Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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BY E. B. MTJKKAY & CO. ANDEESON, S. C, THURSDAY MORNING, JULY 8, 1880. VOLUME XV.?NO. 52. C. C BOWEN. " Hla Life and Character?A Record that No One will Envy. From Cliarleston News and Courier. Of the e?riy life of C. C. Bowea little is known. By his own account he was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and came South when quite young. He went first to Augusta, 6a., and from that point wandered from place to place in Georgia and Florida as a mechanic in search of work. When work failed he gambled, and he admitted that he had played faro "011 both sides of the table." In Feb? ruary, 1860, he went to Lee County, Georgia, where, it appears, he remained up to the spring of 1862, during which time he was engaged in farming. In 1862 he entered the Confederate service at Savannah, Ga., in a company called "The Partisan Rangers," and in the early part of May, 1862, went into camp with the command, upon th*? organization of which he was elected third lieutenant. The company after remaining at Savan? nah some time mustered ninety-five men, and was attached to the battalion com? manded by Col. Wm. Parker White, the officer whose assassination Bowen was afterwards charged with instigating. The command came to Charleston in January, 1853, Bowen being at that time the only commissioned officer of the company, the others having resigned. Col. White requested him to consent to the appointment of new officers, which Bowen declined. The command left Charleston in April, 1863, and went into camp at Waccamaw Neck. Bowen ob? tained leave of absence and went to Savannah and did not return until Sep? tember, after his leave of absence had expired. At this time he was captain of his company, which was Company D, Twenty-first Georgia Battalion of Cav? alry*. He was court-martialed on three charges, as follows: 1st. Conduct unbe ' coming an officer and a gentleman, the specification being that he bad altered his leave of absence and changed the dates for the purpose of obtaining his pay in Savannah; 2d. Breaking bis ar? rest; and 3d. Conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline. He was convicted of all the charges and specifications and dismissed from- the service. Shortly after this occurrence, Col. White was assassinated near the camp in Georgetown County. Accord? ing to Bowen's statement, after his dis? missal from the service he went to Co? lumbia on tie 3d of March, 1864, and remained there five or six days. Then he went to Augusta, where he remained a few days, after which he came to Charleston, where he was arrested on the charge of having murdered Col. White. He was incarcerated in the Orphanhouse and subsequently in the Jail, where he remained until the evacuation of the city. Concerning the assassination of Col. White it was shown that Eli G. Grimes, a man who used to work for Boweuin Lee County, Georgia, and who had subsequently joined Bowen's com? pany, had committed the deed. Grimes testified that he had shot Col. White by "Capt. Bowen's ordere." The witness described minutely the crime in all its details. He said Bowen came to him about 300 yards from the camp at Wac? camaw ; carried him into a thick wood to a place where he (Bowen) had cut out an opening with a knife, and told him to place himself there in the clearing and aboot Col. White when he passed along the road on picket duty. The witness said that he had secreted himself there and that Col. White had passed frequent? ly, but that he did not attempt to shoot him ; that Bowen kept abusing him aud urging him to kill White, aud that he had carried him to other places to do the same deed. On one occasion, Grimes said, when Bowen had placed him near a bank to shoot Col. White, he (Grimes) had taken the lock off* his gun and had broken the mainspring, and Bowen had cursed him for his seeming carelessness, aud remarked that it was d?d strange that the main-spring bad broken just at that time. A few days before the shoot? ing Bowea had told him chat he (Bowen) . was going to Charleston, and would be back in a few days; that when he got back he would be in command of the company, and that if he (Grimes) did not kill Col. White before he (Bowen) came back, he would never see home. Bowen then gave him a gun which he, Bowen, loaded himself. Grimes stated that on the night of the murder he went to Col. White's quarters, fired through the weatherboarding, and throwing the gun in the ditch ran off back to bis camp. He was subsequently arrested and con? fessed the shooting to Col. White before that officer died, and gave the evidence which led to the arrest of Bowen on the charge of having instigated the murder. Both Bowen and Grimes were under arrest for murder when the Federal forces occupied Charleston. The above facts were vaguely known during the ten years immediately follow? ing the war, and were frequently referred to by this journal. Emboldened by his official station and political influence, as well as by his long immunity from arrest, in April, 1875, Sheriff Bowen instituted a criminal prosecution for libel against the proprietors of the News and Courier for the publication of articles charging him with the crime of murder. The trial was, probably, the most dramatic and exciting that has ever taken place in a Charleston court. Grimes, the only witness who could substantiate and jus? tify the obnoxious publications, had not been heard of for years and nobody knew his whereabouts, and Bowen and his counsel, Messrs. Corbin and Buttz, were confident that the proprietors of the News and Courier would be convicted. At the critical moment, however, and to the utter c onsternation of the prosecu? tion, Grimes himself appeared in court and took the stand, repeating with great exactness of detail his testimony of ten years before, and pointing out Bowen, in the hushed and crowded court room, as the man who had compelled him by abuse and threats to fire the shot that killed Col. White. The defense was managed with great skill by the counsel tor the News and Courier, consisting of Mr. H. A. M. Smith, Major W. H. Braw-1 ley and Messrs. Porter & Conner. The jury failed to agree, one of their number being a henchman of Bowen; but the vote stood 11 to 1 in favor of acquittal, and the result was claimed and conceded as a triumphant vindication of the New* and Courier. HIS POLITICAL CAREER, From the fall of Charleston and the subsequent collapse of the Confederacy dates the strange political career of C. C. Bowen. After his release from jail he disappeared for a short time, but he soon i-ame to the surface in the new order of things brought about when "the Union came in." The Freedman's Bureau afforded him an opportunity to ingratiate himself in the affections of the newly freed negroes, which he was not slow to "rasp. A few months after the occupa? tion of Charleston