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E. B. MURRAY & CO. nf OllthntllnRli ?tnrinn ^e<? out to nrnW ANDERSON, S. C., THURSDAY MORNING, MARCH 8, 1883. VOLUME XVIII.-NO. 34. ?jMlij Ul ?UiMlttllU OlttU?U. rJ0IIXISG AGAINST rEAItl t L ODDS. ! l/,,:?r I. Fitz James Caldwell, First Heal * , V t\ IV, McGowan's Brigade, Tlie morning o' tho 1st of April wat :ear ciiim and balmy. It brought us > ihat fresh, soft breath ol' early spring ? ''?;CI), while it soothes, enlivens aud I invtowatesi We, therefore, arose from our bivouac sleep rested from tho fitieues "I labor and battle, ami prepaid! 1 Lfte duties of the dHy. " \\)"ui 8 or 'J o'clock the brigade was i njovi'J out through the breastworks, and carried lo about the point where the ac live operations of tho preceding day | beiran. Hut hero we found no foe now todUpUte our |?rogress; the woods and gej?. in front were unoccupied except Kv au occasional scout. A detail was H'nt forward to scour the country. I rjje with them. We passed over a con siderable portion of tho ground which ?o lind traversed tho day before , bul we /?und Bone of thc enemy. They had KC It IE? THEIR DEAD, ?moved such of their wounded as we had left on the field, mid marched a way ju the night, as Powell and Jack Indian bid reported. It waa upon viewing now tbc head-boarded graves of the enemy's dead that I learned how many of tliem -ere of the Seventh Maryland. At one Eiiot, in a scattering growth of small pises, these had a populous little ceme tery ot their own. We next marched about half a mile down the White Oak road, towards Diu ffiddie (Jouthouse, but were then turned bick and carried juBt eastward ol' tho point where that road pained through ibe works, aud were then deployed aloug the works. Here we lay uutil night. During this day a severe battle waa fought about Five Forks, some five miles west of us, between Sheridan's command, reinforced by Warren's Corps, which had left our front to join bim, and Pickett's Division and a portion of Hush rod Johnson's Division of tho Confeder ate army. The Northern historians generally speak of Hush Johnson's Division ns & whole, being engaged at that point; but I know that one of his brigades, and ptrhaps, two of them, remained with us toi on our immediate right, and that lien. Johnson himself stayed with them. Siringe RB it may appear, I heard very little of this battle. I could occasionally distinguish the sound of firiug, but it seemed very distaut and inconsiderable. Il was owing, no doubt, to the direction of the wiud-although there was little breeze during the day-and to some pe culiar condition of the atmosphere uufa Torable to the transmission of sound, .neb a condition as that Gen. Joseph E. Johnston speaks of in connection with the battle of Seven Pines in 1862. SJ wc had nothing to disturb us dur ing the long, clear April day, and I allowed myself to hope, as THE I'EACEFUL TWILIGHT fell around us, that I ?hoc I be suffered to enjoy during the ensuing night the reposo that had been entirely denied me the night before. I recall now the 'tu te?se satisfaction with which I lay dowu upon the piue straw, just in rear of the kork*, after we had eaten a late diuuer, and lighted my pipe for a long, quiet .moke, which I fancied should be fol lowed by as quiet slumber. Hut it was not to be so. A t dark wo learned that Gen. Heth was going to Petersburg, and had directed that Cen. McGowau should take charge for the night of the three brigades from our fl corps which formed part of this line I McGowan's, McRao's ind Scales'*. Tho fire along the picket line in front, which I bad almost entirely ceased during the M day, became much moro rapid as night ? tppproached, and by the time it was R quite dark assumed very serious dimeu SI eions. It was now plain that thc enemy I were determined to press us, and that we I shu nhl probably spend a night "of con H (tant activity and annoyance. S Gen. McGowan gave Capt. Riddick S and mo general instructions-to remain H on horse back, to keep io constant j motion along tho line, and to use hit ff authority in moving troops to any poinl I that might be peculiarly threatened. Ai H lue line waa about a edi le long and thc I night dark, it. was .not likely that wt H should always have time to report move j ments to him with-sufficient dispatch tc ? mable him tb act'. He-rode as we did I meeting one or tho other of us frequent H 'li of course, but no two of us travel lee I together, and we probably passed ont IS mother very often without knowing it. Soon after receiving this order I movec ? Jo the left of our line. All the way i I foand the pickets pretty busily cngrf?ed EB ln"i when I reached an elevation JUB raj vest of Hatcher's Run, I could nea I fong beyond that stre/m and far alonj I towards ?Petersburg, and could discern j THE FLASH OF GUNS I for what seemed to me the dietance o wo or three miles. ' As the night deep I S**tn? contest waxed moro earnest BB i 6 lrt'?ery nearer Petersburg opened I 'be scattering fire of pickets was ii ? iwces. succeeded . by heavy volleys c I musketry, and now and tbeu the yells o m filante and assailed told us of charge I *A /unou9 encounters. Sometime ?ideea, there seemed to be ono continu I HSIA L0"6? 'oaring for.miles, accompa I med by the cheers of thou-ands. And ?bena partial calm took place, it wa I ,iean,ora painful than-the . uproar, fo BM jvD 1 apprehended a ai m ulta neon I Ho?00* ?POn ?Ut tk*?ne$:and wcn"e I The troops conducted .themselves wit Sn :?Dderful steadiness and intelligence I ?irv the increasing fire of th I tb i dl8ei?sod an assault against ther Sj ,l?,'-e lo tne work3 would, nt a bare sue ? Si ?' 0,6 tot.-ards the place immed 9 At*fi fronting the point of attack, ev Bj ae?.Uv ready for any encounter. ? ?ot a great while after dark ? fottn j ae trooI? on the right of our brigade ? K?VIN0 OUT OF TUE WORKS lg c7?key were Unable to toll me whithc H vyv.were60ing,I rode to Get H SS^ ,0J>w?n'? quarters, about foi I inirl ?"Ddred yards in the rear, to ii ? ?i, A?rAim-these troops being part ( I Willi tl00' 018 aido de camp, Cap I Senil ?er,r* Whituerr-my boyhood H lea? K ? !ny iorn,?f roonvmate in oo ?S i^I'n 1 *U0Di I had notaeen for nearl Cu w? i,u Th? General told li I to |u .Wfm aboufc 10 m?T 8,m farth' ? OoDj Ml i ano\leave us. To my que H ibu' J . i er bo h*d received any orde B M? y??u"^ 10 ,,a. or c0"1'-1 8lve " I ttktA i * . 1 action we ought to lake fl riiht u lhe. now open worka on ot I iiisXr raP?ed that hie orders we ?5 ?e ???0V6 out westward? aud th ? WTiitU DRV0 to do the best we coul 'M UAtM ***** 0,,t *U? ?e aa I retire I Wr??,6 th.at Kokell'a Diviaion hi ? Point PP'61*5!