Story of Indian Warfare In Northern Texae. All day long wagon after wagon had been rumbling up from all parts of Comanche county in Oklahoma to a gospel rendezvous on Cache creek. The camp was teenr.ing with modern Indian life. The smoke was rising from fifty little campflres; the innu merable dogs were fighting; the squaws were chattering as they prepared the evening meal; the men were attending to the horses; the children were racing and laughing. An old Texan was talking to the missionary, who was Intensely Interested In the story. "I've seen the time when we gave the Comanches bullets instead of Bibles," he said. "It was in the war of the early '70s. I was one of the Texas rangers, and we fought the Comanches to the finish. We fought them out of Texas, and then the troops did them up at McClellan's Creek, in the Territory. Comanches could fight In those days. I saw some brave Indians die, one old chief In particular. I always feel sorry when I think of It. "We Texans were fighting our own war with the Comanches. The troops were In the Territory, chasing the 'Staked Plains' band of Comanches; but we stayed In Texas and fought Comanches and Klowas whenever we found them. Well, one day we found them too thick. About twenty of us got cut off and had to take to the buttes to save our norses. we Kepi the redskins off until we reached the buttes. and leaving our horses there we rushed back a long gun range from them, and then lay down in the tall grass and kept the Indians off with our rifles until help came. This saved our horses, and fortunately we lost only two men. "The Comanches would ride within range and Are upon us, but we could shoot from a perfect rest, and we emptied many saddles. "One Comanche had white hair, and when he would whirl his horse around and come riding low, with his gun ready to shoot, the rangers would call to each other, 'Look out for old grandaddy. He shoots close.' There was something unnatural about the old Indian's riding, and Jack Jefferson, who was shooting next to me, said, with a laugh, 'the old buck is so stirr mai ne can i nut* suck. "One time the old man came on a little too far. Jack pulled up his gun. We saw the Indian's horse rise and plunge, and we knew that Jack hadn't missed. " 'He's coming . on,' cried Jack. And sure enough he was running straight for us low and swift, over the long grass, the old man tugging in vain at the rein and trying to turn his maddened pony. "A dozen rifles were raised to stop him, but Jack, all wild with fight and fun, yelled, 'Don't shoot. He's coming in. He's my meat.' "The old Comanche came on, while the other Indians In the distance were shooting and yelling like demons. But he made no attempt to fire. He sat straight up on his horse, and as he came close we heard him singing. "One hand was clutching his empty rifle. His eyes were fixed straight ahead. He was riding to his finish, singing the death chant of the Comanche warrior. It was a skeery sight. Jack raised his gun, but just couldn't shoot, and nobody else wanted to. The crazy pony passed almost over our heads. Then all of a sudden he straightened up in the air and came down head first on the ground ?Indian under, as the horse's feet rose up to the somersault. "Why didn't the old fool slide off?" yelled Jack, as we both crouched, with our rifles ready in case the Indian should rise again. But no Indian showed up, and the horse lay perfectly still. "After a bit the Comanches drew off out of range, and Jack and I walked over to where the dead horse lay. 'Shot the pony through the head!' said Jack, and as we came up and saw the limp and lifeless body of the old Comanche, Jack turned to me with a strange choking in his voice. 'Partner, he's broke his neck, and he Was lieu Ulliu iiirj nuiac. That night after the preaching service, the missionary, with a dozen of the leading men of the Comanche tribe, some old men, with war records sat around the fire. Through the inold white haired Com ss a.gstfff terpreter the missionary told them the tale of the old white haired Comanche. Their eyes glistened, and a deep gutteral "Ha, ha!" followed each sentence. When the story was done there was a long solemn silence, and the interpreter, turning to the missionary, said: "They say It's so."