and the establishment ill' the provost courts here he opened an oince on the south side of George street, next west of the American Hotel. The freedmen were in constant broils and troubles, and Bowen found a lucrative practice in the Provost courts, of which Major Corbin wa3 at one time the judge advocate. He was subsequently employ? ed by the Freedman's Bureau to repre? sent the freedmen in all cases which were tried before the court, and in which it invariably happened that their old mas? ters were either complainant or defen? dant. As the court travelled all through the county, and as Bowen always repre? sented the negroes before the court, it is easy to understand the origin of the wonderful hold which he acquired upon the affectious of the ignorant blacks. He was shrewd enough to perceive the opportunity; the negroes in the country regarded him as their savior, and he lost no occasion to stiengthen the influence which he has ever since exercised over the blacks in the county, and which bound them to his interests as with hooks of steel. In 1866 Bowen and Mackey, Hurley, H. Judge Moore and Gilbert Pillsbury began the work of organizing the Republican party in this State. They held a convention, the first Repub? lican Convention ever held in the State, in Daddy Cain's church on Calhotm street, but as the other sections of the State were not fully represented it was adjourned and another was held a few months later in Columbia. In the inter? val between these two conventions Bowen was arrested at the instance of the Bu? reau, upon a charge of having sold some cotton belonging to freedmen *>n one of the islands and refusing to pay over the proceeds. He was incarcerated in Castle Pinckney, but his tremendous political influence with the blacks, although at that time just in itsincipiency, stood him in good stead. A collection was taken up among them and sufficient money raised to defray the expenses of conduct? ing his defence. Some sort of compro? mise was effected and the affair blew over, Bowen having been released after a brief imprisonment. In 1867 he defend? ed the negroes who led the famous street car riot3, and this gave him a hold upon the city negroes, to whom he had hereto? fore been comparatively unknown. His first and most prominent appear? ance in political life, however, was as a delegate in the famous Constitutional Convention in 1867. He took a promi? nent part in its deliberations, and was chairman of the judiciary committee. After the adjournment of the Conven? tion he was nominated for the unexpired term for Congress, Jiis opponents being C. J. Stoibrand and Gilbert Pillsbury. There being but one candidate in the field, be was of course elected, served his term,.and was re-elected for the full term of 1868-70. In 1870 occurred the split in the Republican party of Charleston County, by which the party ever after? wards" was divided into the Bowen and Mackey factions. It was brought about by Bowen himself, who, as Congressman, secured the removal of Dr. A. G. Mackey as collector of the port. The Mackey party at once boiled, and commenced a bitter war against him in the ranks of their own party. They put up R. C. De Large, a mSlatto, who will be remem? bered as be<i.ing a prominent part in the early history of Republican government in this State, and, after a very bitter con? test, DeLarge got the certificate of elec? tion and was seated. Bowen contested his seat before Congress, however, and a few days before the expiration of the term the committee on (privileges and elections declared that neither of them had been elected, and, as was usual in those days, paid both. It was while this contest was going on that he married Mrs. S. Petigru King in Washington, and was soon afterwards indicted for bigamy. There were two trials, both of which occurred in 1871, in the Criminal Court of the District of Washington. He had been married previously to Frances Hicks, and it was alleged to Tabitha Parks, although he denied that he had ever married the latter. A letter was produced, written by Bowen, and offering the Parks woman one thousand dollars if she would consent to a divorce. One of the trials at Washington resulted in a mistrial; on the second he was con? victed, and was sentenced to fine and imprisonment. He remained in jail, however, but a short time, when he was pardoned by President Grant. Immediately after his release he re? turned to Charleston and began to make war upon Governor Scott, who had been instrumental in defeating him in the Bowen-DeLarge contest. By his order, J. J. Hardy, a colored member of the Legislature, resigned and he was elected in his place. He went to Columbia, procured an investigation (the Dennis Hurley committee) and moved for an impeachment of Scott. The latter, how? ever, at that time, had control of* the treasury; the investigators were bought over and the impeachment fell to tbe ground. After serving out Hardy's term in the Legislature he returned to Charleston, and in 1872 was nominated for sherifi' against E. W. M. Mackey. The fight was a close one, the Bowen faction win? ning by between 500 and 600 votes. The Mackey faction contested the election before the board of State canvassers, but at that time John J. Patterson had his eyes directed to the United States Sen? ate. Bowen saw the situation and at once made a bargain by which his dele? gation to the Legislature were to vote for Patterson for the United States Senate, and the board of State canvassers being Patterson's friends, decided the contest in Bowen's favor. The delegation to the Legislature faithfully carried out their share of the contract by voting for Pat? terson, and elected him to the United Stateb Senate. Iu 1876 the organization of the Straightnut Democracy healed the breach in tbe Republican ranks in Charleston County. The Bowen and Mackey fac? tions, who had fought each other so long and bitterly, coalesced and Bowen was unanimously renominated for Sheriff and Mackey for Congress. Hampton was elected and with his election came the speedy downfall of Republicanism iu the State. Bowen, however, was elected Sheriff and served in that capacity till tbe day of bis death. Had he survived, it had been agreed that the party would again unite on him fur Sheriff iu the county election. He took a promineut part in the mu? nicipal elections, although he only served one term as an alderman. In the muni? cipal election of 1873, it will be remem? bered that the Bowen and Mackey fac? tions, after a bitter contest, united on George J. Cunningham, and it was in that election that Bowen brought over three hundred negroes from Edisto Inland on the very day of the election and voted them all over the city. He was elected alderman on the Cunningham ticket, and served for two years. In the municipal election of 1875 lie I again separated his forces from those of! Mackey an J supported Gen. John A. | Wagerier for the Mayoral