Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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« President Elliot of Harvard College nsisls that the Western man cannot ♦‘rustic” nor “husile” any better that an Easterner- The English Law Times reports general complaint among lawyers ol lack of bnsiness. “Crime and con tention both are declining.” ‘•Several of the European powers,’ sardonically observes the New York Telegram, “are positively aching to try their new rifles and smokeles* powders.” The Washington Star recommends that England should buy ont France’s fishing rights in Newfoundland. Even a high price for them, it thinks,would be preferable to war with France ot forcible coercion of the colonists. Nearly thirty thousand violent or sudden deaths occur every year in England calling for inquests, twice as many as the number of Germans killed in the Franco-German war, and for every violent death there are at least fifty accidents. Alabama owns about four square miles of oyster beds, “and these beds arc among the most valuable in the United States. Every barrel of oys ter* taken out of the State is to pay a tax of ten cents, which will pay the expense of inspection and put iri^o the State Treasury about $15,000 a year a It is published that an investiga tion of the result of eating fish pre served on ice for use in London mar kets has led to the discovery that these fish were most dangerous which had been kept in immediate contact with the ice. Poisoning by flsh which had not been in contact with the ice was not observed at all. This is attributed to the influence of the water derived from the ice, and bearing whatever impurities it had had before being fro zen. The Atlanta Constitution solilo quizes:—The people of Elkton, Md. f propose to erect a monument to the late George Johnston. He was not a famous soldier nor a statesman. All that he did was to write a history of his county. But so accurate and in teresting did he make his book that his fellow-citizens of Cecil county are proud of him, and they desire to erect a monument that will show all who be hold it how much they appreciated his work. Odd little outline maps of New York city,colorless save for irregularly distributed little red and blue dots, are The oceau telegraph cable that is to be laid from British Columbia to Australia will be 9000 miles long; but there will be a number of stations in the Pacific, so that the longest stretch will be only 2700 miles. Cyrus W. Field, projector of the first ocean cable, favors a line from San Francisco to Japan, with a branch to China, touching at the Sandwich Is lands. Sooner or later, observes the Atlanta Constitution, the newspapers down any man who attempts to fight them, or stand alone without their support. Two years ago Bismarck held news papers in utter scorn. Now, after trying to persuade the Tageblatt to espouse his cause, he has purchased this leading German paper for $40,000 in order to control its policy. If Bis marck had not been too stubborn to learn a few needed lessons from the press he would not have been hurled from power in his old age. When a public man will neither use the press nor be informed by it his downfall is only a question of time. A statistician reports that 3,500,000 women in the United States are en gaged in money-making occupations, not counting those engaged in domes tic service. These are some of the leading employments: 500,000 teach- ers, 13,182 professional musicians, 5134 Government clerks, 2136 archi tects, 2438 physicians, 265 ordained ministers, 175 lawyers, 320 authors, 558 journalists, 216 stock raisers, 56,- 800 farmers, 14,465 at the head of commercial houses. What can the compiler of the list have been thinking of, marvels the New York Telegram, when he (or she) omitted the nimble fingered army of typewriters? The noted Russian Nihilist,Stepniak, has been lecturing in Memphis, and told his auditors what Nihilism was in terms that conflict greatly with the popular notion here. Said he: “Ni hilism sprung from an effort to throw of! the yoke of despotism in Russia. Its prime object was to rebel against the violent methods of Russian Govern ment. If you are asked what the Ni hilists are you would be told that Ni* hilists are those people who favor de structive means to gain their political ends. But while Nihilists are working for a constitutional monarchy their w r ork is an honest purpose. After they secure a constitutional monarchy they will hope for further progress and get a limited monarchy, verging as nearly as possible to the plan of a free republican government. France has gone through this process of gain ing political freedom. Sooner oi Night. Come with thine unveiled worlds, O truth of | night. Come with thy calm. "Adown the shallow day. Whose splendors hid the vaster world away, I wandered on this little plot of light, A dreamer among dreamers. Veiled or bright, Whether the gold shower roofed me or the gray, I strove and fretted at life’s feverish play, And dreamed until the dream seemed in finite. But now the gateway of the all unbars; The passions and the cares that beat so shrill, The giants of this petty world, disband; On the great threshold of the night I stand, Once more a soul self-cognizant and still, Among the wheeling multitude of stars. —[Archibald Lampman,in Scribner. TRAILED BY INDIANS. AX OLD HUNTER 3 STOKT. “It was in ’48, and I’d been out trading ’mongst the Flatheads and the Nez Perces for nearly two years off and on, when one day I caught on to a scheme the Flatheads had got up to raid the little settlement near to where