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BY E. B. MURRAY & CO. ANDERSON, S. C.. THURSDAY MORNING. OCTOPER 21 1 MMT VOLUME XVI.-NO. 1.1 TUE 1'L'ULIfJ H IG II WAYS. An Abstract or tit? Statutes of South Car olina Retal Inc to Itouds and Bridges. John S. I'mirr, Et</., in Keouee Courier. THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. Article 4, Section iv, of the Constitu tion of South Carolina, [-ive i the County Commissioners jurisdiction over High ways, Roads and Bridges. HIGHWAY;; AND BOAD8. They have power to* open new, public roads and to discontinue old ones. ' In order to open a new public road they are required to appoint Special Commission ers, whoeo duty it is to survey the route of tho road proposed,,to lay out thesutne, and advertise it for three months,' in the settlement through which tho intended road is to pass. For such work Special Commisioners are allowed $3 per day and mileage five cents per milo-for necessary travel. 151 b Statutes, Pago 970, Section 13, Act 29th March, 1875. Tho right of appeal lies in tho r'.ccision of Special Commissioners, in tho same manner and with like authority,. as is allowed by law from the nets of County Commissioners. When a road is so laid out it is to be rocorded by the County Commissioners aud ordered worked as other roads. Section 22 and 3, Chapter 44, Revised Statutes. In order to discontinue any public highway tho Commissioners must give threo months' public notice in the settle ment through which the road to be dis continued passes; Provided. That no ob jection is made, they can thereafter dis continue tho road so advertised. But if thero is objection, thon the road remnir.? a public highway until discontinued by law. Section 11, Chapter 44, Revised Statutes. By the Act approved December 24. 1879, each township of tho several counties of the State is made a highway district. For each of these districts the County Commissioners annually appoint ono Su perintendent ' o servo one year from date of his appointment. Tho person ap pointed Superintendent must no liable to road duty and a resident of the district for which ho is appointed. Tho Superin tendent has general.supervision of the roads and highways in his district under tho direction of the Commissioners. The Commissioners have power to remove Superintendents. Act December 24th, 1879. Roads leading from any part of the State directly to Charleston, Georgetown, Columbia, Camden, Hamburg and Che raw aro to be mad? and cleared thirty feet wide by Commissioners. All other public roads aro to be kept twenty feet wide. Section 6, Chapter 44, Revised Statutes. Public roads in each highway dititrict shall bo posted and numbered, and at each fork of said roads a pointer nnmt be placed, declaring the direction of each rosd. Section 6, Chapter 44, Revised Statutes. By Act of March 13tb, 1872, pago 215, any failure upon the part of Commissioners to post, number and place pointers, as directed, is regarded a misdemeanor, and upon conviction they are subject to a fine not exceediog $500, and imprisonment not exceeding six months, either or both, at the discretion of the Judge before whom they are tried. In the counties comprising James' Island, John's Island, Wadmalsw, Edisto, St. Helena, Lady's Island and Hilton Head, tho Commissioners have power to permit persons over whose lands public roads run to erect gates th reon. Such per mission expires at the expiration of two years if not renewed. Section 13, Chap ter 44, Revised Statutes. If corporate authorities of towns, villages and cities neglect or refuse to keep in repair the highways aud street" in their respective towns, &c, tho County Commissioners have power to ordc." out persons liable to road duty in said town, &c, lo repair the saine. Section 17, Chapter 44, Revised Statutes. Tho County Commissioners of Charles ton County have. p.Qwcr ip nppoiut five District Superintendents of-Roads, -.Those duty it' shall be to tako charge of all roads, and to exercise jurisdiction over bridges nor. exceeding fifteen feet in length in their respective districts. Dis trict Superintendents appoint overseers, who assist them in repairing the roads. Bridges exceeding ono hundred dollars in value are to be let out by contract as pro vided by law ; when they do not exceed that amount they are let out by the Dis trict Superintendent in whoso bounds the bridge is located at private contract, it is .bo duty of Commissioners to exercise general supervision over tho roads in said county. Act December 24, 1878, Pago 772. BRIDGES. Bridges are to be built aud repaired under, the supervision of the County Commissioners. If the work to be done on old or new bridges exceed ono hun dred dollars then it Ju to be performed by contract, with the lowest responsible bidder; when it dees not exceed that amount the Commissioners have power to lot out tho work'at private contract. Whoa tho work"exceeds ono hundred' dollars'tho Commissioners shall givo fif teen days notice iu the county paper and in writiug duly posted in tho neighbor hood in which such work is to bo per f......?/1 ntiiinn nntlna ?l,?r tho. Cr. r.....:.. . .doner ot tho section in which such work is to bc performed will be at such a place, on such a day and hour, with suitable specifications, to iet out such work to tho lowest bidder, and to take from the suc cessful bidder sufficient bond for the faithld?-porformance of his duly. When tho work is done it shall bo inspected by the Commissioner letting it out, whose duty it should be to report tho result of his investigation te the full Board, who shall accept or reject the same, according as they may determine, whether or not the constructor has or has not complied with the terms of his contract. If any bridge over waters iu this State, which constitute a boundary line between counties,nball bo necessary to be erected or repaiffift) it shall be the duty of County Commissioners of auch counties to canso the esme to be erected or repaired, in the manner aforesaid, each county bearing an equal share of the expense so incurred. And when any such- bridge already exists, ot shall bo hereafter built, it shall he the duty of said, Commissioner to divide the same, by measurements from the center, and each Board shall be re* gponnible tor the good condition of the " half next adjoining the county in which they exercise the (unction of office. And when it becomes necessary to build a new bridge, or lo entirely replace an old one which has been carried away or destroyed, it shall be tho duty of the Boards of tho counties to do the same ss aforesaid. Act amendatory to Chapter 45, Rovised Statutes ; Section 12, Volume 15, General Statutes, Page 784, Volumo 15. General Statutes, Pago 215. March 15th, 1872. If any person reccivo injury from uny defect iu.causeway, highway or bridge, they have.right of action against the county inrwhich such injury