ity, but was de feated. Although he wielded a tremendous j personal and political influence over the negroes in Charleston County outside the city, this influence did not extend beyond the confines of the county. He had compuratively no influence in the party in the rest of the State, a fact which is shown by the proceedings of tiie various Republican State Convention*. Year after year the Bowen delegates to the State Conventions have been refused ad? mittance, although in most instances they went there supported by a large majority of the colored voters of the county. This persistent opposition led him, iu 1872, to bolt the convention, and place an Independent State ticket in the field, headed by Reuben Tomlinson for Gov? ernor. The machinery of election, how? ever, was in the hands of the opposing faction, and Moses was declared elected. Of late years Bowen has not taken an active part iu the canvass; iu fact, since 1S76, he appears to have seen the inevi? table fate of the party, and has devoted himself solely to the task of keeping his followers together for the countvelection of 1880. Having been left a widower by the death of Mrs. Petigru-Kiug-Bowen in 1877, about a year ago he married the daughter of ex-Governor Moses, who accompanied him in his recent journey North, and who was probably with him when he died. A Brave Boy Rushes Into a Blaz? ing Room and Saves His Baby Brother.?Fire broke out at 8 o'clock this morning on the top flooi of the five story tenement house, No. 968 Third avenue. The floor is occupied by two tenants, Henry Seib and Jeremiah Mor rissey. The fire was in the Morrissey family's apartments, but quickly seized upon che partitions and extended to the adjoining room. The Seib family made their escape without difficulty ; the Mor risseys with more haste, but safely. But in the confusion of the first fright a baby was forgotten lying on the floor of Mrs. Morrissey's kitchen. The room was ablaze with fire on all side?, and tongues of flames reached out many feet from the doorway, playing about the entrance, when Oswald Morrissey, the 12-year old brother of the imprisoned child, rushing back through the hallway sprang into the fie:ty gap and seiziug the child car? ried it out in his arms. Not unscathed though in his retreat; his clothing caught fire, and before the remedy of rolling him in a blanket proved effectual he was badly burned on the back and limbs. The baby, from the first uncon? scious of any danger, was unhurt, and crowed gleefully over the bright fire with which the firemen now began to battle and soon came off victors. The youthful hero was taken to the Fifty-ninth Street Dispensary, and after his wounds had been dressed there he was sent home and made comfortable in auother tenant's bed.?New York Mail, June 26. Niagara Falls Dry.?"The Fulls of Niagara were dry for a whole day," said the Rev. Dr. T. B. Fuller, of Hamilton, Ontario, in a recent lecture. The accuracy of the story was questioned, _1_ iL- _1_ _l_ I ? 1_ ! s*worn statements of several persons that j they saw the phenomenon. They say that it occurred on March 31, 1848. At 5 o'clock in the morning so Jittle water was dribbling over, that a man and bis daughter walked half way across from the Caundian shore, near the edge of the precipice. The girl stuck a pole into a crevice of the rock and left a handker chiel flying from the top. Not content w.ith this feat, tbey went half a mile above the fall, and rode part way across the bed of the river in a wagon. Others did similar things. The jagged rocks at the bottom below the falls were exposed. This strange condition lasted until night? fall, when the stream began rapidly to swell, and before morning was as large as usual. Dr. Fuller's theory is as fol? lows : "The wind had been blowing down Lake Erie, which is only about 30 feet deep, and rushing a great deal of water from it over the falls; it then snddenly changed, and blew this little water (com? paratively speaking) up to the western portion of the lake; at this juncture the ice on Lake Erie, which had been broken up by these high winds, got jammed in the river between Buffalo and the Cana? da side and formed a dam which kept back the waters of Lake Erie." Madagascar Widows.?Upon the death of any man of position or wealth, on the day of the funeral the wife is placed in the house, dressed in all her best clothes, and covered with her silver ornaments, of which the Sihanaka wear a considerable quantity. There she remains until the rest of the family re? turn home from the tomb. But as soon as they enter the house they begin to revile her with most abusive language, telling her that her winiana or her fate has been stronger than th. . of her bus band, aud that she is virtually the cause of his death. Then they strip her of her clothes, tearing off with violence the or? naments from her ears and neck and arms; tbey give her a coarse cloth, a spoon with a broken handle, and a dish with the foot broken off, with which to eat; her hair is dishevelled, and she is covered up with a coarse mat, and under that she remains all day long, and can only leave it at night; and she may not speak to any one who goes into the house. She is not allowed to wash her face or hands, but only the tips of her fingers. She endures all this sometimes for a year, or at least for eight months; and even when this was over her time of mourning is not ended for a considerable period ; for she is not allowed to go home to her own relations until Bhe has been first di? vorced by her husband's family. ? The independent Republicans in Garfield's own Congressional District declared :n a set of resolutions, passed in convention in 1876, "that there is no man to-day officially connected with the administration of our National Govern? ment against whom are justly preferred more and graver charges of corruption than are publicly made and abundantly sustained against James A. Garfield, the present Representative of this Congress? ional District and the nominee of the Republican Convention for re-election. That since he first entered Congress to this day there is scarcely an instance in which rings and monopolies have been arrayed against the interests of the peo? ple that he has been found active in speech or vote upon the side of the latter, but in almost every case he has been the ready champion of the rings and monop? olies." ? There was once another remarkable dog in San Antonio. It knew its mas? ter's step and his habits, and would never bite him. His owner loved him, and said he would not take ?500 for him. One night his owner came home perfectly sober aud three hours earlier than usual. The dog, not having been notified of this change in the programme, mistook him for an intruder, and bit him in nineteen places. Next day the owner had the dog executed by a policeman. All efforts to obtain a commute failed, and yet it was a clear case of mistaken identity, and the