* beaten that dav at aoii H Coar^u Mh and Din w tdd ? ?Wv r?r2?,Vtld lh?t Johnson waa pro ? is/?N op. to aavo the righi flank rafi. w*h r S ?eem??lreti.rued t0 the worka I foti I ^?nTOi^S??*1^ waiting at t ? ".?agof^e White Oak roatf aodto , . i -rt ?... |.it?ri uno now broken by the removal of Johnson'? command. As we reached about ibo proper place for their deployment I dis covered some infantry coining to us from lue right. As we were now nearlv a hundred yards in front of the breast- i works, I was at u loss to imagine who these were, and the prospect of a volley ' from the new comers was anything hut agreeable. But we halted, and I rode I alone to them. They proved to be al picket of the First Regiment-under the command of Capt. \\\ f. Delph, I think- I who had been posted on the ripht of oven Johnson's picket, (posted on tho night before, I presume) and who, upon the removal of Johnson's pickets, were moving up to connect with our nicket I line. ' ! We now found that we were very near THE ENEMY'S PICKET cavalry to ride up to these trooj said be thought they were the enemy, und it would be very dangerous. I calle'd his attention to tho fires that were burn ing along their line-small ones, cer tainly, but slill enough to show us where they were. He persisting in his former opinion, Capt. Delph (if it was he who commanded the infantry picket) mid I approached our neighbors carefully. From my elevation on horseback I MOIMI saw that tbcee careless fellows were Fed erals. They were making themselves perfectly easy-warm i np their hands at tho little tires, talking, laughing, eating, aud evidently dreaming of no enemy near, while I sat in twenty yards of them, and while fifty Confederate soldiers were not twenty yards behind me. The temp tation to charge them was very great. And it would not have been dangerous to us, for wc should have stampeded them at the first shot or yell. But a fight at this point was not what we desired, for a charge of the line of battle which undoubtedly lay behiud these men would soon disclose the absence of troops on our right, and no doubt lead to the cap ture of the unoccupied works there. So 1 had the infantry deployed where they stood so as to make the connection on tho left, and was conferring with the cavalry as lo the best disposition of them when the enemy discovered us. They at once opened lire, and the cavalry and I clat tered ingloriously into tho breastworks, calling lo our people there not to return the fire until we and our horses could get in. For a few seconds it wa* no matter to laugh about, but I was soon able to join io the merriment our retreat excited in the regiment stationed here. This fire, or some other cau-e, appear ed to stir thc enemy to increased effort, and soon A RAPID FCS1LADE sprang np along our whole front. Nev ertheless our men stretched gradually to the right, thinning our ranks very much, but preparing a force to meet the Feder als at every point. They charged at some places. Sometimes they effected a lodgment in our rifle-pits on the skirmish line; sometimes they were beaten back; sometimes a charge on our part drove them oui of such ional! space as we had temporarily lost. This wns most ago nizing to the line in the breastworks. They could not fire a gun for fear of shooting our pickets in front. They had, therefore, to stand and listen to the struggle of their comrades in front with out being able to assist them. They could only close to right or left ns the occasion seemed to demand, and be always ready to meet whatever force might succeed in reaching the main line. It was A SAD NIGHT FOB L'S. There was no rest for any man ; no man dared sleep. Wo closed to the right, wo closed to the left, we waited, we watched, we prepared ourselves a hundred times for the last deadly struggle, we wearied and ached with waking and anxiety, and all the while THE TIDE OF UATTLU surged for miles unceasingly. Once, to make some change from this fearful mo notony and to be sure of a supply of am munition, I rode to the ordnance station, a few hundred yards in our rear. There I found Capt. C. G. Thompson, of Mary land, our accomplished aud efficient ord uance officer, at his post, with boxes of cartridges piled about him and his ser geants ready for duty whenever a detail should come for fresh supplies. Even this spot appeared to me enchanting. I could not resist the temptation to dis mount and warm my feet at the fire. But almost as soon as I sat down upon a cartridge-box I fell asleep. Nearly ? forty-eight hours had passed since I had closed my eyes, and I was prostrated the moment I waa clear of excitement. I was waked by falling from my seat, and then I saw that I could not venture to rest. I mounted my horse and returned to the lino. I think our lines, somo three or lour miles to thc east of our position, must have bcou broken before day light, for I heard terrific volleys at that portion not long beforo drawn, and after that it ! seemed to me that there waa almost a lull there. , . . . . . . At length day dawned-a bright, calm dav. The firing was not so constant now. It looked as if there might be some rest for us at last. It waa said, at one time, that the brush-heaps in front of the line-where by some accident there was a break in our picket-were occupied hy the enemy, and we prepared to search them with canister from thc few cannon placed among us. But they proved to be empty, and we were not dis turbed. Finally, being so OVERCOME WITH FATIGUE AND WATCH* INO, aud seeing nothing for mo to do, I lay downwilS mybrfdle tied to, my wrist, and endeavored to -natcha Mfe#p. I was conscious in a few minutes ot ?roop? moving to the right, but th? was ?o common an occurrence. thalj?didinot fairly wake me. At length I was rouseu hv ii oSSf Of McRae'a Brigade, whom I knew, who told me that M?uowao a Brig???had passed on before.them and that I had best catch up wtth them. I thanked him but lay do^n again, think inj "hat it waa only a slight change of ^tSpSffiSy four or five minutes I awoke with a start. Them wa. profound silence around me. I looked at the works before me-no soul was ibero I looked to the right, and ?aw the rear of a column moving fat ward atong tho b>oou.tt^^| breatworks a hundred yards ?W*J? * moked to the left, and saw onlv here and my mind THE I.ONO BIEGE WAS ESI.BD, and tho Army of Northern Virginia wa. broken and in retreat. . works and opened fire, ?ow io a Ol them joined in this action I am not ?ole to nay, hut I ha-c lieard tliat our brigade shared in the attack. Thc event proved our adversaries rather too san guine and precipitate. Our poopio were not accustomed to panic or to demorali zation in any form. The column fronted to them on the instant, and without com? maud returned the lire, lt was a with ering volley, and it smote the latelv cou hdent Federals with such effect that they "OOO concealed themselves behind any cover that offered itself and allowed us to pass on. And on we went, soon leaving the breastworks and bearing northward to wards thc Southside Railroad. SWINTON S STORY OF THIS AFFAIR. Swinton, in his history of the Army ol the Potomac, disposes of our affairs on this part of thc Confederate Mue in very few words. He speaks of thc line being broken about Hatcher's Kuti after , j. . .