occui?. The Commissioners in such cases arc required to tender an amount sufficient to corer tho injury Sustained. If the person in jured refuses to reccivo the amount so offered and doe? not recover a larger amount than that tendered by Ibo Com* i tuisaionors, then he shall pay the costs of < the Defendant. Act March 18th, 1874, i Sections 0 and 7, Page 785, Volume 12, 1 General Statutes. Any neglect by Comnmsior ors to re- 1 pair bridges and" highways, &c, it re- i garded as a njlsdemeuno?, and upon con*- ! vTctiOD thereof, they ave liable to a uno . of not leds than $100 nor more than $500, < in the discretion of the Judge before i whom they are tried. Act 19th March, i 1874, Section 7, Volo?iO $5, Page 785, of tho General Statutes. DUTIP3, POWBR8 AND I'MVir.EGES OF 1 SUPERINTENDENTS OF HIGHWAY DIS TRICTS. The Superintendents havo general su pervision, under the direction pf County Commissioners, of roads and highways in the district for which be was appointed. The Superintendents, by reason of their office, nre exempt from road duty. Ho must report every threo months in writing to County Commissioners the condition of roads und bridges in his district. The Supciinteudent shall divido the roads in his district into convenient sec? tions of not less than two nor more than five miles. For each of bald sections it is bis duty to appoint an overseer sod to each overseer ne assigns a company of hands. As far as practicable the bands are to be assigned by Superintendents to road nearest the residenco of the band. Whenever tho Superintendent Jeeras it necessary to have roads worked or repairs done on bridges, which hands can do, bo may order the overseer to call out bia bando on twelve hours notice, requiring each hand to bring with bim a boc, axe or other tool. The Superintendent de termines the tool each hand shall work with and tho number of days at each working ; Provided, That no hand can be worked more than twelve days in ono year. Roads along the line of highway dis tricts nre to be divided into sections and worked by euch hands of either district as the Superintendents of such adjoining districts may direct. Tho Superintendent must cause his overseer to look after aud repair all bridges in their several districts that can be conveniently repaired by road bands. If bridges cannot be conveniently re paired by road hands, then the Superin tendent must report tho same te tho Commissioners, to bo let out by them according to law. If tho Superintendent neglects to work road? in bia district when ordered by CumQiissioners, he shall bc-dceme?^uuiy of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction before a Trial Justice, ho shall ba fined not less ti-au ten or moro than fifty dollars. DJTIES AND POWERS OF OVERSEERS OF HIGHWAY SECTIONS. Overseers aro appointed-by tho Super intendent for each section, and they have control of the working of tho section for which they are appointed. Act 1879. It is the duty of the overseer to have persons liable to ro&? duly warned out to work Faid roads, whenever ordered by the Superintendent. Act 1879. If tho overseer of the section for which he is appointed neglects to work the road in his section when ordered by the Su perintendent having charge of such sec tions, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and bo subject to a fine of not Ices than five or more than twenty dollars. Act December 24, 1879. He shall have all obstructions removed from tho sections, and may call out suffi cient; number of road hands to aid him i this. Any neglect to remove obstruc tions is regarded a misdemeanor, and subjects the overseer, ii; neglecting his duty, to a fino of fifteen dollars. Volume 15. Statutes, Page 785, Section ? of tho Act approved March 19,1874. In warning men to work the public roads ho shall make out a list for the warner, requiring him to give a notice to each person liable to road duty, the kind of a tool ho shall use in working upon the roads. Volume 18, Statutes, Pugo 785, Section 10, Act March 19, 1874. Overseers have full power to cut down and make usu of any timber, wood, earth or stones in or near tho roads, bridges or causeway, for the purposo of repairing tho same, when necessary. They shall not, however, cut rail timber, shade trees, ?Sec.. or take stones from cultivated fields without tho consent of tho ownors. If pay is demanded for such timber, ?ic., ho shall pay for the same. Volume 15, Statutes, Pago 785, Section 10, Act March 19, 1874. They flhall allow a man working one day and furnishing a horse, plot; br cart, two days' labor, and one working for hirr eelf one day and furnishing a wagon and two horses, moles or oxen three days' labor. Volume 15, Statutes, Pago 682, Section 7, Act "March 19, 1874. DUTIES OK WARNERS. Tho warner receives bis appointment from the overseer. Ho is required t~ give every person liable to read duty twelve hours notice of the day and hour aud the place ribero he is required to meet to begin the work. Act.Dcccinbei ^4tb, ?879.3, wii? *A<mi\J ~ For8ueh services tho warner is exempt "five days from road duty. Volume 15, Statutes, Pago 956, Act March 24, 1876, Section 2. I*ER80N8 MAREE TO ROAD DUTY. k 11 -Ul. I_a : _ J-1. -J._u.t-^._ .LU outcuuutcu uimu pttmiut. w.t.^viu sixteerijand fifty years, aro liahfe to road duty, except ministers of the Gospe', trustees ana teachera of schools and col leges, members of board of assessors 15th Statute, Page 956, Act of Maret 24th, 1875, Section 2 ; Act 1877-8, Pag; 532, Section 43, Schcol Act ; AotDcCeriV ber 14, 1878, Section 4, Assessors' Act Act 1878, Page 78G ; Act arrsndatory tc the Act Of. March 19, ft 1874;. whlcl amends Chapter 45 of Roviecd Sift tut ?a In Edgefieid and chester, counties tin persons liable to road duty are those bo tween the ages of sixteen and sixty-five Act 1878, Page 786. Sfr.dents in Dm Weat College. sud Theological Beuiluan are exempt from road duty. Act Marci 12th, 1877-8, Page 484. Persous duly warned are eubject to tbi direction of the overseer in charge Failure to work according to direction o said overseer subjects the person so .fail ing t ?ne or imprisonment, of not lea tsan five nor moro than ten dollars, o ut less than five nor more than twe: t; days, before a Trial Justice. 15th Stat ute, Pago 784, Section 4, Act of Marci 19th, 1874. Any road hand, after being duly sum moncd, who shall neglect to assist ii removing obstructions from public rondt shall pay threo dollars per day for ever; day the overseer is engaged in removing the obstruction for which tho person wo summoned to assist in removing. 15tl Statute, Page 784, Section 5, Act of 19tl of Marci 1874. Persons liable to road duty may I. relieved of such work by paying to th County Treasurer one dollar per day fo ever/ da> bo in required to work on th public roads, loth Statute. Pago 78' Section 9, Act of 19th of March. 