dog had an unpracticcd mind.?Gal vesfon New*. ? The census enumerators in Utah were unable to determine whether they ought to classify the plural wives of Mor? mons as married or single, and in their dilemma they applied to Superintendent Walker for instructions. lie directed that the womens' answers be accepted in all cases, and entered as they gave them. and now the clergyi HANCOCK. Ills Record as a Statesman. In the general shuffle of military com? mands which was effected by President Johnson in November, 1867, General Hancock was commissioned as Comman? der of the Fifth Military District and the Department of the Gulf, with headquar? ters at New Orleans. The powers of a military commander in the South at that chaotic epoch of reconstruction were large and indefinite. It is one of Gener? al Hancock's principal titles to civic reuown that he look a statesmanlike view of his powers and responsibilities. His reputation was that of a somewhat stern disciplinarian, but at New Orleans he showed himself superior to the pas? sion for discipline. The wisdom and policy of the legislation under which the South was parcelled out under the rule of several irresponsible military dictators will not now be seriously maintained, but at that time the passions of the Northern States were too violently ex? cited by the contest between President Johnson and Congress to admit of impar? tial reasoning upon the proper line of demarcation between military and civic powers. The constitutions of ten South? ern States had been nullified by Congress and personal liberty was everywhere in jeopardy. Under these circumstances the advent of General Hancock at New Orleans was marked by the promulgation of a document which rang through the South like a new Declaration of Independence and was greeted with delirious enthusi? asm as the dawn of a happier day. On taking command at New Orleans Han? cock issued his famous' "General Orders No. 40," the text of which is as follows : "Headquarters 5tii Military Dist., "New Orleans, La., Nov. 29,1867. "I. In accordance with General Orders No. 81, Headquarters of the Army, Ad? jutant General's Office, Washington, D. C, August 27,1867, Major .eneral W. S. Hancock hereby assumes command of the Fifth Military district and of the department composed of the States of Louisiana and Texas. "II. The General commanding is grat? ified to learn that peace and quiet reign in this department. Itwiiibe his pur? pose to preserve this con lition of things. As a means to this great end he regards the maintenance of the civil authorities in the faithful execution of the laws as the most efficient under existing circum? stances. "In war it is indispensable to repel force by force and overthrow and destroy oppo? sition to lawful authority. But when in? surrectionary force has been overthrown and peace established, and the civil authorities are ready and willing to per? form their duties, the military power should cease to lead, and the civil ad? ministration resume its natural and rightful dominiou. Solemnly impressed with these views, the Geueral announces that the great principles of American liberty still are the lawful inheritance of this people, and ever should be. The right off rial by jury, the habeas cor? pus, the liberty of the press, the freedom of speech and the natural rights of per? sons and the rights of property must be preserved. "Free institutions, while they are es? sential to the prosperity and happiness of the people, always furnish the strong? est inducements to peace and order. Crimes and offences committed in this district must be referred to the consider? ation and judgment of the regular civil tribunals, and those tribunals, will be supported in their lawful jurisdiction. "Should there be violations of existing laws which are not inquired into by the civil magistrates, or should failures in the administration of justice by the courts be complained of, the cases will be reported to these headquarters, when such orders will be made as may be deemed necessary. "While the General thus indicates his purpose to respeci the liberties of the people he wishes all to understand that armed insurrections or forcible resistance to the law will be instantly suppressed by arms. "By command of Major General W. S. Hancock, "W. G. Mitchell. "Brevet Lieutenant Colonel, Acting As? sistant Adjutant General. On March 9, 1868, General Hancock supplemented this order by his long, able and justly celebrated letter to Gov? ernor Pease, of Texas, from which the following extracts will now be read with revived interest:?"It is rather more than hinted in your letter that there is no local State government in Texas and no local laws outside of the acts of Con fress which 1 ought to respect, and that should undertake to protect the rights of persons and property in my own way and in an arbitrary manner. If such be your moaning I am compelled to differ with you. After the abolition of slavery (an event which I hope no one now regrets) the Jaws of Louisiana and Texas existing prior to the rebellion, not iu conflict with the acts of Congress, com? prised a vast system of jurisprudence, both civil and criminal. It required not volumes only, but libraries to con? tain them. They laid down principles and precedents for ascertaining the rights and adjusting the controversies of men in every couceivable case. They were the creations of great and good aud learned men, who had labored in their day for their kind and gone down to the grave long before our recent troubles, leaving their works an inestimable legaey to the human race. These laws, as I am in? formed, connected the, civilizations of past and present ages, and testified of the justice, wisdom, humanity and pa? triotism of more than one nation, through whose records they descended to the present people of these States. I am satisfied, from representations of persons competent to judge, they are as perfect a system of laws as may be found elsewhere, and better suited than any other to the condition of this people, for by them they have long been govern? ed. Why should it be supposed Con? gress has abolished these laws? Why should any one wish to abolish them? They have committed no treason; nor are hostile to the United States; nor countenance crime; nor favor injustice. On them, as on a foundation of rock, re? poses almost the entire superstruction of social order in these two States. Annul this code of local laws and there would be no longer any rights, either of person or property, here. Abolish the local tribunals made to execute them, and you would virtually annul the laws, except in reference to the very few cases cog? nizable in the federal courts. Let us, for a moment, suppose the local civil code annulled ; and that I am left, as Commander of the Fifth Military Dis? trict, the sole fountain of law and jus? tice. This is the position in which you would place mo. "I am now to protect