?Youth's Companion. England once imposed a tax on bachelors, but the custom was unpopular and was done away with. M' Scientists estimate that there is energy enough in fifty acres of sunshine to run the machinery of the world could it be concentrated. -13T The areas of the principal cities of the United States are: New York, 209,218 acres; Chicago, 122.008 acres; Philadelphia, 82,993 acres; Boston, 27,251 acres; St. Louis, 39,277 acres; Cleveland, 22,422 acres, and Cincinnati, 26,880 acres. RIVERMEN'S SUPERSTITION8. Stories From the Logs of Mississippi Steamboats. From the admiral on a man-o -war to the roustabouts on a Mississippi steamer, there is scarcely a man on the water who is without the vein of superstition. Any old tar you might chance to pick up could tell you stories from his personal experience that would convince you of the Intervention of su|>ernatural forces. Phantom ships that presage disaster, lights that glow suddenly on the masts, and dreams that have been fulfilled to the minutest details le will relate; and there is not a negro roustabout on the river that could be chained to his boat after the rats had left her. Only a few years ago, when one of the New Orleans packets was making a landing a little way below St. Louis a moss backed, gray whiskered rat marched pompously up the gangplank, paused and lifted himself on his hind legs, emitting a peculiar squeal, and then scurried up to the bank. In five minutes there was consternation oq the lower deck, says the St. Louis Globe Democrat, and the mate wasi compelled to usii his axe to prevent all his men from leaving. That rat, they declared, was the old man of the boat. They all knew him. The thing that happened that night would In all probability have happened Just the same if Mr. Rat had made the journey as usual. So at least the rational land lubber would say. The river was high and the pilot, relieved of the necessity of picking a narrow channel had difficulty in keeping out of tne way or aririwooa, ror mere musi always be something to worry the man at the wheel. Toward morning, when the surface of the stream looked as Innocent as a babe, suddenly the prow of the vessel struck something. There was a ripping sound, a terrific shock and for a few minutes it seemed that the boat was seized with a swamp chill. She had run into a submerged snag and had torn a hole in her hull through which you could have thrown a mule. All the roustabouts said, "I told you so," that is, all those who were still capable of utterance. No one was drowned, and before the end of the season the boat was running again. When the disaster was found not to be so great after all the friends of the old man declared they knew it would not amount to much, for he would have taken all the rats with him if the steamer had been doomed. He only left in order to escape the shock to his nerves. The rat is common property with all on board, but the pilot has his own private hoodoo that is of a much higher order. It is called the pilot house spectre, and It looks very much like any other self-respecting ghost. It never ? ?? ???a? u??\s iitMAAtlif 1** ffArtf r\f thp presemo iiseu unctuj ? pilot, preferring to occupy a position at his elbow, so that it can dodge around behind him as he turns. On one occasion the spectre was Impersonated by a being who was still in the flesh, and it required the Intervening of a vast concourse of genuine spirits to save the pilot from greater disaster than the real spectre had ever threatened. It happened opposite Fort Pillow, down the river, an old stone fort that was made memorable by the massacre of a whole regiment of negro soldiers during the war. At certain seasons of the year lights are seen flitting about in the marshy ground below the fort, and during the day a veil of smoke hugs the earth. Jack Whltten had studied physical geography, and consequently knew all about marsh lights and the tendency of smoke to collect in damp ravines, so the ghosts of Fort Pillow presented no terror to him. One night he was alone in the dark wheelhouse, approaching the accursed spot, when he felt that there was some one with him. | He was sure he had seen a queer shape moving noiselessly about, xylite me orthodox spectre, It kept Itself carefully out of his range of vision. Suddenly he turned and leaped aside, not a moment too soon, for at his back stood a burly negro just In the act of lifting a corn knife. With that presence of mind that comes from long years of training, the pilot shouted: "My God, they're after us! Run for your life!" With a howl of terror the would be assassin dropped his crude weapon and plunged headlong down the narrow stairs, landing in a frightened heap on the hurricane deck. An officer, rushing out of his apartment in the Texas, seiz ed him and asKea wnai ne iiiwiu uy raising such a disturbance. "Lemme go, for de Lawd's sake! Dey's after me! Doan' you see de niggah regi'mint a-comin' over de water?" and sure enough, there in the ravine were the ghosts of the massacred negroes executing their lantern dance. A little cross-questioning revealed the fact that the roustabout had been hired to murder the pilot and wreck the boat on the rocks of Fort Pillow and It was due to his superstition that passengers and cargo reached St. Louis in safety. There is one story the old rivermen tell that has in It an element of mysticism that is pathetically beautiful. The heroes are Will Crlbbln and Sam Bowen, intimate friends of