- "??"""??'ii uiin nu mu other divisions of bis corps with Miles to follow us. "The other of Humphrey's Division." says he, "under Mile??, pur sued whatever thbrU of the enemy re mained west of Hatcher's Run. This force retreated northward to Sutherland station on the Southside Railroad, where il was overtaken by Miles, who in a spirited charge dislodged and de feated it, laking two guns and six hun dred prisoners.'' Swinton i?, ? believe, never intentionally untruthful, but there is a large amount of falsehood in this account, as I shall proceed to show. A TRUTHFUL ACCOUNT OF THE M O YE MENI'S. Our lines bad beca ineparably broken. A passage clear through them bad been made about daylight in two places at least-one about the place of our winter quarters, one just west of Hatcher's Ruo. Our right Hank lind been beaten and doubled back at Five Forks, tho day before Lee was compelled to evacu ate the whole linc aud retient westward. We were sent back to the Southside Railroad, to protect tho linc of march for the Hoops and trains that were to be moved out from Petersburg and all tho country east of Hatcher's Hun. Our first possible halt, to effect anything, must be in the vicinity of the railroad. We crossed Hatcher's Run-which benda very milch westward after you pursue its course upward from our forti fications-and moved, I presume, by the Claibourn Road, almost due north. The enemy did not "overtake" us at the rail road. When we reached a wagon road, which, at the distance of perhaps a mile from Sutherland Station, crosses the road we marched, and extends nearly parallel with the railroad at this point, we halted and WAITED FOR THE PURSUERS. We could have made good our retreat, but we ?vre designed to guard the coun try between this point and the Appomat tox as long as possible, and we slopped and made our preparations accordingly. Cen. Hetti was with us, and oue ol his staff told nie exactly what we were in tended to do, which was, to fight nil odds as long as possible, so as to enable the trains to pass in our rear. Gen. Heth was recalled to the old Hues nearer Petersburg. This left us under tho com mand of the senior brigadier general on the field. This waa Gen. Cook, whose commission was a little older than Gen. McGowan's. We had four brigades: Gook's, Scalcs's, McRae's and Mcgow an's. We took the rails from the fences on each side of the road and piled them hef ".e us. As the road was a little lower than the ground between it and the ap proaching enemy, this gavo us pretty good protection against small arms. Our brigade was thu left of the line. We had scarcely more than five huudrcd racu in it, and the other brigades were lillie if any larger. We deployed the sharpshooters iu front as skirmishers, and sent out a portion of Orr's Rifles on the left on like duty. I remained on horseback, and WUB assigned to the duty of looking peculiarly after this skirmish on ibe left. I threw these pretty far out, tho lino being farther from a par allel with TUE EINE OF BATTLE as it receded from us, so as to guard against any near approach of the enemy ou the ?eft flank. I also placed vidstie? at right angles with our hoe and several hundred yards to the left. I also placed inner videttes on gate posts or any other elevation, whose duty it would be to signal me of any movement of tho outer linea. Tbua prepared, wo sat down and awailed Gen. Milea's Division. From what I have since heard, 1 should say be brought at least ten thousand men, probably as many as fifteen thousand. This was heavy odds for two thousand or twenty-five hundred men to fight. THE ENEMY ADVANCE. After a while the Federals made their appearance, marching through open woods about balf a mile from us. I nm not sure that they formed line of battle at that distance, but it waa certainly not merely their inarching column that I Baw. Possibly it was a column preceded by a skirmish line. They came rapidly, evidently expecting an easy victory. They thought "a spirited charge" was all that was needed. I took position at a little church that stood just at the left of our line of battle, whence I com manded a good view of the whole iront, and at the aame time waa enabled to communicate with the outposts to my left. In half an hour after we bad the firet view of our opponents thoy began to move their line of hattie against us. This hurried forward with very foolish I enthusiasm. I thought then, and shall always think, until Ihave good evidence to the contrary, that there was A OOOD DEAE OF WHISKEY in this charge. It reminded me very much of the drunken assaults against us at Spnttsylvania Courthouse, on the 12th of May, 1864, when Grant poured his inebriate legions against us only to be slaughtered. Hut they came in great hnnif- whon";n<* and roarinc as if they expected to beat us with mero sound. The contrast between the two lines waa what the rhetoricians call severe-they rushing furiously forward, we lying be Irnd our rail-pile? in absolute silence. They came too fast. Tbclr line became disordered before wo fired a gun-a very 1 fierce and fiery disorder, but a very un military one. Of course they dissipated the skirmish line in an instant, and then they drove through the open ascending erotind to grapplo with our line of bat lUe Their assault was almost entirely ! against the right and centre of our line. I Only their extreme right fronted reached so far aa the rightof our brigade. When they came within probably two hundred ? *nd fifty yards tho Confederates opened upon ibero, at the same time replying to their shouts with THE WILDEST YELL CONCEIVABLE. Many gaps were made in their ranks at he first fire ; $11 on they came giving ?hot for shot and roaring at the top o their voices. But the end was reached o etty soon. Our fire killed and dis Sled numbers of them ; they etaggcred, groped and hesitated ; our erv rose high er and our balls Hew fa>ter ; they paused and ceased shouting ; then they broke ! and tied in utter confusion. I A considerable pauso ensued. Who* i ever commanded their movements-IJeu. Miles, I presume-seemed to think that it required something more than "a spirit ed charge" to carry the field. They arranged for a somewhat different direc tion of attack. Hut this was not a much wiser one , than tho other. They formed line, with entirely fresh troops no doubt, farther to . the left from us. and began an nd vaneo . against our brigade and probably the one ? next on our right. They came up in more soldierly style this time, they were coming to their senses nt last, niid Faw t that something more than a great display wa* requisite lor our defeat. i This assault was rapid, but it was with quite well dressed lines. They i ! raised the huzza as soon as they caine i within fair open view of us, perhaps four , ' hundred yards down the slope. We lay silent aa before. <>n they swept, moving faster as they advanced, and cheering all the while. When they roach"U bout i the distance at ?hieb the Confederates had opened on them before we answered ; their shouts with a great yell and poured : our volleys into them. TH KY FOUGHT WK!.I.. ' They rejdied with fierce cheers, pressed j obstinately forward, (iring as fast as pos j sible. Our blood was thoroughly up. ( Louder and louder rose our yci?, faster and deadlier grew our fire. We shot '.hem down at every point. Their ranks j were broken and scattered ; but for a time they poured forward with such ; steady determination that I wondered if j wc should not end with a hand to hand encounter. Hut this did not come. All their discipline and enthusiasm was not equal to the fearful task. They swayed, surged, recoiled, rallied, broke apart again, and finally fled in utter rout. Hut we were not content with this. Our battalion of sharpshooters was sent across the works in pursuit, and these drove them with a very whip of scorpions to their reserves. I have rarely, if ever, beard such peals of cheers as now rang along our lines. A SUICIDE AMIDST TUR BOA It Of BAT TLE. I have been told of a very strange oc currence us our skirmishers pursued this { Hying enemy. It is this : That as they passed over the dead and crippled Feder? j als, one of the latter-without provoca tion, as I have heard-cried out that bo hod sworn never to be taken prisoner, and tiicn took out his knife and cut his throat. The story says thal he was suc cessful in bis attempt at suicide, and I bled lo death before anything could be done for bim. M'UOWAN ti I YES ORDERS TO FIGHT EVERYTHING. We now enjoyed a respite of some length, for an hour or more, t?ome of the enemy's artillery shelled us, but while they made us led uncomfortable, they did little or no harm. Hut I was satisfied that the movement against us was likely to be renewed still farther on our left. I therefore rode out among tho skirmishers there, and used every effort to secure the most stubborn resistance possible against an attack from tbnt quarter, i had seen a line of battle re pulsed by a determined skirmish, and I did not bee why it should not be repeated to-day. I seut out additional videltes to the left, examined every point about us, and reported the state of aflairs to Gen. McOowun. He told me that we must light everything thal came against us, and as long OH we could hold out, and had the Kille Regiment wheeled to the left so as to face any movement from that quarter. A KAI) INCIDENT. As I rode back lo examine the rail road cut. just in rear of our left, I mel two Federal soldiers who bad evidently run iu, in the lost charge, to surrender. No one was with them. Prisoners were of nu use lo us now, but fearing that they might get out of our lines and give dangerous information, I took charge of them and carried them to the held hospital about three buudred yards in rear of thc line. I remember that I hud to cross a high rail fenco. As my, horse could nul juiun it I bad the men to let it down. I savv nolbing the matter with either of them, except that one seemed to have a fleBh wouud in bis left arni above the elbow. He assisted bis com rade to let down the rails, and without complaint. When I delivered the men to thc surgeons for safe keeping I noticed that the wounded man looked quite pale and sat down hastily upou the ground. I suggested to one of tho medical stafl that be look alter the. man'? wuuud. An examination showed that Iiis chest had been entered by the bull that had wound ed his arm. I asked if ho was badly hurt, adding that I supposed be was not, aa he had walked with apparent ease anti bad let down the fence. The asaistaul surgeon answered that he would uot live five minutes. And such wns the case The man gave his comrade some message we did noi hear, lay down on the ground and I think was breathing bis last whee I rode away. I need not add that I wai inexpressibly grieved to think that mj inadvertence bad possibly cost him hil life-certainly bad hastened his death I returned to the front. The turning movement had already begun. The ene my beat in our skirmish on the left ant clear between me and the line of battle A number of the outpost men and I hst to make a considerable delour in ordert? get around them and b?ck to the rest n the brigade. Thc movement continued. The; pressed closer OB tho flank, und as the; neared the line of battle their comrade iu front were put in motion. Aa I rod to thc front THE KTORM BURST in full fury. A lice of hallie precipita ted itself upon our left, while those ii front moved on us. The Rifles mot thei opponents, but the remainder of the lin waa enfiladed. Col. Hunt, of th Thirteenth Regiment, changed front s as to oppose thc force on the left, but b Hod thc real were now assailed from th main front. To add to the horror of th scene thc only element needed to rende the situation desperate, all the Federt artillery opened upon us. It is uselet to protract the description. We at rug gled wildly for a while, but wc soon fouu ourselves hopelessly entrapped and oui numbered. We yielded to the irresist ble force, and abandoned the field. 1 waa, of course, an utter, crushing defca We had the satisfaction, however, < knowing that we bad inflicted very GREAT LOBS ON TUE ENEMY, had held a vastly, superior force at ba for several hours, had saved by our di votion a large portion of the artille! and baggage trains that bad to be move from Petersburg, and had only succumbc to an absolutely overwhelming force. This afternoon had never, for us, i equal in sadness, except in that cale dreary morning when we ended 01 service on the slopes about Apporoattc ' Courthouse. This was really out la battle. The rest were little more thu Parthian skirmishes of hunted and e I h au s ted men. THE STATE PENITENTIARY, A Moilvl IiiAiltuUun For tb? Correction cf Crime. Charleston Arte.? ami Gtui'itr, COLUMBIA, February 23.