all rights and redress all wrongs ? H?w is it possible for me to do it? Innumerable ques? tions arise, of which I am not only igno? rant, but to the solution of which a mili? tary court is entirely unfitted. One would establish a will, nnothena deed; or the question is one of succession, or partnership, or descent, or trust; a suit of ejectment or claim to chattels, or the application may relate to robbery, theft, arson or murder. How am I to take the first step in any such matter? If I turn to the acts of Congress I find nothing on the subject. I dare not open the au? thors on the local code, for it has ceased to exist. "And you tell me that in this perplex? ing condition I am to furnish by dint of ray own hasty and crude judgment, the leg? islation demanded by the vast and mani? fold interests of the people! I repeat, sir, that you, and not Congress, are responsible for the monstrous suggestion that there are no local laws or institutions here to be respected by me, outside the acts of Congress. I say unhesitatingly, if it were possible that Congress should pass nn act abolishing the local codes for Louisi? ana and Texas?which I do not believe ?and it should fall to my lot to supply their places with something of my own, I do not see how I could do better than to follow the laws in force here prior to the rebellion, excepting whatever therein shall relate to slavery. Power may destroy the forms, but not the principles of justice; these will live in spite even of the sword. History tells us that the Roman pandects were lost for a long period among the rubbish that war and revolution had heaped upon them, but at length were dug out of the ruins? again to be regarded as priceless treas? ure." These two great papers may be said to form the platform of General Hancock. As such they were accepted by the democracy of 1868, and their author^was prominent among the candidates for the Presidential nomination at the Conven? tion of that year. Of course it was not to be expected that he should long retain command at New Orleans, and he himself applied to be relieved February 27, 1868, his course having brought him into conflict withjCongrcss and with the General of the Army. His request was granted March 16, 1868, and he was shortly afterward sent into exile as commander of the military division of Dakota, where he remained three years ?1S69-72. In 1872 he was appointed commander of the military division of the Atlantic, with headquarters in New York city, where he has since resided. This appointment, made upon the death of General Meado, was creditable to Presideut Grant, since, unfortunately, he was not on speaking terms with General Hancock. The democratic nomination for Governor of Pennsylva? nia was tendered him in 18G9, but declined. He was again a prominent candidate for the Presidential nomina? tion at Baltimore in 1872. General Hancock was married in St. Louis in 1856 to Miss Elmira Russell. He has had two children. One of them, Miss Ada Elizabeth Hancock, a young lady of gn. >;promise, died in New York at the age of eighteen years. The only sur? viving child, Russell Hancock, is now a planter in Mississippi. In person General Hancock has justly won the sobriquet of "the Superb." He is the beau ideal of the gallant soldier, tall, shapely, blonde, with clear blue eyes full of meaning and decision. He is a knight sans pair et sans rcproche, gentle to his associates, kindly and genial to subordinates, yet possessed of an innate dignity with which few would care to trifle. His discipline is plain and direct, his loyalty to superiors un? questioning and unflinching, his de? votion to law and justice ingrained upon his inmost self. The democracy is to be congratulated upon having made choice of a standard bearer whom men of all parties delight to praise, and in whose hands the reins of government may securely be trusted. Hancock and the Republicans. The following letter was handed to the New York World by Mr. Leonard W. Jerome, of New York City, wif,h a request for its publication; "Major-General Hancock?-My Dear General : I take the earliest opportuni? ty to congratulate you upon your nomi? nation and to assure you, life-long Whig and Republican that I am, of my most hearty support. I belong to a very nu? merous and very staunch old silver-gray Republican family. With one solitary exception, there never was one of them known to vote the Democratic ticket, but I venture to say they will to a man vote for you. They cannot consistently do otherwise. "You, sir, embody the views and sen? timents in regard to the great questions of the day that we have entertained since the war closed. They are the same that actuated General Grant when he laid down those liberal terms of surrender to General Lee. They are the same that actuated my poor friend Raymond, when he battled so manfully in the committee of Congress against the savage policy of Thad Stevens. I believe General Grant would support you to-day, did not the ex? igencies of his situation forbid it. And Henry J. Raymond, were he alive, would support you too, unless the exigencies of the New York Times restrained him. He was compelled at an early day to smother the sentiments he had expressed in the address of the Philadelphia Convention, to abandon his career in legislative halls and to change the tone of the Times or, as Mr. Jones, our business manager and partner, insisted, the paper would be ruined. (I believe I offered to pay the damages at the time, but that was con? sidered impracticable.) It was a bitter pill, but it bad to be swallowed. Thad Stevens had succeeded through Congress which misrepresented the cuuntry in en? grafting his policy upon the Republican party. And though disgusted, it was fastened upon them and there was no way of getting rid of it. Thus for years a vast number of us, good Republicans, have been compelled to be helpless sup? porters of a policy we believe to be the very worst that could be devised. An op? portunity is presented us now for the first time with any show of success to vote in accordance with our convictions, and I am sure we shall do it most joyfully. With great respect and esteem, believe me yours faithfully, Leonard W. Jerome. ? Col. John Forney, of the Philadel? phia Progress, who has stuck to the Re? publican party since I860, declares that the organization has become so corrupt, ring-ridden and "held by gangs of men, calling themselves Republicans, who not only defy all law to fill their pockets and empty the public coffers, but laugh at the opinions and triumph over the interests of the people, any change will be an. im? provement. This sentiment is getting to be universal, and the complications in national politics only add to the new responsibilities of the voter in local affairs." Garfield, the bribe-taker, and Arthur, the ring-master, we take it, can not be very dear to Forney's heart. He gives signs of rebellion. No Hospital Needed.?No