Mark Twain in the days when he was "a-learnin", the river." Those of us who have followed the work of the Mississippi river commission know of the sluggish old river's tendency to import a farm from the banks of the Missouri, carry it down stream a few miles and then dump it into the first convenient deep water pool. A dam having been thus formed, more sand is piled arouna u until a towhead is constructed. Soon a crop of willows springs up, and the towhead is transformed into an island. In due time the island is named or numbered and placed on the map. Then the chances are the river will decide it didn't really want an island thereafter all, and out goes the island, to be deposited further down stream. An oasis in the yellow water, with such a history as this, was Island No. 68. One night a vessel stopped here, where no freight had ever before been landed, and a rude wooden box was carried up the gangplank. In that box was the body of Will Crlbbln, the Junior pilot. Quarantine was not maintained so strictly in those days as it is now, and this boat had carried the yellow pest from New Orleans, a part of her cargo that was not listed. Many of the negroes had died and had been thrown overboard; but the pilot must have better treatment. The officers who were not already ill assisted at the simple obsequies, but one of them stood off and protested. Between sobs I he remonstrated with those who were digging the grave. "He said he wanted to be buried in the river. Don't you ' think you ought to respect a dying I man's last wish?" Then he added: "If 1 I die on the way I want you to promise < not to bury me. I'll stick to the river as long as I live, and when I am dead I I want it for my grave." . i At Jackson Point the steamer land- I ed again, and, despite his recent pro- i test, Sam Bowen was buried in the I sand. Berore tne willows naa grown i over the two sunken graves a reef was deposited above and the current directed against those two islands. In less than two years Will Cribbin and Sam Boweri had found the desired resting place in the bosom of the river.?New York Sun. WHEN THE DUNES WALK. A Sand Storm Experience In the Desert of 8ahara. To flee from a sand storm in the midst of a drenching rain seems an absurd performance. The Arab, however, experienced in the ways of Sahara, knows that when the rain stops the dunes are apt to begin their most terrible "walking." He seeks shelter while there is yet time. Our worst experience of the desert in one of its mad fits, says the author of "In the Desert," was on a morning when, luckily for us perhaps, we were nearing the large oasis of Nefta, near the Tunisian frontier. The flapping of the tent and the drumming of raindrops upon It awoke us, and Ahmeda, In some excitement, hurried our departure. He explained that so long as the rain lasted it would keep the sand quiet and that this was our opportunity. Accordingly, in a very short time we had struck tent, loaded camels, saddled ponies and were under way. It seemed to us a somewhat purposeless proceeding. The rain was and had been heavy. The ground was saturated. There seemed no prospect of Its drying In a hurry. As Nefta was only half a day's march away it seemed unnecessary to start In frantic haste in the middle of the night In a pouring rain. Ahmeda, however, made no answer to our protests. The other Arabs seconded his efforts with all their energy. Morning broke wan and sickly. As the light grew the rain slackened. The big warm drops became less frequent and at last ceased. The dull, opaque sky was pasty white and the air hot and oppressive, but the wind still blew as hard or harder than ever. Hardly had the rain stopped when I tasted between )tps and teeth the familiar, gritty texture of sand. Hardly had the light Increased sufficiently to disclose to view the drifts when all their edges and crests could be seen crawling and flickering In the gale. Already there was the droning sound in the air which meant that the dunes were walking. We saw at last the ? reason for the hurry. The rain can*?a1 a fKn at% n /l tf\r mnpo than the nut. IIUIU mt ouiiu tw* ...V. v ^ instant it is falling. As soon as it strikes the earth it sinks in. One * moment you may be streaming with water like a drowning rat, the next s you are choking In clouds of sand. ^ The air grew darker and darker, . and the roar of the sand as it rushed c along the desert made speech, except ^ by shouting. Impossible. I could just distinguish our tall camels in the t gloom, their ungainly action giving v them something the look of ships pitching and tossing in a gale. r Ahmeda led the way by some mys- e terious instinct to us totally Incomprehensible. We followed as best we j might, breathing sand as we went, our ^ heads bent to protect our faces. My a recollection of the next two hours is t no more definite than would be the t recollection of being rolled over and j over a huge breaker. A singing and f roaring in the ears, almost total blind- c ness, a sense of suffocation and the s feeling that I was in the hands of eie- i ments more powerful than myself are c the vague impressions that remain. c When we at last got to Nefta we f could not have been more saturated with sand had we been buried in it. c Our cheeks were scarlet and sore i with the ceaseless battering, and on | them had formed hard crusts of sand, s cemented by the water that had i streamed from our eyes. t ? SCOTCH SUPERSTITIONS. 