-A visit io the Penitentiary to day develoned a good deal of iulerestiug newt. Th? ru aro to day ISO convicta under sentence, of whom 38 are females. lu thu itntitution -lt) 1 prisoners aro gathered. Of llio*o 101 are at work on the Columbia Canal ; 100 are employed in Diberl's sdiuc facto ry inside of the Penitentiary yard, and 210 are working in and about too institu tion under the immediate direction of its o ulcers. wu mu: TUB CONVICTS AUK. Ol' the 828 convicts who aro leased to outside parties 117 aro at the phosphate diggings of U.S. Prinple, -18 arc digging phosphates under Cahill A Wise, 07 are worked by A. J. Twigg* ou tho George town and Laue's Railroad, 41 aro leased by the < i reen wood, Laurena and Spar?,",? burg Railroad, mid 25 aro engined at ibo plantation of John 0. Seegors near Columbia. The contractr with Messrs, Pringle and Cahill & Wiso aro lor 150 bauds each and the 135 men needed to lill these contracts must be supplied as soon us they can bo had. These contracts already mado take precedence of the de mands of the canal. A year ago to day there were 730 convicts under sentence to the penitentiary. Tho increase in tho number of convicta during the tat year, na nnpenr? t?-dav, bas been 69, but al though tho number shows an increase tho terms of convicts lately coming in hove been much shorter than they UBcrl to be, indicating more merciful sentences or 8I.IOHTr.lt OFFENCES. So far during tho fiscal year beginning November 1st there have been one hun* drcd and ten discharges of convicts by expiration of sentence, six pardens, seven j escapes, eight deaths, five recaptures and two transfers to tho Lunatic Asylum on account of derangement of miud. There will bu forty-three discharges from service this mouth, and there arc out runny ad missions. If Berkeley justico were to prevail throughout the State the institu tion would soon be empty. Tuero are only three seriously ill convicts now in hospital, aod io each case their disouse was developed before they were turned over to the Penitentiary authorities. TUE KEW PRISON HOUSK. Work is now progressing ateadily on the new prison building situated immedi ately south of the ono occupied by tho convicts uow held in the institution. The foundations of this building were laid before tho Democrats touk control of the Penitentiary, but work ou it was sus Eended and only recently resumed, ?ooking forward to the time when all of the convicts shall be employed about tho pince to which they were sentenced it has seemed judicious to complete this build ing, which will double the accommoda tions nnw had. The new building will bo of the samo sizo as the pr?tent one and is being constructed of the Mime materials, granite aud iron. It will be live stories high, each story containing fifty cells, twenty-five opening on each sido, east and west. Two stories have already been completed with twelve cells of the third story. It is expected that the entire building will be ready for oc cupancy in two years. Four convict stone-ransons are now working on it and fourteen hands in the stone shed aro shaping granite blocks for its construc tion. A STOREHOUSE AND A FEMALE FRISOS. A branch track of the Columbia and Greenville Railroad runs up along the southern wall of thc Penitentiary yard. Into the middlo of this wall a brick building will be constructed 10O feet long, 58 feet wide and two-stories high. This is designed to fill requirements which have existed for a long lime. The first door will bo used as a storehouse fur the commissary of tbe institution. The cars will run up to tbe platform in front of it and the very expensive hauling of sup plies will be dispensed with. Tnssecond elory will be divided into sixty cells for tho accommodation of the female pris oners who will thus he kept in a different part of the yard from the others. It will also contain the . prison laundry rooms. The lumber for tho building is uow on thc ground, and the bunding will be erected as soon OB the railroad traoB Krts the bricks required, from the old nitentiary brick yard, five miles from the city. There are 400,000 bricks ibero now belonging to the institution and 200,000 more Tn tho yard. These will supply the requirements of the Peniten tiary for a year? The brich y a ni men tioned was bought a few ; year? ago by the board for $300; to furnish the brick needed for thu massive wal) around tho ?rounds, which baa nov; been completed, laving subserved ?bl use. it waa sold the other day to Mr. From. Walker fer $000, the steam engine and stockade being re served. It waa a profitable investment. io A' O UK AT VEOETAIILE OAUDEN. The brick wall which haa lately been completed around tbe grounds of the Penitentiary is a tremendous affair which impresses ever visitor. It aorroonde some twelve act ?o which arer contain ed all tbe buildings and workshop^of the prison. Six acres on the northern side I of the enclosure have been taken bold of by Mr. J. A. Sligb, tbe captain of tbe guard, and transformed from n red clay bill and gully into a level and productive farm of enticing aspect. The work baa been done with "convalescent" labor, or light work hands. -An abundant supply of staple vegetables bas been raised for the mess of the convicts all the year round. Last year, for instance, 1,700 bushels of aweet potatoes were raised on part of the land anp 500 bushels are still on band. There are now growing one and a half aerea of onions, one aero of Irish potatoes, ene acre of turnips, 3,000 fall cabbage plants, 10,000 spring cab; ago plants, three eighths of an acre of English peas and a quarter of an acre of strawberries. IN Tin; .YARD, nestled under the north wall, ia probably the largest hot-bed in the State. It is 390 feet long by 4 feet wide, and contains 150,000 young cabbages quantities of young tomato, radish ana lettuce plants and even a few flowers. The garden is a credit to Capt. Sligh's agricultural ability and bis thoughtfulness. The supplies of : fresh vegetables save a great deal of I sickness among tbe bands. ' There are also on the grounds cattle j sheds, an abattoir and other accoranaoi 1 menta to the provisioning of sacha large ; body of men. ! A number of bauds are getting out I granite at the new quarry, the walls oi I which extend into the Congaree. The old quarry ia in tba pathway of the new canal. The water1 tn it la seventy feel deep. Th? Penitentiary blackomlih shop ts doing repairing work altogether. Bia men aro omploycd in lt. Tho etone shed has fourteen men catting atone fer tbe new prison houoe, rind for copi nj with granite tba brick wall surrounding thc grounds. OTHER IMPROVEMENTS. 