187 The amount eo paid Ls to bo applied b County Commissioners to the repair < tho road* in the district lo which sac person resides. 15th Statute, Page 68* Sccllon 9, Act of March 19th, 1874. Any One having performed road dat: who aimil remove from one county toan jther, be may be relieved by producing J, certificate from the overseer of the highway district in which be performed said labor, showing the number of days tie has worked during the year, or tho imount of money paid to the Treasurer. Chis shall be a discharge for tho amount ?pcctfivd in the Ct^?e&??. The resi leuce of any person who has a family ihall bo held to be where his family re ndes, and the residence of any other lerson ''. ?.ll be held to be whero ho Doards . any county of thia State. 15th Statutes, Page 787, Section ll, Act of March 19th, 1874. CITIZENS MAY ERUCT OATES. It shall bc lawful for any citizen of his 8tate, over whoso land any mad may rtass, other than a public highway, to srect gates thereon, and any person own ing or erecting such gates ?hall be liablo 0 be indicted for a nuisnuce if they fail tb keep them in good jrder. In case any lersun shall interfere with, injure, de lroy or willfully leave open any such 'ates, such person shall be liable to an ndictment as fur misdemeanor. Sections ? and 9. Chapter 44, Revised Statutes. ' The Commissioners by Act of February he 14th, 1878, have power to permit the erection of gates upon application of any citizen whenever they think it proper. Page 86i, Act of 1877-8. Inhabitants cf this State may cut iitches, ?bc., acron public highways. \ny inhabitant of this Stato shall have ?>ower, for the purpose of draiuiog his or icr lands, to out a ditch or ditches, canal )r canals, across any public highway in :his State ; Provided, such person shall be JOH ml to bridge such canal or ditch inder the direction of tho County Com ?j'ssioncrs, and keep the same In good repair for one year, after which time the bounty Commissioners shall take charge >f such ditches or canals and keep them in repair. Section 10, Chapter 44, Ke rned Statutes. PENALTIES FOR INJORLNO AND OB STRUCTING HIGHWAYS, &C. Persons wilfully injuring auy highway jr any part thereof shall, apon convie .ion, be imprisoned not more than three months nor leas than one month, and pay 1 fine not exceeding five hundred dollars nor less than twenty dollars, at the dis cretion of the Judge before whom con victed. He shall also bear the expense jf repairing the same. Any ono ob structing the highway and refusing to remove tho obstruction when requested to to do, shall be deemed guilty-of a, ?uisauce. and, upon conviction, shall be Pined not moro than ten nor lou than two Julians, and shall pay tho expenses of removiLg the said nuisance. Sections 15 ind 16, Chapter 44, of the Revised Statutes. Employers of laborers are required, when requested, to give tho overseers a ital of the persons in his employ liable io road daty. Any refusal to comply ?vith such request of tho overseer is a misdemeanor, and the person so offend ing, upon conviction before a Trial Jus :ico, shall pay a fine of ten dollars nr be imprisoned ten days. Act of March I8tb, 1878, Page 516. DUTIES OF SOLICITORS. On information of any two persons that any highway has been diverted from ita original course, without authority of law, the Solicitor shall commence suit S;aiust such person or persons who have cered the highway, in order to compel the parties.offending to restore at theil 3wn expense the high road to its original ?curso. Section ll, Chspter 44, Revised Statutes. -j Saved From au Avalanche. There are almost daily accounts re :eivid in this city of. narrow escapes made by prospnetora in the mountains Trum the terrible suowslides, more fre ?uent this year than for many years pre vious, and Mesara. A. Lafave and Waiter Sterrock, who reached this city yestor lay, give a graphic description of their experience with one of the white mon iters well worth relating in print These two gentlemen are interested in claims a car the mount of Ibo Holy Cross, and last Tuesday, while they, were on their tray, on snowshoes, Crom Holy Cross mountain to Red Clift, they were struck by. a anowslide under the .following- cir cumstances : They were descending the precipitous slope of French mountain, which is about 800 feet high, and when about 300 feet from the top of the clin* which project? out from the summit af the mountain, they heard tho strange, fearful, indescribable sound which fore tells the coming of the avalanche. They were a short distance apart when they heard the sound, and without stopping ta look up or waste a moment in conjecture Lafave snouted to Sterrock to grasp n bosh protruding through the snow, at the earrie moment clutching with strong erip a sapling by which ho was standing. No man bas ever yet described an ava lanche of snow. No imagination has aver conceived one. It is a monstrous, ghastly, terrible thing; literally death riding on a pale borea sweeping all before it with blind, swift rage. When theso two men, standing on five feet ol ?now and shuddering with the awful feat which the bravest feel in tho presence ol impending death, grasped the Blonder bushes OD Willoh th?v/ etAieA tn OVA fchgr? they felt that they were in the grasp of a power against which human strength and cunning availed but little, and they clewed their eyes and bowed their beads tc await the shock. In an instant, like u bolt of lightning, the avalanche wa? upon them and rolled in great whiu v..ves o.cs ?MU? around them. They clung to fie tough saplings with despe rate strength, completely submerged in th? snow, blinded and choking, bul knowing that their lives dependen upon their erip. Their bodies were swayed down the mountain and cruelly wrench ed by the power of the avalanche, bul they held lo tho anchorage, and lt % fen seconds the great white wave passed lelon them and left them stunned. and dater] still holding to tho bushes. .The snow swept on down the mountain like a tidal warve, and when it reached ? the bottom piled up layer upon layar, until there was a huge mass of it lying there fifty feet in thickness.. When the two men were sufficiently recovered they proceeded to Red Cliff, and yesterday Air. Lafave came to Leadville, where be described tc the reportar his perilous adventure and narrow escape.-Leadville Democrat. WHY WOMAN HAVE NO BEARU. Nature always luis a good reason foi everything she does, and the meat erith al science admits that she never make? a blundev. Wo have boen much dis turbed, however, by ber apparent par tiality in giving tho flowing beard tc men and leaving women subject to thc sarcasm of being called barefaced. Thc Ebie m is satisfactorily solved by ti? owing statement of facts, which isac pie and truthful that every man will admit it without hesitation : How wisely Nature, ordering ?ll below, Forbade a beard on vf oman'ri chin to grow For how contd ?he bo shaved, what'cr the skill, Whose tongue would ne'ev let tho chin bi /tm? A FAMILY OF LAUGUEBS. Th? Strange Malady Afflicting them-Inef fective Attempt? to Believe then?. FBEN?BTOWN, N. J.. February 20. Straight across the Delaware from here and back among the hills which run par? ' allel with tho river for many miles, lives a family concerning whoai the strangest stories are told. Tho father and sons are . fai mer.), and all live in a large, substan tial house a few yards from the road to Doylestown. They are all chronic laugh ? era, having an affliction of the muscles of the mouth and throat which compel? them to give veut to apparent merriment at stated intervals. Tho malady first appeared in tho father about ten years ago. He was usually a very quiet mau, 1 enjoying fun, but manifesting nis enjoy ment without much noise. He was seated at the dinner table ono day in the spring of the year, eating steadily and not en gaging in any of the conversation which tho other members of the fumily were car ! rying on. Suddenly, without any cause, ne burst into a loud fit of laughter, so ex tremely different from his accustomed laugh that all were- attracted by it at once. When asked what was tho reason for his sudden outburst he made no reply but continued his merriment. Boroo of tho boys thought ho had hysterics and pounded him on tho back, but it did no good. After a few moments he made raotione for pem U and paper, and wrote that he v.v.s unable to control his risibles, and asked them lo send for a doctor. The rural physician came, but could give no remedy that stopped the laughter, ['eal after peal of what sounded like the heartiest kind of fun carno from bim, and nothing would .v-ail to prevent it. Tho doctor finally departed. Tho father con tinued laughing unti: about sundown, when he suddenly stopped and fell on tho floor completely prostrated. Ho soon grew better, however, ate a hearty supper and spent the evening much os usual. No Bigns of a return of the the old trouble appearing, ho went to bed and was soon fast asleep. Along about 2 o'clock in the morning, however, his wifo was awaken ed by his laughter, and the samo Symp toms manifested themselves aa on tho af ternoon previous. He kept it up until 7 o'clock, laughing loud aud strong. At 7 o'clock the noise suddenly ceased and did not relurn again until dinner time. Thus it continued, recurring each day shortly after noon and in tho night about 2 o'clock, and has ever since. AB the week passed he grew co accustomed to the disease that he was camed very little inconvenience by it. Ho did not get ? tired out, as at first, and soon was able to go about his work-sowing Heed and planting corn, digging vegetables and watering the cattle- while laughing im moderately. He could not tall: while under one of lbs spells, but carried a ?late and pencil around with him after tho fashion ufa deaf and dumb person. The trouble waa verv regular in its com ing and going, and only occasionally broke forth at unlooked for Bcasons. Once the old man was taken in church, just when the minister was exhorting his followers iu the most solemn strains, and spoiled the effect of tho discourse, beside, disturbing '.he equilibrium of the clergy ' man. Auother timo ha was found by . one of his neighbors along the road, ly ing beneath a bag of flour, laughing at a ' terrific rate. Ho bad been taken while ' driving homo from tho mill, and tho sud denness of the sounds frightened the ? horse, causing it to run away and dump ? the man and part of his load out in the road. For eignteen months the lather was tho only one of the household afflicted with tho malady. Several of them had complained from time to time of an incli nation to join the father in the laugh, but none of them did BO until nearly two years after ho was takeu, when Susie, the i youngest child, suddenly burst into a Bim ilar fit during one of her father's attacks. From that time ou sho has laughed at about tbesamo hours her father does. One by one the remaining members fell vic tims to the strange complaint, until three years ago there was but one left free, and that was Charles, the olde&t eon. His long exemption led him to be lieve he would escapo the con tagion. But he was mistaken, and it is said ho had his first attack whilo petition ing for the hand of a Har rsi burg damsel. So frightened was the lady by the queer behavior of her suitor that she ran from the room, and it WOB weeks beforo tho proper explanations could induce hor to . see bim again. Sho is now one of tbo I family here, escaping the malady, never , minds the hideous chorus of laughter which twice a day resounds through the . houBO or grounds. It is regarded as rather strange that nono of the neighbors i should havo caught the infection, but , such is tho caso, although many of them . minglo constantly with the family. Everything possible has been done to ; alleviate or remove the mala-Jy, but with: out perceptible effect. Several eminent physicians from the leading cilies have t i huted the home and grown interested in , ; the case. They all confess themselves baffled, and want one or two of tho family to go to the city, vjbaro they can re?oive , constant treatment. This they refu.se to f do. Their peculiar trouble, so noticea - bio and odd, has made them very sonsi t tive, and they will not travel whore they > will be subjected to public scrutiny and mmarlr.- The" ?"? *0 ch it rah or tim atora , in the village'cfose by, aud attend social gatherings occasionally in tho neighbor ood in tho evenings, but only among life-long friends. People within a radius , of a few miles aro so accustomed to the i thing that they never mind or mention it. , ?oi?Heouontlv verv few neo pie outside ci . tbe.immediatQ vicinity.and the physicians , who have attended them, are cognizant of i tho circumstances. The years of incessant laughter have i told somewhat on tho face of the family, I but not so os to be very noticeable. . There are scores of lines under the eyes ; and abovo the cheeks, caused by tho - drawing up of the akin. Then their ' mouths havo become wider, and ' they I keep them closed with difficulty. The moat marked result of tho disease, how i ever, is in tho voice. The entire family i talk in tho same tone, resembling as nearly i as anything the voice of an alto singer. Males and females have the same infice i cianiand intonation. Most of them have I mire 'or less trouble with their eye?, \ several have become very, near-sight ? ed. Tho pupils having contracted i aud the entire eyeball is diminished in siee. Th Li is accounted for by the con traction of the eyes whilo laughing and thc effort required in working or reading while undergoing at attack. Very little ' physical annoyance is caused tho laugh ers. They read and write, sleep and work 1 without any trouble. Tho only thing they seem unable to do while attacked is to eat, and that can be readily understood, * Several grand-children have been bom, ' and in all but one instance they wert 1 taken soon after birth with stated attacks * at tho same hours as their parents. Of ? cou rao they do cot laugh as the older ones 1 do, but they crow and express all the signs of baby glee twice a day, and never cry whilo in that state. I- Gen. B. F. Butler says. "I am out of politics entirely. I am only a plain Massachusetts lawynr." A Teirlble Tal? of the?8ea. If a line bo drawn from Manhattan Beach to Rockaway, Long Island, N. Y., il will cut a fringe of shoals viaibfo only at low tide. Tula fringe, broken here and there by masses-of dangeruUB rock, bas made tho foreground for more than one marino. ['*.