palatial hospital needed for Hop Bitters patients, nor large salaried talented puffers to tell what Hop Bitters will do or cure, as they tell their own story by their certain and absolute cures at home.?New York In* dependent. THE MOUNTAIN DISTILLERS. Whore Two Young Men were Shot Down Last Week?Some Facts About the Illicit Distillers of Georgia. A dispatch was published last week by the daily papers mentioning the receipt of a telegram from the revenue collector at Atlanta by the treasury department in Washington, representing that, while raiding illicit stills in Campbell County, Ga., his posse was fired upon by moon? shiners. An Associated Press dispatch said, however, that a party of young men were passing in the road, and the revenue posse fired upon them, mortally wound? ing two. They were not moonshinerp, and were unarmed. In this connection the following letter from Blairsville, Ga., to the Atlanta Constitution, will be of interest: Union County has been the principal source of complaint in the recent revenue .roubles. Here the operations of armed posses have been most active, and here have been found the most conclusive ev? idences that the policy pursued by reve? nue officials is wrong in principle and hard in practice. These facts were amply attested by the proceedings in the com? missioner's court last week. A half dozen citizens had been brought here for a use? less trial, on warrants sworn out by one J. J. Chesser. Chesser served his term in the Penitentiary for larceny, and then moved to Union County, where he joined the church. He was soon expelled for lying and gambling, and fled the county to escape arrest lor forgery. It seems that he gratified many personal spites before he left by suing out warrants in? discriminately against the citizens of the county. In each case he would furnish the names of nearest neighbors as wit nesses. It happened that these warrants ?and twenty were sworn out on Chesser's oath?were nearly every one for persons in Coestoe district of this couni-y, where some of the revenue alarmists say no man's life is safe. Haid after raid'had gone through this district, but most of the accused were still at large. After the appointment of a commissioner for this county, Col. Fitzsimons sent his deputies to arrest these men. Not the slightest difficulty was experienced in doing so, and what armed raids could never have done was thus peacefully ac? complished in a few days. The district had been so aggravated by these raids, and had suffered so many hardships that these men would have lain in mountain caves all the year before they would have given up to a body of officials equipped like cavalry ready for an engagement. They readily came in, however, when assured that they could have a hearing, and have an opportunity of giving bond at home. Several of "these ca3es were disposed of to-day. As usual with Ches? ser's warrants, no evidence was found to sustain them ; the witnesses all testified that they did not know how their names came to be given in the cases, and all swore that they would not believe Chesser on his oath. If there had been no com? missioner here these men would have been dragged away to Atlanta, taken away from their crops when they most need attention, and suffered a severe hardship, absolutely for nothing. The armed posse plan has been a farce and a fraud, if nothing worse. In one week nearly all of the forty warrants for men in the county have been disposed of in the most peaceable manner. Men have voluntarily given themselves up by the dozen, and though some of the most noted moonshiners in the State have been arrested, there has not been a show of resistance to the single deputies of the marshal who have performed their duty without the posse. In the mean time the scores of mounted armed men employed in the service of this and adjoining counties have been moving around, but have really done nothing. The expense to the government has been abaut ?200 a day. After one has taken a tour of the counties north of the Blue Ilidge, and carefully observed all that such a trip brings to his notice, it is hard for him to believe that he has been through a region which has been declared in official reports to be in a state of armed resistance to the authority of the United States. Every? where farmers are plauting their rocky fields; everywhere people are hospitable and kind. The only arras one sees are the carbines of revenue posses, and the search for any show of resistance to au? thority results in a dead failure. Illicit distilling has been a curse to these counties. It has caused the arrest of hundreds of citizens. The guilty have been punished, but they have involved the innocent in the consequences of their offending. The farmers there live on small plantations, which are literally locked in on all sides. Communication with the outside world is almost impossi? ble. They raise a few hogs, a little wheat, and make the bulk of their crop in corn. There is no market near them, and when the year's accounts are cast up fliey find themselves with enough meat and bread to live on, but without a cent of money. If they have made a surplus of meat or grain, there is no market for it around them, and if they haul it sixty or eighty miles over the mountain roads- to the railroad, it will be a losing business. They can easily make a hundred bushels of the finest Irish potatoes in the world on the rich mountain soil, but there is no way of getting them out. It was just this state of things which engendered the unfortunate practice of illicit distill? ing. There is among most of these people that spirit of mouutain independence which believes that a man has a right to do pretty much what he pleases. They have always heartily disliked the law imposing a revenue of ninety cents a gallon on whiskey, agreeing with Mr. Stephens that a fanner should have the same right to boil his corn into "sweet mash" as to boil it into hominy. Dis? tillation opened the way for supplying their own wants, and also for making a little spare change. It became common in the years first succeeding the war, when there was a demoralization in the administration of the law. Then many of the offenders could honestly plead ignorance, and the first attempt to sup? press moonshining in Georgia caught many a man who honestly believed that he had a right to make "a little licker." There is no denial of the fact that the revenue laws are unpopular. Tor this reason they should have been carefully enforced from the start. It has seemed, however, to be the policy of most of the officers directing the enforcement of these laws to terrify the people into obedience. This is the secret of all the trouble. Such a policy has led to gross outrages upon person and property, to a disregard of the authority of the State to protect its citizens, to the frequent employment of desperate and unworthy men as deputies, and to the consequent