1 The board recently bought. 404} ac rei t of woodland io Lexington County, fiv< I miles up tho river, for $4,'2-r>0, in order to j supply the institution with wood. This wood is Ui bo brought to tho yrtrd in boat? ou tho existing canal so that a large supply may bo laid in, au engine secured ami steam substituted for the water-power now used. This done, the c uial will be drained otT and thc work of excavation required for its enlargement greatly expedited. A lot adjoining tho other cemeteries ..as lecently bought for a burying ground for convicts at $ 1,0<?0. Already 200 cords of wood have been cut from it. A lot of land of three and a half acres on tho enst or front sido of the Peniten tiary wall waa bought last year for tho use of the institution. If. is being fenced and has been planted in oats. The prison ouilding Ht present used is now illuminati outside by twelve lamps of street pattern fed with gasoline. There is no longer darkness. Tho cells of tho convicts aro white washed for sanitary purposes at least twice R month and tn summer once a week. It takes four men to attend to it. People have, no idea of the amount of labor required in tho routine of such un institution. It compels tho retention of a large number of hands in the yard all thc time. IN CONCLUSION. The convicts work ou an average ten tiGurs a day. Their meal boura are now 6.30 a. m., 12 m. and 6,30 p. m., but tho breakfast and supper hours vary with the E?anon. In hot weather meal boura art lengthened to one or two hours. At present hali au hour is given for each meal. The convicts are comfortably clothed, well fed and aro compelled to keen clean. They look stout and healthy. The dis cipline is not harsh. Everything moves like clock-work. The yard is as neat HS a pin. Tho institution is admirably managed by Superintendent Lipscomb, and ita improvements are enduring testi monials of his euergy and ability. BABY INCUBATION. Wonderful Remits Accomplished hy Dr Travernier's ?Jueer Method. The immense success which :ias atten ded the artificial incubation of chickem in France recently, saya tho Glasgow Mail, has attracted the retention of Dr Traveruier, a learned and ingenious pb y sicinn. Ue was attached to a hospital foi foundlings, nud was annoyed nt the large number of foundlings who died withit the lir.it six months of their life. Tin majority of those admitted lo the hoapi tal were weak and sickly, and he resolve* to try what "artificial incubation" wouh accomplish if applied to infanta. Tin doctor constructed a child incubator oi precisely tho model of tho ordin?r; chicken incubator. Il was a box cover ed with a glass slide furnished with n sol wooiou bed, and kept at the temperntur of 85degrees Fahrenheit by the aid u hotwater. He selected as tho subject c his experiment a miserably made iufaii -one that had come into the world at a injudiciously early period. Tho infan was placed in the incubator, provide with a nursing bottle, and kept in u dur room. To tho surprise of the doctor i ceased to cry on tho second duy after i wuH placed in the incubator, and althoug it had previously been a preternatural 1 sleepless child, it sauk into a deep au quiet sleep. The child remained iii th incubator eight weeks, during wbie limo it nover once cried, and never n ma i ned awake except when laking noui isbment. It grew rapidly, und when, i tho expiration of sixty days, it was ri moved from tho incubator, it present* the appearance of a healthy infant i least a year old. Delighted with tl success of the experiment, Dr. Tra vern i< next selected an ordinary six-msnths ol infant addicted to the usual painn at colic, exhibiting the usual fretfulness < French infants. Thia child conducU itself while in the incubator precisely i ?Ul predecessor had done. It never cnei it spent ita whole time in sleep, and grew aa if it had made up its mind embrace the career of a profession giant. After a six weeks' ?tay iu tho ii cubator it was removed and weighct during this brief period it hod tloubli iW weight. It hatf become so Btrong at healthy that it resembled a child tbr year? old? and it could actually wa when holding on to a piece of furoitui Thean two experiments satisfied I Traveruier of tue vast advantages of r tificial child incubation. Ho imm?diat ly proceeded, with the permission of t authorities of the hospital, to constru an incubator of tho capacity of 400 i fan ts, who ?vere in tho hospital on t lOtti day bf FebrUaW laat. AV ?th t exception of one who died of congenil hydtocephalus, and another, who v, olaf med by !ts repentant parents, t Infanta were kept continuously In t incubator for Six months, tv fien th v/ero removed in consequence of bu vi outgrowoitheir narrow beds. Thc res wilt seem almost incredible to pe rat who are unfamiliar with tho reputati of Dr. Traveruier and have not seen l report made to the French governmi by a ?elect committee of twelve. .1 average age of tbvinfaots last Febriu was eight months and three day*-t youngest being less than twelve hoi eldest not more than eleven mont Tho average weight was sixteen poun only one of the entire 860 having nun ed a weight of thirty-two pounds, the end o? six months of artificial in bation tbe average weight of each inf waa twenty-five non mis, and there not one who would not bave been s' posed by a casual observer to be at le three years old. In other words, months of artificial incubation did much in the way of developing Travernier's foundlings as three yean ordinary lifo would havo done. 1 infants were strong and healthy, as \ as big; they walked within a week leaving the incubator, and most of tl have since learned to Ulk. These res ?urpasacd Dr. Travernier's most enth astic expectation, and there can be doubt that his system of artificial cl incubation will be adopted not onli, every hospital in France, but In ?< private family throughout the civil world. - A sagacious Washingtonian forth this bold prediction : Towards ' end of 1884 there will be a comme, crash of unprecedented proportion regular Wiggins storm of financial d ter. Out of that "Chaos and Old n?? the agricultural South will first emt and with the most permanent'adyant The m ann fae tu ring East and m ort ga West will have a tardier and balder > li veranee. The South will be appr ted as never before, and start on a et 1 of prosperity unexampled in the hi , of thia pinn ot. > -. An article In an exchange is I r et) : "Kissed by Her Husband." t mi s tokes w?ll occur, and th oro sh oui i some remedy dovioed to prevent thei i curre nee. 1 ' Not an experiment or cheap p medicino ia Brown's Iron Bitters, prepared by one of the oldest and i reliable chemical firms, and will d 3 that to claimed for it. SEWS AND Tories. Heavy Damage?. NEW VoitK, February 28.