*.itiug of ?bte, and IOA been the arr.it of more than one gallant ship*. I*'ut there lives in memory no streb casualty as that which has just occurred there ; no scene of shipwreck, indeed, either on this root or atty other, of so strange and trap?o horror. 11 The Italian nark Ajact was wrecked on Rockaway Shwnle Friday morning, and one man alone of all her crew of fifteen souls were saved. In tho fearful ?ale of Thursday night the vessel, which ad come from Italy by way of Antwerp, was driven on the coast of Kew Tersey; but by good fortune and skilful handling she was got od*. By 10 o'clock on Friday morning, however, sho again struck/.this time on Rockaway Shoals. She broke hi two at once like a pipe etera. A nea of tremendous force was running, and al though the crew were at first able to sus tain themselves by cliuging to the wrer'c which bad found lodgment, the r *-.ea constantly rose nigher with the tide and swept over them with . ver-increasing fury. The unhappy men could see no land, so full was the air of vapor and flying wator. Their position seemed to them- hopeless. Death to their eyes was in a short time inevitable ; ibe agony of awaiting him was too great to bear ; anti tho terrible notion came into the head of the carpenter to anticipate his approach. This poor fellow cried out, in Italian, "AB I must die,-1 prefer to die this way," and he whipped his sailor's knife from the lanyard and slashed it across his throat. A moment after he fell into the sea. Then threo of his companions did precisely the same thing. Each cut his throat and pitched headlong after into the seotbiug waves. Tho ten-men who wero left-it is tho one survivor who tells tho story-become, in their d esp? ir, like maniacs. They raved, cursed and prayed by turns. "Drink I drink I" cried the captain, "for we all roust die." Ho gave them wK dtey and all drank their CU. Scarcely had the last man done so when a wave huger and more furious than any that had gono before came crushing down on the after part of the fated ship to which the crew were clinging, and ail who remained of the living freight of the Ajact were ewept into oblivion. All, that is, eave one man whose name ' 11 Pietro Sala, and who, wonderful to tellj hos lived to tell the story. Sala managed to keep his grip on a fragment ol the ship's cabin at the moment of the final catastrophe. Just before this the wreck had been descried from the life saving station whose headqua. lera are near the Oriental Hotel. In a trice Capt, Behensee and Biz brave oarsmen were in a lifeboat and making a superb struggle *.o force her through tho clamber ing surf. Twenty times the boat disap peared from the eight of the straining oyes that were watching it from the shore. It was in the hoilown of the waves. The sea poured over the rowers in torrents, and as they palled they were op to their waist in water. But they made their way to theehoalB in safety. They brought Pietro Sala in safety to the shore. And had his shipmates held oat they would have been rescued also. There were nany wrecks on this Fri day morning-sb fatally dismal in some p!?ces, so joyous and memorable in others -along the coast, but none attended by events so frightful as this. lu truth, we recall in none of the published annals of "Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea" an episode more terrible and more im pressive than the self-slaughter in tho agony of their despair of the crew of the Ajact. Tho tale is still Authur note worthy in that it exemplifies with strik ing force tho rvisdom in all perilous sit uations of holding out to the last, and proves with an eloquence which words alono can never bear that while there is life there is hope. The Mechanics of Carolina. At the eighty-seventh anniversary sup per of the Charleston Mechanics' Society, thu President, R. C. Barkley, Esq., caliea upon Judge Mackey, one of the guests, to respond to the following toast : "Tho Mechanics of South Carolina May the honest arm of industry never bo crushed by the iron hand of oppres sion." Jcdge Mackey, after paying a touching tributo to the memory of the late Archi bald Camcou, by whom he bad been trained aa a machinist, ?uid : The mechanics of Charleston have not been unknown in those pages of uiBtory which record the most honorablo achieve ments of the people of South Carolina. In 1764, with a British garrison occupying Charleston under the flag of old England, that power that held in its bands the credit of tho world and whose ships were sweeping in triumph over every koowa water, a body of twenty-one mechanics assembled in Hampstead and there first proclaimed to the world, twelve years before the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia, that Sooth Carolina bad the right to be a free and sovereign State and the resolution conveying this sentiment was read by William Johnson, one of the founders of your society. And on hisrigbt was Nathaniel Lebby, the boat builder, the mau who in after years aided in laying the keel of .he fir&t frigate for the navy of the United States, the John Adams. I recall the fact that the first locomotive which was uied in the transportation o? passengers on the railroads was built by a Charleston m?chenlo in 1829 ; the six wheel truck now used ou all the rail roads in the United States was also the invention of a Charleston mechanic, and the first rifle gun was constructed under the eupcrv -sion and direction of Archibald Cameron. Thees are honorable memo ries for the Charleston mechanics to re call. He has been a prominent figure in every scene that should stimulate tho honorable pride of Carolinians. In peace be bas served to build up the prosperity of this people by bis useful and benefi cent industry, and in war be bas marked by his dead body the linc of the heaviest firing, with tho red wound upon his breast aa his only decoration of honor. An old poet baa sai i ? .The great Almighty Architect . Who fashioned ont tho earth Has stamped his seal of sanction On labor from its birth. And every opening flower That blushes from the sod Proclaims the Master-Buildcrs ' The handiwork of God. 