feeling among the people that what was called law was in reality oppression. Besides this, it seems that Georgia has had an undue share of accusation. The amount of illicit whis? key made in this State is very much less than is generally supposed. The whiskey frauds of St. Louis and other cities make the sins of Georgia moonshiners sink into insignificance. These wholesale violators have frequently escaped punishment al? together, or if brought to a diluted justice, have endured it under kid glove treat ! ment, while the hackwoodsman has been ; hauled out of his little mountain hollow, j where he may have made ten or fifty ! gallons of whiskey, and he is held up as an example of the terrible power of the law. It is useless, however, to complain, of past injustice. Is there any hope that these troubles in Georgia will be termi? nated soon? Those best acquainted with the subject declare that there is. Public opinion in the mountains is setting more firmly than ever against all forms of lawlessness. The people are condemning illicit distill? ing, and it will not be long before a man suspected of it will be regarded as the enemy of a community which has suf? fered so much by,8uch sins as he is com? mitting. This country has been blessed in many respects. Its magnificent scenery; its fertile valleys, in which vegetation grows with almost tropical luxuriance; its cli? mate, blesried with the ever fresh breath of mountain breezes and beyond the reach of all epidemics, all combine to make its future bright with promise. Its mineral wealth can only be guessed by the results of slight development. These justify the opinion that there is not on this conti? nent a region richer in deposits of gold, copper, and a dozen other precious se? crets of the soil. The people, as a rule, are kind, and as intelligent as the manses of any population I have ever noticed. There seems to be in their dealings a sort of primitive virtue which has long since fled from more populous regions of the State. They leave their doors open at night, and sleep without the slightest fear of I heft. They are liberal in their donations to all good causes among them, and in the care for the unfortunate ana the ministry of every form of charity they are singularly warm-hearted and tender. The Loss of the Seawanhnkn. All of the New York papers come filled with accounts of the burning of the Steamer Scawanhaka on Monday night. Only ten bodies have been recovered, but some forty persons are missing, and supposed to be either drowned or burned. The Sun says: The Scawanhaka steamed out from her pier, 24 East River, at 4 o'clock yester? day afternoon. On her decks were many passengers bound for Sea Cliff*, Sand's Point, Glen Cove, Roslyn, and other points on Long Island. She touched at the foot of East Thirty-third street, where she received other passengers, She is licensed to carry 1,300 passengers, but it is not thought that when she left the foot of Thirty-third street she had ou board more than three hundred. Among them were many merchants and other business men, going to their summer residences on Long Island. Many of these persons had their families with them. A glance at the passengers showed that they were, for the most parts, well to-do city or country people. Among them were several gentlemen prominent in business circles or in their professions. The weather was so warm that a large number sought the forward part of the boat to catch the breeze. That they did so proved to be a very fortunate circum? stance. The boat ran pleasantly up past Blackwell's Island. Just as she passed Hallett's Point there was a notificatioa pf danger that is variously described by the passengers. Some say there was an explosion which they felt and heard.? Others say that there was a strange lifting of the deck as if by a gentle pressure, followed by a hissing noise as if steam were escaping. All agree, how? ever, that a few moments afterward flames were seen in the neighborhood of the engine room. There flames arose like magic, and quickly formed an impassable barrier between the fore and after parts of the boat. Whatever may bave been the cause of the explosion, if there was one, it is certain that the boilers remained intact for the wheels kept moving. The Captain Charles P. Smith, decided at once that it would be useless to try to fight the flames. He did not even quit the pilot house to make an inspection of the danger. Apparently, he replied on the report of his engineer. Less than half a mile ahead of bim was a low-lying marshy island, called Sunken Meadows. Captain Smith be? lieved he could rely on his unattended boilers and engines to push him forward upon this island. He kept the boat headed to the nearest point of the mamh. the flames nearly under him. He heard the shrieks of his passengers, but to his mind there was but one duty. His pilot was not on board, and he could leave the wheel to no one else. It wait a critical race with the progress of the fire, ami the fire was gaining. The advance of the boatdrove heat, flames aud smoke aft. This forced most of those iu the after part of the boat to leap into the'water. Some of these swam to Ward's Island, which is nearly opposite, but a little above Hallett's Point. Those who were in the fore patt of the boat were able to remain longer, and most of these did not leap it to the water until the prow of the burning vessel was driven forty feet up on to Sunken Meadows. Theu Captain Smith, terribly burned, hurried from the pilot house, and assisted women and children down to the land, and aided others who bad leaped into the water to reach the shore. Many were seen to drown. How many were lost cannot be closely estimated. It could not have been less than twenty, and it was prob? ably not more than seventy-five. Capt.Smith says: "I can remember only that we were opposite the entrance to Little Hell Gate at about 4.50, when I heard a dull, heavy explosion, and felt a strong jar under me. I was in the pilot house at the wheel with an assis? tant. Almost as soon as 1 felt the jar fire burst through the hurricane deck and spread like a train of gunpowder backward and forward. The passengers began to run wildly to and fro on the lower decks, and I shouted to them to be quiet, and all would yet be well. But the flames spread and the passengers became more excited. We were at the point of the Sunken Meadows, nearly opposite Randall's Island. I might have turned the Scawanhaka'$ head toward the shore of fie Island, but I felt that the only place where I could possibly beach the Scawanhaka with surety was the meadows. I turned the Seawanhaka's head straight as a die for the meadows. I held on to the wheel, and kept calling to the passengers below to get forward, if possible, and stick to the boat. But, though I was directing my whole attention to the meadows, looking out for the lowest and marshiest spot, I could see that some of the pas? sengers