1 t ? 1- TL-i IU uurious rvtexnoas i nai noro j-iuu^iw. In Sickneu and Death. A method much In vogue In Scotland at one time of ascertaining whether a sickness would prove fatal was to dig two holes in the ground, one called the quick grave, the other the dead hole. The sufferer was then placed between the two, and the hole toward which he turned indicated what would be the outcome of his malady. Sometimes a piece of rock was broken over the head of a person whose last agonies were painful alike to himself and to those who witnessed them. It was believed that the heart of the sick man would thus be broken and his release hastened. Windows and doors were always thrown wide open in order that the departing spirit may have free egress from the house and escape from the evil ones that hover around eager to inthrall his soul. During the interval between death and burial hens and cats were kept carefully shut up. A person meeting these anlmsfls at such a Juncture was doomed to blindness in the future. Moreover, unless a stream divided ihe two houses, farmers frequently refrained from yoking their oxen or horses before the body was "lalJ i n der the turf of truth." Many women preserved, with the greatest rever- 1 ence, their bridal attire to cover them in the coffin. Bread and water were placed in the chamber of death, for during the night prior to the burial the spirit of the departed one came to partake of them. Stillborn children and little ones who had not been blessed by the minister were buried before sunrise. In this way their admission into the land of promise was assured. Not to observe the practice was to destine the souls of these bairns to wander homeless and disconsolate. The fate of the suicide is lamentable. His body cannot rest in the , kirkyard, for it would taint the souls of those who He therein. Frequently ! he was buried in a lone dike which I separated two lairds' estates, and , passersby were expected to cast a pebble at the rude stone which I marked the place. < HOBO TELLS HI8 OWN 8TORY. Funeral Jim on the Joya of the 8imple Life. Funeral Jim, with three of his "buddies," was hanging around the freight yard waiting for the psychological moment for climbing Into an 3Utgoing freight. Jusc then along came a reporter for the Washington Times, and, being of in evidently beguiling temperament. tie soon had Funeral Jim handing out the story of his life, interesting as being a specimen page in the unwritten literature of hobodom. "My dad was a Methodist minister," began Funeral Jim, "and he had it Igured out that I was walking In his footsteps. "The minister proposition didn't round very good to me until the old jent began to talk missionary stuff? well tales about converting the Chllese, Africans, &c. I didn't care a vhole lot about the converting part, >ut the talk of the foreign lands got Tie up in the air, and I agreed. When [ was 16 I was bundled off to a boardng school to prepare for a theologi:al course, dad getting a reduction on 1 he price on account of being a minis- 1 er, and me waiting on table and ' lolng other little stunts which kept lown the expenses. I never did like vork, and it didn't take me very long :o find out that a trip to China, in ' ny mind, was not worth the work I vas doing to get it "I wrote home to the old gent ask- ' ng him to let me quit. Nothing do- ' ng. Then i made up mjr mind to 1 ieat it as soon as I could. I found mother kid that felt the same way : did, and we determined to hike together. New York was to be our tet off place, but we couldn't get the ' noney and had to wait. "Vacation time Anally came, and ^ vhen we got some money for our -allroad fare home we bought tickets j or the big town Instead. I've never leen my dad since. We wrote to ( lim once, and he answered me tell- ^ ng me to go to , only, of course, ie did it in minister's language, with>ut any profanity. "Well, we struck the best town In he world about 6 o'clock in the even- t ng, and inside of three hours we vere broke. We were down in the ( Bowery about 10 o'clock when up ] :omes a bum that looked?well, he ooked worse than I do now, and I've ; >een hitting side door Pullmans for , hree days straight. He comes up to , is and braces us for a couple of pen- , ties to help toward getting a bed for he night. We told him that we