'Tis toil that over nature Gives man his chief control, And purifies and etrengthens The temple of the soul \ It drives out fonl diseases With all their ghastly, train, Futa iron in tho muscio And crystal in the brain. Then honor to our workmen. The bardy sons of toil, The monarchs of tho workshop, The heroes of the sol).'' In conclusion the Tadge offered a sea i liment to the memory of Archibald Cam eron, which was drunk .standing and in silence. CAUGHT IN A BUZZARD. A Vtalrte Experience-Tho Peculiar Storm for WUteb tho West ta Mot? 1. I bad riddeu on at a ahnrp trot for > two or three boura, and bad jumped off J to tighten a girth, when, looking to the ' north; I ?aw a wall of while sweeping; over 1 the dark ground like a bank of cloud, J Everything it touched waa abut off in an instant. The great white curtain moved t across tho divide Uko the wind. There ' wii or* need to look twice, for I knew < that it was thc skirmish linc of a snow * storm, and that there was only ono ' chance for mo. Snatching out my pock- l et compass, I laid it on tho grouud to 1 steady it, sud then looked for something t to lay a course to. < Away to th * southeast was a "streak" of timber. Timber meant housesand set- 1 tiers and shelter. I had hardly time to "< no'e tho exact point of tho compass s w'iere it lay befure I was shut in by the .' h duding drift. Tho snow was fine and 1 Jriven in whirling ?beata by tho wlud. 1 It cut and stung my face iiko needles, t For a few minutes I had to draw the cape > of iiiy overcoat over my head and crouch f donn behind Dick. Tho driving wind I loaded with powdery snow would take < one's breath away in au instant. But * hurd as it was to faco the storm, I knew 1 it would not do to staud still long, for t .tho wind was chilling me fast. 1 At first it wai nothing but a whirling, s choking mass of blinding snow through t wbich I could not see ten yards, but with * the bridle-rein over one aim I started t forward on a dog-trot. It was rough " work, for the ground was frozen and I stumbled over every little bump and s hummock of earth. But it helped Bhako <? off the terrible chill and numbness that } was settling over me. i A milo or so of this hard woik tired mc out. Besides, I was all the timo los- t ing my direction, for there was nothing t by which to lay a course. At times * there would bo a slight hill, then I could i soe two or three huudred yards ahead, v hut thc uoxt moment I would bo gasping t for breath in a snow-laden gust that 1 would hide tho ground I stood on. r Looking at tho compass in one of the t frequent stops, I noticed that tho wind s was blowing nearly in tba direction I I wanted to go. Desperato enough to s take it as a guide, 1 climbed into tho r saddle and gavo Dick the rein. Ho broke into a run, taking mo straight t before the rind. Bewildering enough it r wai though when tho cutting blasts t came from four sides at once. Often i I would rein up and look at tho compass s to mako nure of my route, for the strip of i timber I hud seen was Btnall enough to s be easily missed. Chilled and benumbed I I would slip to the grouud and run a few ? hundred yarda to warm up, and then re- t mount and ride on headlong and blindly 1 Night would como all the Booner that i there was such need of light, and I knew there was no chance of living through it c unsheltered. It was growing colder c every hour, and it was only a questiou of * how long I could keop moving. There c was not even the poor chance of lying 1 down and lettiug the onow cover one, t for tho wind swept the frozon ground clear ns fast os it fell. It was while riding crouched forward in tho saddlo and blinded by a whirling snow-bank that I felt something brush post my knee. It was the branch of a scrub oak in the edee of tho woods. I < bad ridden blindly, but well. < Now to find cover, for I know ibero I 1 must be a house of somo kind not far i away. I rode straight into the woods i for a abort distance and came out on tho I edge of a lake, or- what seemed to be one. i Keeping along near the shore, I looked < for a road. Tho belt of tho woods broko I tho force of the wind, but tho snow was I sifting down in clouds, and under the 1 trees it was already getting dark. I must i make good use of the little daylight left, i Dismounting I led Dick among the trees i looking for any opening that would show I where a road was cut through or a clear- 1 ing made. There was not even the poor < consolation of tripping over a ?tump. i Suddenly I bumped against something 1 breast high. It was a "post and pole" fence I made of posts set eight feet apart with i Eophir pol?" nailed on instead of < oards. It meant that I was within a < stone's throw of a house. A few yards < brought me to a haystack and a little i clearing. Stumbling about, half dazed ( by the cold and storm, I found a log < cabin, and gave the door a kick with my '. heavy boot. It opened instantly, and a I brawny, bearded man pulled me in and I shut it, and without wastiug a word 1 looked over me to see if I was frostbitten < anywhere. _ Luckily I waa not, aud a few minutes was enough to thaw tho ico from my face and let mo find out that I was in the cabin ufa Wisconsin settler.on tho shore of Swan Lake. It would hardly interest the reader to hear huw I spent the next week. I know that for three days we only stirred out of the house to go to the stables three times a day to feed and water tho horses and cattle, and then only to f: d the blizzard raging in full vigor. I know, too, that before it was possible to travel again I had finished all the reading matter to be bad, consisting of an old file of tho Weekly Tribune, and in sheer despera tion commenced on tho advertisements. A TRUTHFUL MAN.-A flat-footed, old-fashioned Western merchant, hailing from a country store in Michigan, was buying stock in New York, and the firm took advantage of the occasion to mako inquiries concerning their customers around bim. When they asked about Smith of Oath ville, be replied: "Smith I Yes, he's in trade yet, but he's just married a second wifo and she's foing through his wealth like saltpeter, le'll fail in less'n six months." "How about Jones, of your town ?" "Jones I Well Jones is pegging along after the old style, and be's bought him a bicycle, and everybody says ho ll go to tho wall in a year." "And Brown & Son-aro they all right?" "'Brown and Son? Wall, they may keep along till spring, but I doubt it. Old Brown bae got so nigh-sighted that he can't tell a sheep pelt from a coon skin, and the boy is dead struck on a widow woman wbo never wears anything less than (0 stockings." "But Davis is doing a good trade isn't he?" "Davis I Wall, rooty fair, bulbo won't last. He rented the upper part of his store to a Chicago milliner and she broke up two families- and-caned a-preacher. Everybody blames Davis, and his sales last week only footed up a pound of sal cratus and a washboard." "Well, you are tba only