-Miss Mary Daniel?, who presented a claim for $100, OOO damage? against tho New York Cen tral and Hudson Uiver Railroad for injurien received in Ibu Spuytcn Duyvil disaster a year ?go, has accepted $2'.)]000 in payment, the largest sum ever paid hy tho company for personal injuries. A. B. Valentino, of Bennington, Yt., recovered $3,000 for tho death of his son and $5.000 for the ?lentil of the latter's yoting bride, both killed in tho samo dis aster. Why Cotton is Down. The koy to tho continued depression in the Liverpool cotton market wns given to-day in a cable which stated thal thc dullness and stagnation in tho raw staple was tho result ot the great accumulation of goods. In other words, production has outrun consumption, and until a bul ?nee is struck it is hardly possible that a better colton market will bo witnessed. This remark doc* not apply to yarns, which appear to he in a fair position. In our country the colton goods trade is considered healthy. There was again an effort ut steadiness today, but it was found tm hill work, ai buyers wero little disposer! to operate, and some of our largest houses aro bears.- Wall Stiert letter to Halt ?more Sun, Homicide at Ale?dalo. A i.KN DA l.B, S. C., February 27.-On Sttttirdoy, 24th instant, Mr. Lawrence O. Host wan killed hy tho Marshal of tho town. Mr. Best and his nephew, Mr. Allen, lind engaged in a disputo which resulted in a duel with knives. Mr. S. H. Dupuis, the Marshal iitterferrcd, as in duty bound, when Mr. Mest transfer red his attack to the ollicer, cutting his clothes in peverill places. Mr. Dupuis defended himself willi n policeman's club. Mr. liest died in half a minuto from receiving the blow. Tho sudden ness of his death led many to shrewdly suppose that it was moro tho result of epilepsy, to which ho was subject, than tho efleet of tho blow. Tho verdict of thc Coroner's jury was that Host came to his death from a blow struck by tho Marshal while in th? ful?llmciil of his duty. Seventy Luinbormon Poisoned. MILWAUKEE, WIS , February 27.-A lumberman, Alfred F.verson, arrived to da; from M ai., s tee mid reponed to Cap tain John Fitzgerald that seventy men had been poisoned to death on Sunday in a ?umber camp near Glencoe, M ich. A new cook had just begun work, and tho brat balch of biscuits bc mixed wilh a can of st ry cb niuo used to poison wolves. Ho mislook tho poison for bak ing powder. Thc biscuits were eaten by every man in the camp, and seventy out of tho eighty died in horrible agony. No physician was near ami nobody fa miliar with antidotes was al hand. The. story seems improbable, bul is given for what it is worth. Captain Tilzgeruld says that tho news comes from n trust worthy source and ho believes that il is true. Tho camp is twenty miles from telegraphic communication in the forest. Cat in Two by a Baw. NKW YORK, February 28.-Curolino Bernheimer, a Jewess, residing on Hud son steel, near Vandn.m, was employed yesterday by the wiio of Oeorge Blair, a box manufacturer, al No. Fi York street, to do somo laundry work. Mr. Blair re sides next door to his fuctory, aud his family arc accustomed to dry their linen on the roof of au extension to tho facto ry, in which there ure numerous glass skylights. Mrs. Bernheimer was hang ing some linon Dear one o' the-e sky lights when she suddenly tripped mid fell th rough tho glass to the floor below. She fell directly on a circular saw in motion, as the workmen wero about to placo a piece of plank on it. Before tho saw could hu stopped it cut through tho unfortunate woman's huck and spine, almost soveriug her iu two. She died instantly, and her mangled remains, when lifted oflf the saw, presented a most horrible appearance. Her body waa taken to ber late home. She was a widow 33 years old and had one child. Butler's Spoon. ST. Lorin, Fcbruary.26.-Last month the St. Louis Chronicle published a story to the|eflecttbatwhcu?x Governor Long, Massachusetts, was at the Merchant's Exchange, ex-president Charles E. Slay back told him a story to tho effect that General Butler is uow using a span of horses which ho stole froui Slayback's father-in-law, Mr. Newinun, of New Or leans. Mr. Sluyback supplemented this statement with one to the effect that he saw the team for the last time on board a vessel bound for Boston with a collin full of spoons, several hatracks and some cooking, utensils and furniture. Copies ofourpeper containing this story wore soot to Governor Buller, who deuiea the harsh impeachment in the following let ter, published in to-day's Chronicle: "DEAR. SIR-It is not a copper's con sequence to anybody what such a fellow as Sluyback muy say. If anybody would believe that I would put spoons in a cof fin bo would believe the rest of the otory. Unless the coffin was of glass or left open, how could he seo that tho spoons were in it? It is enough to Bay that I hired the carriage horses and carriage, used by me when in New Orleans, from a stable keeper there. The only two horses that I brought away wero those I took to New Orleans from Massachu setts, and they came in a veseel from thence to New York." Cotton Dethroned. ST. LOUIS, Mo., February 27. Twenty leading colton factors of this city, embracing the principal officers of tho Cotton Exchange, publish an ad dress to merchants, farmers and tenants of the cotton belt, in which they advise some radical changes in tho manner of farming and doing business in tho South. The chief cause of the lack of prosperity in the Southern States, they*say, are: First, the present credit system, which forces planters and tenants to pay ex? travagant prices for supplies and to rush their crops to market in such quantities aa to break prices, oftentimes below cost of production ; and, second, the over production of cotton. This they think the keynote to tho wholo situation, and .they strongly urge everybody interested in Southern prosperity to discourage plantinga large acreage of cotton this Soar. Food products, they say, are what anthem planters most need, and they advise, first of all, the raising of grain, cattle and hogs, and give the remalndei of thai.