were j mntlng the same thing, and we got | 0 talking. ( "We pushes wind at each other for j 1 few minutes, him sizing us up all ( he time, and Anally he tells us to ] :ome with him. We goes, and he ( eads us a few blocks, half way , hrough an alley, up three flights of | itairs into a room crowded with men , hat we finds out later is the cream >f hobo society. There was one man, l great big buck with a lot of Angers hewed off his left hand, who seemed o be the leader, and our guide roes up to him and they talks us >ver for about ten minutes. "Then the big boy, who was Frisco Slim (now doing a little turn In the >enitentiary), comes up to us, and, ifter questioning us, lets off a bunch >f loose talk about how we can make j >lenty of money without doing any vork If we Just followed his Instrucions. That sounded good to us, so , re joins the gang, and me, on account >f my solemn lookin' flz, gets nick- ( lameu runerai Jim, wnicn nas siuck iver since. "The next morning Frisco takes ^atty Ben, the guy that run away vith me, Axes his right arm in a sling, ind wraps his head up in some old >loody bandages. Then comes my urn and he Axes me up good and >roper. He started to work on my eet, and after having me take off >ne of my shoes, padded the sole with itrlps of leather until when I puts t on again I walks like a kid that's Tippled for life. Then he gets some chemical dope and starts to work on ace and right arm. "Say, If Frisco had ever had a hance to study art in Paris he'd 'a' nade good, all sky, for the way he tainted sores and burns on me was mmething slick. Well, Anally he had is Axed up to his satisfaction, and hen he sends us out to beg. We goes 1 n.UAM Knnlr that nitfltt IIIU w iicii wc cuiiico 1/cu.n ?. ??. uiquv , j'atty had 111 and I had |14. Frisco 1 ook the money, put it with that which 1 he rest had collected, and after tak- ' ng out his share and a big hunk for he reserve fund, kept to pay fines and < jet the members out of trouble, dl- 1 rided the rest up between the men. ' My share was something over |3. 1 "We stayed with Frisco until the >ulls got wise and copped the bunch, '"risco got juggel, and those that jot off all scattered except Fatty, my- i ielf and those three that are with me row. We decided to cut out the grafting and confine our work to le- i jitlmate begging. It isn't so danger)US. "As it is now, we goes over the :ountry seeing all sorts of things, living high, and don't have to do iny work. Of course, now and then 1 ve gets pulled off a freight and have :o spend five or ten days in the work- i nouse of some little town, but that's inly when things gets going so good j :hat we get careless. Besides, time iln't no object with us, and sometimes, n the winter, we're mighty glad to i jet caught. In the summer, when it .'omes to solid comfort, we've got you folks skinned to death. Houses is ( jlose together, we have ways of knowng what's doing inside, there's plenty jf fruit for the picking, and when we jet tired, why there's a hay pile handy iv he re you can roil up ana sieep as long as you please. If we gets tired jf one place, why, we moves on to mother. "There's nobody that can tell us ivhere to get off. We hobos are the only people on the earth that are our own bosses. Our friends are the best, too, for any one of my buddies will divide their last cent with me. Any hobo will help another one ?we stick together. Don't ever think, either, that Just because a man's a hobo he's a fool. Hot Air Brown over there was In Cornell University for two ^ears, got fired and has been bummln' It ever since; but say, he can spell some when he wants to. There are plenty of others, too, who bum it because they like the life. I'm one. I've been hitting the pike, counting the time I spent with Frisco Slim, for more years than I've got Angers?and I'm satisAed. I wouldn't trade with anybody." UNCLE SAM SPENDING MILLION8 Great Improvements Under Way or Planned For Washington. More than $50,000,000 is now being spent upon buildings and bridges of a public character In and around Washington, and when work already undertaken is completed Washington will be without a peer as a city of architectural beauty. In addition to the projects amounting to more than $50,000,000 now decided upon and under way, improvements costing an additional $20,000,000 are projected. These Improvements cover a wide stretch of territory extending' from the Soldiers' Home on the north to the arsenal peninsula on the south and from Rocky Creek gorge on the west to the marshes of the eastern branch. When the senate and house office buildings are completed the plaza east of the capitol will be almost surrounded on its four sides by one of the most magnificent groups of public structures in the world. The north and south sides of this plaza will be bounded respectively by the senate and house office buildings, which together