customer ont there, and, of course you are all right." "Me! Wall, I'm all right juBt now, ! bntl things may change. My wife b? louga to three literary societies and is th* big toad at church festivals, while Tva bought a 2.40 trotter and learned to play old sledge You needn't be surprised any day to bear that I've been busted from garret to cellar ; so clean that cred itors can't find enough dry goods to wipe a baby's nose on." - A Judge's position ls ft trying one. Snow 100 Feet Deep. Fifty-five degrees below ?eroI Thia ivas what a traveler experienced who ar rived in this city yesterday from Helena, ?fontana, "in search of a climate." The wind blew so terriflcably after be left Lisien? on the way to Bozeinan, Mon ana, that there was ?o snow it. the valleys. They were absolutely as bare as though i bo congealed liquid bad never fallen bare, end consequently the mail waa rarried on wheels, which it generally is, ill the year, for the same reason. But vberover there waa a "divide" dr ridge! he snow had accumul?t'' \ to a wonderful j might, being in some p1 'os from twenty o sixty feet deep. Some Haid the great* .nt depth of it was fully a hundred. Cn witing the Rocky Mountains, from Howman into tho Yellowstone Valley, vos both tedious and painful. The now was so deep and tue wind blew o strongly no one could proceed against, he latter with bap' face. The horses ittached to tiie t.Jgh were several ?mea compelled to stop until they acted is though they never could he urged brward again, but when a lull came, irogreas wss resumed, and thu?, little by Hilo, the valley was reached at last. It vas found to he almost bare of snow. Thin had gone on an excursion, before he high winds, to the top of almost 'be oiliest peaks. Notwithstanding the old iud terrific wind, a venturesome party of ourists explorers had gone up a gulch vi tb the intention of "carving their way" hrough tho snow to tho geysers and Yellowstone Lake. Tho ground in tho vicinity of tho gey ors and about tito lake is quito bare, : ven in winter, owing to tho warmth im >arted to the ground by the incessant nternnl Ores underneath. Tho trip down tho YellowHtoue Valley, o where the crossing is made to go up o Fort Custer would have been pleasant, lotwithstanding tho extreme cold, had it tot beon for the great force of the wind vhich blew up tho valley * this was so ?real it camed a great d. ' of gravel villi it, the result of which on tho mired face, would have been tho same os hough that part of the body had been abjected to a terrific eand-blast. Tho bree was great enough to abrade the kin and cnuBe blood to flow quickly md copiously. From Fort Custer to Rock Creek, on ho Union Pacific Railroad, is a terrible oute to travel in winter. The writer of his arUoh was lost twice, and out all light wi'.h tho mall carriers, between ?tnt?ono, on places where lhere was untii ng visible but a broad sheet of snow in QUIO plr.ccs and where the snow was icing blown at tho rate of from fifty to lixty miles or more an hour in others. Tho inly way tho travelers kept alive and :opt the stock from freezing, was by noving constantly. The wild cattle that bad been turned mt on the ranges preserved their ?r.ist mee only by running from ono hill and .alley to another. The principal loss of rattle is iu tho springtime, when it is a ittlewarm in the middle of the dav and ixtremely cold nt night.-?'etc Orham Time?. Tho Credit System In the South. It is about limo that southern planters md farmors abandoned tue pernicious ? credit system. In tho cotton states par ticularly, whero il prevails extensively, it is tho great drawback to their pros perity. However good their crops may be. they find thnmselves, as a mic, in debt at the end ot tho year. The profits if their years work go into the pockets of ?he country merchants who furnish them their supplies. As tho system is prac ticed the planter or fanner gires the merchant a lien on hie crops tobe grown ind the merchant, being secured, furn ishes tho necessary supplies. There is so agreement about the prices that shall be paid for the supplies, but -ho mer chant is careful to exact intereot on the idvancea which ho makes. When tho lien is given the planter or farmer is io .he power of tho morohant. His credit s destroyed so far aa obtaining anything sUewhoro ia concerned, sud h? merchant ran, and does, in a majority of cases, marge bim just what he likes for tho lupplies which ho furnishes. These marges are generally from 90 to 100 per ?cat. higher than the ruling market rates. The planter or farmer may complain of ;be exorbitant prices which he is forced to pay, but what can ho do? He must lave supplies and be hasn't either cash or credit. He Is, therefore, forced to com ply with the terms of the merchant who bolds the mortgage on bis glowing crops. The supremo court of Mississippi, a few lays ago. rendered a decision which will ifiord Ino farmers of that State some relief. A merchant who held a mort gage on the crops of a farmer foreclosed it. The lower court allowed his bill igoinstthe farmer, although it was shown mat the prices charged were at least louble those charged for the same alti llos wheo sold for cash. The case wr*.? ?ppealed and the supreme court reversed ho decision ci the lower court. The ligbor court Boid : "Tho purchaser was iot lo a condition to decline tho pur chase of the supplies on account of the iricea charged, nnd he acquiesced in tho prices from an overruling necessity, dis extorted assent to the pri?es ?xed was without consideration, and was iherefr.-e void." This decision fixes the aw with respect to such contracts eo far ts Mississippi is concerned, but there ire very few planters or farmers who mil risk the expenso and trouble of a aw suit to right their wrongs. The .bing io do is to get clear of the credit lystera altogether. How thia is to be loue is a question that is not free from lifficulties. It is certain, however, that leforo the planters and farmers can have my real prosperity they must be able to lecure their supplies at marketa ratee. They will never be able to get ahead as ong as they are the slaves ofthe present rrcuit system. .'I KKOW THAT."