- time, if they nave any, to grow ing cotton. Tbey show that the present price of cotton is 16 per cent, below tho average of the past five years, and that corn la 88 and provisions GO per cent, above tho average, thus cads! og the mere cotton-raiser to lose largely in two - ways. They contend that a decrease in the pro , duction of cotton and an increased pro duct of bread, meat and other kinda ol food will bring about a moro prosperoui condition of thc South, aud they ask mer chanta ami planters to call a convention and agitate thc question throughout thc cotton belt. AU Sorts of Paragraphs. - E. I). Means ia exhibiting a live headless rooutcr in Marion. - Matrimony ta a great blessing be cause even a blind man has his eyes open after a little while. - A wise and good man does nothing for appearance, but everything for tho sake of having acted well. - Tho Marion index says '.hat some of the horse drovers who havo visited that section recently had their horses' teeth hied td put thc right age on them. Many purchasers have thus becu swindled. - The papers aro all laughing because a Sunday School scholar, when asked what was the best thing in tho world, answered "Pie." They e?ein to think thal any child ought to kuow that there's nothing equal to whisky. - Thc widows of India having been prevented by tho tyrannous English from cremating themselves along with their dead loros, havo taken to second marri ages. They are determined to sacrifice themselves somehow. - Some ono has said : "If you want to keep a town from thriviug, go away from home for your wares rather than ;iritro,".ii.o thc business in ita midst." This remark applies wiih oven greater forco to a country, especially ono situa ted and endowed as our own ia. - When Mr. Snaggs wants peaco and quiet of un evening, while ho Bits and thinks, ho says to bia wifo : 'Now, my dear, talk to me, and nmuso me !" And the blessed old dame nt once loses all capacity for thinking of anything to say, and never opens her condemned head. - A Scotchman, having hired himself to n farmer, had a cheese set down be fore him, that ho might help himself. After Borne time tho master Bald to him, "Sandy you take a long limo to break fast." "In troth, master," said Sandy, "a cheese o' this size is nae nae soon eaten ns yo may think." - Two Philadelphia lawyers got Into a street fight tho other day. Eacli swore if ho had a pistol he'd kill the other. At once n dozen wore offered to each by spectators. When they found how anx ious tho populace wan to get rid of them, they swore friendship and vowed to live forever, lo spite the town. - An old bachelor, who wanted to in gratialo himself with a rich widow, pre sented her with a lap-dog, saying: "I have trained him so perfectly that hu will eat off your hand." "Eat off my hand ?" exclaimed the widow. "I don't want my hand eaten off; and you needn't think of gelling lt in that way." - An Irishman who had bcon con tending thnt a mule was a nobler animal than ii horse, said a mule had once saved him from drowning, "llow wa? that, Paddy ?" asked ono of tho bystanders. "Failli, he gavo me such a lick wid his iiind leg that he lauded me on the other side of the cauawl inslid of in it." - Ho Blood ou the post-office corner aud everybody know him ns a newly married man. He had a far-away look in his eyes and a blt of yarn on each of the last two fingers of his hand, and kept muttering to himself : "Chopping-bowl, eggs, clothes linc-that's the thumb and the ti rat two fingers. Now what did she want on tho other two fingers?" - Mrs. Peter Schinsky is one of those ladies who take much better car? of their animal pois than they do of their chil dren, bin; bas got a pet poodle by the name of Fido. Yesterday, Mrs. Schin aky'a little boy, Rob, asked hin mother : "Shall I give Fido this piece of sugar he is begging for?" "No, my child, it might spoil his teeth ; eat it yourself, Robby." - A humano man grabbed a club, jumped in and killed a goat that was chasing a man who carried a red hand kerchief in bin coat tail pocket, down the street. And the man came back and asked him why he did it. "To save you 1" replied the humane m&n. "Save me, bo hanged I" cried the other ; "I've just bought that goat and was coaxing him home." - Of tho 730 murders recorded for the country last year 212 were commit ted in the Southern States and 131 were committed ia the State of New York alone. This is rather severe on Northern statisticians who would locate all the murders in the South. It appears more over that, of the executions for murder, half of them took place in thu South. TheBC facts should be studied hy the New York Nation. - An Arkansas editor who waa elected county judge some time ago did not ap prove of his own administration, and in an able editorial written by himself said: "It is with sorrow thal we announce that the county judge of this county and the editor of this paper in a big fool." If he did but know it, this man bas arrived nt a degree ol knowledge which would be worth mill ions at one's birth.-Boston Star. - Washington correspondent Augusta Chronicle : In the course of conversa tion, the other day, Qen. Hampton told me that his grandfather raised the first cotton crop ever harvested in the South. The South Carolina Senator was once superintending the setting out some trees when one big specimen leaned over and bit the general so hard that be fell upon the ground and for a moment was laid out cold as a wedge. Some months af terward, when Hampton waa in Missis sippi, bis South Carolina overseer wrote to him that all the trees were growing finely except tbe ono that fell opon him. "That," said the correspondent, "bas never recovered from the blow you gave it." - A wag was passing the residence of A wealthy citizen the other day and noticed upon the door step a dog with about two i ti ches of tail. He rang the bell and inquired for the master of the bouse, but was informed that ho was- at dinner and could uot be seen just then. "Can't wait a moment-matter of great importance," said he. The servant left him standing at the door. In a few mo ments the master of the bouse made his appearance, napkin in hand *wiping bia mouth. "Does that dog belong to you ?" "Yea-why ?" "Because yon had netter Sall bis tail out to its proper length or rive it dearin ; it's of no nae whatever in that shape. Good evening.'- And ?with ono bound, waa on tho t sidewalk, just in time to escape the retributive boot of tho gentleman of wealth. IF YOU ABB RUINED in health from ; any canse, especially from the nae of any t of the thousand nostrums that promise i so largely, with long fictitious testimoni als, havo no fear. Resort to Mop Bitters a< once, and* in a short tima, yon will i have the most robust and blooming i health.