are to cost $7,000,000. The west will be bounded by me imposing structure 01 me capitol, the east front of which Is to be extended in marble at a cort of $1,330,000. The eastern side will be partially bounded by the library of congress building, which has cost the government $6,920,000. The other blocks of ground east of the capltol plaza and just north of the library of congress will ultimately be occupied by a splendid structure for the supreme court of the United States. The capltol and Its proposed extension, the senate and house office buildings and the library of congress will represent an expenditure by the government of $32,321,840, and this will make these structures the most costly frame in the world for so small i rectangle of foliage and grass. Not far from this splendid series of buildings will be the new union railroad depot, which will front the plaza from Delaware avenue on the north, at a cost of $12,000,000, with its approaches, making the five structures in this vicinity cost upward of 146,000,000. The improvements under way have Involved the throwing of two steel bridges across the Potomac river, an3ther across the eastern branch, the boring of a large railroad tunnel un3er capltol hill to give trains a direct approach to the new station rrom the trunk lines of the south, the bridging of Rock creek with the largest single cement structure in the world, the construction of a tunnel to connect the tunnel with the >. new senate and house office buildIngs, the erection of a war college for the army, extensive Improvements at the navy yard and the Soldiers' Home and the erection of a lumber of important university structures.?Baltimore Sun. AUTO VS. ARMY MULE8. Important Teats Being Made at Mt. Gretna Maneuver Camp. Acting under Instructions from the war ueparimeni, uen. rreoencK u. 3 rant, who will command the concentration camp of the regular army at Mount Gretna, Pa., this summer, will make a thorough test of the automobile, the object being to determine whetuer or not the time has arrived for propelled vehicles for those now In use in the army, drawn Jay horses and mules. In order to determine this Important question the government has purchased a number of automobiles, some of them of heavy truck type, several electric ambulances and a touring car, the latter to be used by the commanding officer In the field. General Grant said yesterday that the automobile trucks were already being tested, the troops from Fort Ethan Allen, Vt., and those from ? Plattsburg Barracks, who are now on the way march being accompanied by . several of the big motor-driven vehicles. The trucks are loaded exactly as are the animal driven wagons, and on the outcome, to a great extent, will depend the fate of the famous army mule. Gen. Grant is not at all certain that the test of the auto truck will prove entirely satisfactory at Mount Gretna, owing to the mountainous character of the country there. When it comes to pulling heavy wagons up mountain sides, he is inclined to think that, in a fair test, the mule will win out against the automobile contrivance. The automobile ambulance will also be thoroughly tested at Mount Gretna, the War Department having order ed several of the vehicles sent there. This vehicle, army officers think, will prove very useful, and there seems little doubt that the electric ambulance is destined to become a fixture In the regular army, both In peace camps and on the field In time of war. The other type of auto to be tested Is a touring car, in which Gen. Grant will go over the fields covered in the maneuvers. This experiment is also looked on favorably. Gen. Grant will leave for Mount Gretna this week, arriving there about next Thursday which will be a day or two ahead of the regulars. He goes on ahead in order to familiarize himself with the country, and also to make an early inspection of the work that has been going on for several days, preparing the camps for the troops. ? A San Francisco dispatch of Tuesday, says: Yoshuchl Sakurl has Just arrived from Japan in the Interests of the cotton merchants of Japan. Speaking of the trade of the United States with Japan, he says that In the next ten years Japan will get more than three fourths of her cotton from the United States. "Last year," he said, "Japan used over 1,000,000 bales of cotton, and only onefourth of that was from the United ftiaies. ine reai tame uum me t?tton fields of India and Asia. This cotton Is very Inferior to that which comes from the southern states, and all the fine work Is made with cotton from the United States. The other is found to be much coarser and rots easier. The Japanese realize the superiority of the American article, and all first class cotton weavers are coming to use It. The export of cotton from the United States to Japan Is t. \ bound to Increase enormously In the next few years.