-A London paper las heard of a case where a droll fellow lamed Scrubbs got into a first class rail ray carriage, before smoking carriages rere invented. In the carriage was teated a sour-looking old gentleman. \fter tho train badstarted, Scrubbs ook out his pipe. "You: muan t Bniokc here," at once taid the old gentleman, i "I know that" replied Scrubbs. H :hen calmly filled bis pipe. "Did I not tell yon," said the o. g. igaiu, "tbi.t you can't smoke here?" "I know that," gloomily replied Scrubbs, taking out hisfur.se box. ? Hellt & fusee, but now the wrath of the o. g. was dreadful. "Yoi shunt smoke here, sir!" he shrieked. "I know that," added Scrubbs, allow [og the fusee to exhaust itself, when he lit another, and another; tho Blench was awful, the smoke sufibcating. The o. g., coughing ann spluttering, itrnggled for words. "You'd better ?moke," said be. "I know that," replied Scrubee, ap 6laying the biasing fusee to the expeo snt pipe. General New? Samsary, - Gen. ?. F. Carey ia expected to eau vaas South Carolina soon for prohibition. - A'negro was killed by a white man in Kingstrco, in this State, Otb iustant, in a drunken row. - It is estimated that at least 30,000 bushels of rico were made last year on the West Warree. - Senator Gorman, of Maryland, was onco a page iu tho chamber where 1 3 now sits as Senator. -- Twenty-nine young doctors were . f;raduated at tho Charleston Medical Col ege Saturday, rib inst. - In tho Whittaker trial, lately, au expert astonished the court by tleing him self as Whittaker was tied. - At a terrible explosion lu a Wyom ing mine, 3d instant, 20 dead Chinamen have been recovered from tho minc. - Tho Duke of Sutherland and his son will visit this country this summer) arriving in April and returning homo in August. - Henry Tilden said, a day or I' } ago, that his brother-Samuel J. Tilden -predicts for Garfield the stormiest term on record. I - Gen. Garfield, at his inauguration, I occupied the chair from which Washing ton arose to take the oath of Presidential ofiico in 1789. - The Chester and Lenoir Railroad havo secured tho transfer of the right of way through tho Town of Lincolnton at a cost of $200. - At a late terrible earthquake in t! e isle of Ischin, in Italy, 102 bodies L.:vo been recovered from the ruins of tho fallen buildings. - The tVcw? and Courier says that the Georgia Historical Society bas a drum which was uBed at tho battle of Cowpens, January 17,1781. - There havo been seventy-two con veyances of real e??ate entered in tho Auditor's office, in Camden, since the 1st of January, 1881. -! A bill has passed the Senate of North Carolina enforcing a tax of $500 on nil persons engaged in employing laborers to leave the State. - Capt. W. H. Bartless, a successful timber dealer at Hampton, has perfected an arrangement with an immigration agent to have immigrants brought over. - The Darlington National Bank will be ready to commence business in about thirty days. The County Commissioners' office wiil bo their place of business until January 1, 1882. - Tho expenses of Hayes' Louisiana commission remain unpaid. The bill should be presented to Hayes for pay ment. It amounts to ?3,950.73, chiefly for wino and cigars. . - All males in Greece over twenty-one years of ago have been ordered under arms, and tboy and tho Turks are mar shaling their forces on tho border, ready to begjn work any day. - Taft is proposed for tho Postmaster ship of Charleston ; Wilder for thst of Columbi' ; T. B. Johneon for U. S. Mar shall : Corbin for District Attorney, by tho National Republican Committee. - Tho administration of President Hayes bas paid off two hundred millions ( of dollars of the public debt, besides achieving specie payments and refunding more than a thousand millions of dollars at lower rates of interest. - A considerable amount of tho back school debt bas been wiped out under the Bidding Act iu Orangoburg County. It is thus that the Democrats are clearing away tho Radical school debt, besides running current expeuses. - That General Garfield is a man of uncommon discernment Is shown by a remark he mada that "tho newspaper correspondents at Washington know more about tho public welfare and pnblic necessities than the average Congress man." - "No, I am not worth a million of dollars," said Senator Brown, of Georgia, to an inquirer, "nar is any other man in Georgia, if hiu debts are all paid. Young man, continued tho Senator, looking at him benignly over bia spectacles, "a mil lion dollars is a good deal of money/' - In tho reminiscences of the first Confederate Treasury clerk, published in tho New Orleans Democrat, it ia stated that a company from DeKalb County, ria ?.?>r..~.~-J-J i_n_T Oui TTY x lia., COmSiuuucu isy v/apv, VICO. ?tr . ?-.00, was tho first organization that reported for duty under tue Conf?d?rale Govern ment. - The Directors o" Camperdown Mills have made an appropriation of twelve hundred dollars for the erection of a church on their premises ia Greenville, which is to bo opened to tho denomina tiona of the city. Rev. Landy Wood is looking to that particular field of reli gious labor.. - Twenty or moro Democratic mem bers elect to the next Congress have formed a club for tho purpose of advene ng free trade, or a tariff for revenue only, and making that the objective point in I their labors daring the next Congress and their battle-cry in the Presidential ' campaign of 1884. I - Tho stock of the Air Line Road begins to loom up amone the phenom enal ebanges of railroad values in tho South. Last Bummer it went a begging below 30, and now it is quoted at 70. The advanco of this stock in the Rich mond and Baltimore markets bas been steady and well maintained. There is a meat future for the Air Lino Company, because the country it penetrates"ia ?i tho up-grade. - Tho canal at the State capital is be fore the people again. A correspondent of the New? and Courier says: It-is con fidently believed that four hundred thou sand dollars can be raised this year in the State, which will suffice to enlarge the lower half of tho canal and givo it fifteen thousand borso-powcr, and build an initial yarn mill of sixteen thousand spindles. Such increase of subscriptions as might be made toward the capital of a million and a half would be used in building other mills and further improv ing the property. . - The largest peach orchard in the world is not in Georgia, as the papers have it, bot in (bambers County, Ala bama, near the Georgia lino. It contains 250 acree, and has yielded $70,000 worth of peaches. It is owned ?nd cultivated by Mr. John Parnell, a bother of tho Irish agitator. Ho carno to this country some ten er twelve years ago and bought an old and worn-out cotton farra, which he has converted into this immense peach orchard, and is always the first to have early peaches on the market, for which he receives almost fabulous prices. He \-. setting immensely wealthy at the bus iness.-Americus Republican. - A flourishing colony of Northam i families have settled at Claremont, 8arry County, Va., and have now laid off a alto for a town, on which a number of bouses will be erected this season. The Clare mont property was surveyed In April, 1879, there Iwing then but fonr families in that locality; but at present tho settle ment has twenty-two families, the popu lation now numbering over ono hundred, all white. A sorghum mill ia at once to U erected, also a machine ?ar th? making of brick. Of-ar enterprises will, follow these, and the people are mora than sat isfied with their IpoaU?n, It? soil and cli mate.., Claremont is equidistant between R?ohmoud and Norfolk.