Cnaton, Nev., now stands. There were three families living there, and the plan was to wait until the men went to Carson City for provisions, when the women and children were to be killed and the cattle run off by one party, while another waylaid the men ou the way back and murdered them. I was up about Wiuuemucca when I got hold of this, and I set olf for Can ton as hard as I could go, but the meu were gone by the time I reached the settlement, which was called Ridley’s Camp. I had reason to fear the Indi ans were only a few hours behind me, and we had to move quickly. Our only chance was to hide in the moun tains till they left the neighborhood or work our way as best we could by night to Carson City. It was useless to think of saving the men, so I just kept that part of the business to myself. There were in all thirteen of us, two women and their seven children, and three little chaps whose mother had died the week be fore, and me. The first thing I did was to stampede the cattle and horses to keep the Indians from getting them, then, as wo started, I shut up the houses to keep the redskins as long as possible there before they found out the people had run away. We made the little creek called Snake River by daylight, and, after reconnoitering, I made the whole party wade out to an island in the middle, which was about 20 by 30 feet, and th Jhtgs and rushes and climbed to the top of the hills to see if I could see aught of the Indians. Several time^it seemed to me that I saw a band moving along the line of the horizon, and, while the specks might have been cattle, I thought it best to stay where wo were all that day, that night and the next day. Our great trouble was water, which had to be brought from a spring on the other side of the hill, and as only a small quantity could be brought at a time— my cap being the only vessel we had— the children especially suffered a good deal. At last one of the women dis covered a flint rock with a hollow dip in the middle, which would hold about two quarts or so, and I kept this filled as a cistern. I ventured that uight to roast a piece of the bear in a hole in the ground, which change of diet wag a welcome one. I never passed such a time since I was born, for I dare not sleep an hour for fear of a surprise, and the weight of responsibility I felt, with those poor, helpless creatures on my hands, was simply awful. Late on ths second day, when I climbed the hill for a last look, I saw a small band of Indians not more than an eighth of a mile away. They did not number more than seven,but were armed and in full war dress, and were heading straight for the hill. Drop, ping on my all fours I ran as fast as I could for the mouth of the cavern, and scrambling down soou had the women and children crouched up in the far end of the larger division, where no shot fired into the smaller one could reach them, though I hoped the Indians would either pass by al together or fad to find us if they halted. Silence then was absolutely necessary, and the women impressed this ou the children. I then went back, and by clinging to one of the bushes swinging across the entrance to the cave peered out to see what the redskins meant to do. I could see they had struck our trail and suspect ed we were somewhere about, for they dismounted, and scattering, they began to search about the woods. As they drew near our hiding place 1 dropped down into it and cocked the guns the women had brought and my own trusty rifle. I suppose my fre quent goings in and comings out had left some trace, for they seemed to notice the entrance at once, and pres ently I saw a head peeping over. The dim light of the cave might have pre vented the owner from seeing me, but, as ill-luck would have it, the infant child 1 spoke of wailed out just at this particular moment. The cry was stifled in an instayt, but it had been heard, amW the /head craned over further, \nHle w 1ttipther and another popped over. I w:ie crouching down ^ise as I jjould.) but, hearing the knew conceal- found shrieking with excitement. I quieted them, and congratulated them on their courage, which, however, was entirely gone as soon as the call for it was over. I rolled the Indian off the boy, who was considerably bruised by the weight of the dead body, but otherwise not hurt. The wounded Indian I found to be an old acquain tance of mine, and seeing he was dy- ^g rapidly I did not disturb him. He told me that finding Ridley’s Camp deserted, the main party had gone back home, but that suspecting me of having warned them, some of the young hot bloods had followed us to be avenged on me. They were pretty certain that I was the only man in the party, but did not know but what others had joined us. Well, wc took possession of the ponies, and we were able to travel much more rapidly, though had it not been nearly desperate to think of walk ing in our exhausted condition, I would not have risked ridiug them, for a man on foot has twenty chances on the plains to one the mounted fel" low has. We reached Carson City without further adventure, though starvation and thirst and fatigue were our constant companions, and there found the women’s husbands and the other man, who were just starting home. I had to get a doctor to give me something to quiet my nerves, for, for eight days and nights, I had uot slept more than thirty minutes out of every twenty-four hours, and even after all were safe I could not quit listening for noises.