in 'their fright took to the water. Seeing this, I redoubled my cries to all below to keep as much forward as possible, because the draught made by the boat's motion swept the flames bnckward, and not to jump overborad. The Sca? wanhaka obeyed her helm to a charm, and swept onward toward the meadows. I picked out the spot where I saw the beach lying lowest, and bore down upon it. The Scawanhaka grated upon the thick undergrowth, and almost leaped upon the beach. She rose out of the water until her paddle wheels were high and dry. Then the passengers on the bow leaped down into the yielding marsh, and clambered up to dry land. Those at the stern jumped overboard and swam to the beach or were picked up by the small boats that came from the New York shore or Randall's Island. I do not recollect clearly how I got ashore, but I soon found myself in the kindly hands of the doctors from Ran? dall's Island." A fireman on the boat offers the only explanation that has been advanced of the cause of the disaster. He says: When I left Ward's Island in the even? ing the Seaxoanhaka had burned down to the water's edge. You could stand up in a row boat and look right down into her. Nothing is left but her keelson and a few bottom timbers, braces, &c. Her smokestack and engines are still standing. I can in no way account for the fire except by guess work. The engineer and firemen were always very particular to see that no inflammable stuff lay about. Engines and boilers were considered in excellent condition. The only way I account for it is the possi? bility that a flue blew out, opening the furnace door, and scattering the fire a considerable distance around. The slight noise I heard may have been a flue bursting. I am certain the boiler did not burst. I think two-thirds of the passengers must have jumped over be? fore she beached." All Sorts of Paragraphs. ? A good side-show?a pretty cheek. ? Where to go when short of money ?go to work. ? Hancock is a communicant in the Episcopal Church. ? Diligence is a fair fortune and in? dustry a good estate. ? The world owes us all a living, but she is just as hard to collect from as any other debtor. ? Gen. Hancock is a twin. His twin brother, Hilary Haucock, is a lawyer at Minneapolis, 5linn. ? Prairie Wolf, an Indian chief, has just died at the age of 119, from the ex? cessive use of tobacco. ? The biggest sponge ever seen in New York has recently arrived. It is eight feet in diameter. ? Senator Wade Hampton has accept? ed an invitation to deliver an address at a fair in Lexington, Ky., next autumn. ? Ex-Senator James A. Bayard, Sen? ator Bayj.rd's lately deceased father, advocated Hancock's nomination in 18G8. ? Conovcr thinks he can "pull Gar field through" in Florida, but who will pull Conover through??Boston Herald \lnd.) ? A small cherry-wood cabinet, made by President Lincoln, fifty years ago, and used by him as a desk, is owned by a gentleman in Indiana. "What kind of a conscience have you," asked a chaplain, of a convict in a Slate prison. "It is as good as new for I have never used it," was the reply. ? Colonel Fred Grant is represented by the Boston Globe as murmuring mournfully, "Father's gone up and I'm liable to be ordered where there's dan? ger." ? A Petersburg, Virginia, tobacconist hns received a contract to furnish the United States army with three hundred thousand pounds of tobacco at Sfty-two cents a pound. ? "Mr. Smith, father wants to borrow your paper. He only wants to read it." "Well, go back and tell your father to send me his supper. Tell him I only want to eat it?" ? The man who is curious to see how the world could get along without him can find out by sticking a cambric needle into a mill-pond and then withdrawing it and looking at the hole. ? They charge fifteen cents for a drink of buttermilk at Key West, but as a sort of offset they fling the customer four dozen oranges and tell him to send a dray after his bananas. ? Small boy rushing in front of young lady wearing rather large poke-bonnet, and staring her full in the face: "You've lost your net, Charlie; I told yer it warn't an old woman." ? The little boys of Ohio are to be congratulated. Their chances for be? coming Presidents of the United States are double those of little boys from other States. Every Ohio colt feels himself a future dark horse. ? A little boy of four years was sleep? ing with his brother, when bis mother said: "Why, Tommy, you are lying right in the middle of the bed. What will Harry do?" "Well, ma," he replied, "Harry's got both sides." ? "Son," said Gen. Grant, "thou wag gest thy tongue overmuch, and follow not in tne footsteps of thy father, the silent man. Speech is silver, but silence is golden, and every time you opened your jawa, you idiot, you discounted on your poor pa's chances." ? "Do, do keep away from that win? dow," said he. "But I'm not afraid of the lightning," replied she. "Ah! dear," continued the youth, frantically, "little do you realize how attractive you are." And, having made this appeal, he was able to conduct 'er away. ? Two children were engaged in a dispute as to the relative merits of their respective fathers. Finally one of them said, in a tone of triumph : "Well, my papa is the bravest, anyway, h.c Misted m ? the war." "Huh, that's nothin'," was the disdainful rejoinder: "my papa 'listed three times in one year, and got a bounty every time." ? A man who firmly believes that a second flood will come next November, to cover the whole face of the earth, is building an ark at Helena, Texas. The craft will hold fifty persons, with food for forty nights, and he will take passengers at $500 each. Every other vessel, he explains, will be wrecked. ? The managers of the Chicago hotels have been giving the figures showing their receipts during the week of the National Convention. The Palmer House took in ?105,000. the Grand Pa? cific about $100,000, the Tremont $30,000, the Sherman $27.000. The total sum left in the city by strangers during conven? tion week is thought to have exceeded $400,000. ? The Democrats at Washington have begun to collate in pamphlet form the record of Mr. Garfield in connection with the Credit Mobilier and other charges. The pamphlet will contain extracts from editorial articles published in the leading Republican newspapers about the time the Credit Mobilier and District Ring scandals came to light, and may also be illustrated by contemporaneous cartoons from Harper's Weekly and other periodi? cals. ? The French Forestry Department, according to the Polybiblion, have arrived at the conclusion that forests directly in? crease the supply of water in their neigh? borhood. From observations at Senitz and Nancy, they have decided that it rains more abundantly in wooded tracts, and that, while the leaves and branches give back the water quickly to the air, they prevent rapid evaporation from the ground, and are thus favorable to the formation of springs.