— [Globe-Demo crat. A River That Flows Inland. There is an interesting instance of water flowing inland from the sea. It is found on the island of Cephalonia, in the Ionian sea, west of Greece. The phenomenon occurs on the southwest side of the island near the small town and port of Argostoli. Two streams flow at a short distance from one an other, straight from the sea, for a few yards, and then follow difterent couises. One turns at right angles and runs for some ways parallel with the shore and close to it. Then it turns again toward the sea, and running, of course, deeper and deeper, doubles completely under itself, thus forming a loop, and finally passes out of sight deep down in a landward direc tion. In its course it turns two flour mills, which will give an idea of the strength of the current. There is no tide in the sea here, and die fiow of the salt water brook is perfectly st, iy and continuous. The other stream disappears in the ground in a similar way. The curious phenomenon has not attracted much att^ cause ArgostoU is not ular tourist what becov^-o?^ A LOCUST PLAGUE. The Ancient Destroyer Reappears in North Africa. Habits of the Pestand Remedies for Its Suppression. The cable reports that the plague of locusts has appeared in Morocco and threatens Algeria. From the famine that may be expected to result, many of the unfortunate inhabitants, es pecially of the former country, are likely to die. This African locust is a remarkable creature. His devasta tions have r,n obscure culminating pe riodicity of eleven years, the seme that has been observed in sun-spots and in certain East Indian provinces proceed ing from drought. Arabs just arrived in Algiers from the Sahara report that they rode on swift drome daries for more than sixty miles through swarms of locusts. About this report there is no savor of exag geration. Their swarms have repeat edly been described as darkening the sun. A few years ago some of them reached England under circumstances leaving no doubt that they came from the East African coast over a sea line. They have been met with 1200 miles off shore over the Atlantic, in such number as to cover ships with their bodies and darken the atmosphere. An average length of territory to bo ravaged by them in one season is about 1000 miles. It is sometimes much greater. In the Old Testament these locusts are classed among the more terrible calamities that can befall a people, along with drought, pesti lence, famine and siege. The fact that they have no leader, like other mi grants, is there noted. In “Exodus” the wind is given as the cause of their arrival and departure. Modern obser vations fail to connect their ordi nary migrations with any pre vailing atmospheric currents. The older notion is intimated again in “Psalms,” apparently referring to locusts caught in the whirlwinds that traverse all heated plains. In all the locust countries they are an article of diet for man as well as for many other natural enemies. In Palestine they are eaten either roasted or boiled in salt and water* When preserved for future use they are dried in the sun and ground up, then eaten with camels’ milk or honey to correct the bitter flavor. There seems to be no effective rem edy for the affliction. The locusts are infested with parasites of their own, these do not multiply fas From the Farm to the Observatory. My birthplace, says Professor Simon Newcomb, the eminent astronomer, in the Forum, was in the northern part of Nova Scotia, and the surroundings of my childhood and youth were such as deeply to tinge the economic views of my later years. People lived there much as the settlers of New England lived before the Revolution. The children of all but the rich went bare - foot in summer, and, except the rare and costly Sunday suit, nearly every family had to make its own clothes. The men and boys tille l the ground, or cut and sawed lumber for exporta tion to more favored cl'ines; the wo men and girls sheared the sheep, carded the wool, spun the yarn, wove the homespun cloth, and made the clothes. . . . Partly from neces sity, partly from a fear of overstudy and a desire to strengthen my bodily constitution, about half my time from the age of eight to that of sixteen was spent in working on farms. The more intelligent of the farmers generally had two or three books, which there were occasional opportunities of read ing by the light of the blazing fire in winter evenings. . . . Up to the age of twelve the laws of nature re mained a mystery to me. About that time I remember once asking my father what light was, amt why we could not see in the dark. He tried to give me an idea of something he had read or heard on the subject, but the question was one which nothing in our reading could help to answer. He could tell about gravitation, the names and order of the planets, history, and navigation; but I doubt if a book on natural philosophy had ever fallen within his reach.—[Forum. Her First Carriage Ride. “I think a true story of my experi ence at Ober-Ammergau,” said a 'Washingtonian, “indicates better than could a hundred lectures or descrip tions, not only the simplicity of the people, but the spirit which makes the ‘Passion Play’ possible there without cffence to ethical taste such as it would give in any other region. On a lovely June Sunday, last Summer, as my sister and I were driving down the valley from the play, on our road to Partenkirchen, we overtook a party of peasants returning home after having viewed the holy spectacle. One of them was an old woman bent under her weight of years. We stopped our carriage to inquire whether her way lay with ours, and finding that it did, insisted upon her getting in with us. When she had seated herself she look ed at me and asked: