University of South Carolina Libraries
COLUMBIA, S. C. Th?rs lay Morning, June 5,1873. Cotton Fulurn. Cotton futures are very uncertain jast at present. Muoh complaint is made throughout the entire cotton belt of the latter rains, which are regarded as un? seasonable and calculated not only to de? stroy, tho stamina of tbe plant and wash it away in many places, but to so pro? mote tho growth of weeds as to seriously interfere with the process of cultivation. Though it is too early to make predic? tions as to the extent of the next crop, yet it is a faot, patent to every one, that tbe late frosts and excessive rains make the present outlook anything but en? couraging. Moreover, unless we are shortly favored with a few weeks of comparatively dry weather, that dead? liest enemy of the ootton plant?the army worm?will undoubtedly put iu an appearance, and make the prospect even Wjgrse than it is at present. In this city and the region round about every one is more or less interested in the fleecy sta? ple, not only as an existing entity, bat as to its prospective future. Cotton still retains many of its old kingly elements. It serves us as a substitute for gold in the settlement of foreign balances; it brings commerce to onr shores and it contributes in a thousand ways to our prosperity as a people. Bat "ootton futures" has a technical as well as general meaning. When "the trade" use these terms, they mean the delivery of cotton at some definite fu? ture period and at some fixed and stipu? lated price. A. may be a merchant and B. a planter. The latter may want as? sistance of the former, till his crop is grown. Under these circumstances, each may be willing to take some risks as to the extent and character of the next orop; and there is certainly nothing immoral in B.'s agreement to deliver and A.'a agreement to receive ao muny bales of ootton at a given rate per pound. Should the orop be a fall one, A. may find his bargain hard and tbe price too high. Bat, on tho contrary, should tbe prop be a small one, B. will have tho worst of the bargain, for he is obliged to deliver cotton at a lower rale than ho could obtain for it in the opeu market. All euoh speculations on future possibilities and probabilities partake more or leaB of the character of gam? bling. In tbe special technical meaning of "cotton futures," where there is no aotnel delivery of cotton, and the differ? ence between the stipulated and the cur? rent price is paid in money to tho losing speculator, tbe transaction is held by a recent decision of tbe United Btutes Su? preme Court to be in the nature of gam? bling?a species of commerce which is reprobated by the judiciary; and on contracts contemplating such transac? tions, it is averred that no recovery can be enforced. It may be a foolish thing for a man to contract to deliver 1,000 bales of cotton, or 10,000 bushels of wheat, in December next, when be can have no correct means of ascertaining how the cotton or corn market may rule at that date; but to us the contract seems as legitimate as if he bad contracted to build a house, or a ship, or complete so many miles of a rail? way. In any one of these contracts be may make money, if circumstances favor him, and lose mouey if tbey prove ad? verse. In ell transactions based on oot? ton futures, the purchasing party might, did tho law not interfere with him, do maud an actual delivery; and if be ac? cepts a moneyed consideration in lieu cf such dolivery, we oannot clearly seo what rigbt outside parties have to intcrfero in the matter and prevent him. When traced to their ultimateB, ail commercial enterprises are based rather upou ex? pectations than on accomplished or cer? tain results. If enterprise bo desirable in any direction, we think when it takes tbe form of a contract to deliver a certain number of ootton bales,, or bushels of wheat, it is qnite as much to be respect? ed, and as little assailable on tho score of morals, as if the contract ran to de? liver a ship, or a certain amount of stocks or bonds, at a fixed price and on a future uay. <-??-? On tbe 28th of Maroh last, a German confectioner, named Charles Baswilde bald, disappeared from Macon, Ga. For tbree or four weeks, vain eearcb was made for him, and bis friends finally concluded that be bad lost his life in tbe swamp. The mystery of his disappear? ance was fully explained on tho30th ult., when his body was found hanging on a pine tree, near tho top, some fifty or sixty feet from the gronnd. Tho unfor? tunate man seems to hove climbed tbe tree, made a noose of his suspenders and hanged himself to the limb, where for two mouths his remains have been hanging, boaton upon by tho rain, withered by the sun, swung and swayed by- the winds, wbilo his requiem was snog in the branches of the piuea in grander diapasons than were ever breathed from the organ. It is to be hoped that, if the French Conservatives?as it is said they intend to to?propose a law making the Presi? dent irresponsible to the Assembly for his acta, the proposition will be adopted. The fanlt of French statesmanship is that there is too direct an influence from the Legislature upon the Execu? tive. It unsettles government, and un? fixes stability. It would be well enough that tho Assembly should continue to exorcise to the letter the already great power it exeroisea in the affairs of the nation; bat, if the President be left irresponsible, it will, on tho whole, be better for the permanence of order. The world has not forgotten how little M. Thiers was kept bobbing up and down before the Assembly whenever his official acts were called into question; and, if the new Government is to be maintained, tho lees the world sees the soldiery figure of MaoMahon going through tho same faroioal attitudes, the better it will be for the prosperity of the country. What Fxu?ue ?ants is a free Assembly, and an Executive iesponsible only to the people and to the bge he lives in. The Farmers' National Congress met at Indianapolis on Thursday last and ad? journed on the following day. As indi? cating the strength of tho farmers' organization, it may be stated that twenty-foar States were represented, from Vermont to Georgia, embracing ninety sooietiee, with 150 delegates. Ac* cording to the report of the Secretary, there are already 10,000 agricultural as? sociations in the country, with an aggre? gate membership of 400,000 farmers. It appears that two-thirds of these asso? ciations have been organized within the past six months. The question of trans? portation was the most important one discussed by the Oongress, free ?trade having been given the go-by. The pro? ceedings were not characterized by any demonstrations of a political character. Nevertheless, an organization that em? braces 400,000 members, with certain political tendencies, is too formidable to be despised by either political party, and neither is likely to do so. Most Beautifully Said.?Yv'hile no? thing stings the smitten heart as neglect or disrespect shown tho graves and me? mory Of these heroes who died in the defence of Southern rights and indepen? dence, yet nothing, at tho same time, more deeply touches tho feelings of our people than the expressions of apprecia? tion of hor fallen braves from those who were once arrayed against ns. At Ar? lington, Friday, Dr. Talmadge gave ex? pression to the following beautiful senti? ments, whioh alike reflect credit on himseli rind the section be represents: "Let nothing be done to stir up the old feud between the North and the Sooth. Sorely there has been blood enough Bked and groans enough have been uttered and families destroyed to satisfy tho worst man on earth and the worst demon in the pit; and if, amid this holocaust of the deud, any hand, North or South, Khali ever be lifted to tear down a peaoe established at so much sacrifice, may that hand tarn white with the snow of an incurable leprosy. In* stead of flowers upon such a vijlaiu's grave, let the wholo nation come and fling a mountain of nettles and Light shade." FnEAKs op Tyrann*.?Tho New Or? leans Picayune, in oommeuting on the rocent farce ending in the discharge of Col. DeBiana by tho Uuited States Com? missioner, for want of proof of an "overt aat," says: Tho decision of the Commissioner, however, is important in ono respect. Ho adjudicates that Col. DoIV.auc and his associates', in resisting Kellogg's corps (Varmee, oommitted no offeucc against tho laws of the United States, and, therefore, were not amenable to prosecution under these laws in the courts of the United States. Kellogg and his military were enforcing the anp posed laws of the State of Louisiana, and resistance to this enforcement was an offence, if any, to the laws of Louisi? ana. Hence, the killiug of two of Bad? ger's mercenaries, and the wholo organi? zation against oarpet-bag rule and tho collection of taxes, were not matters for tho judicial tribunal of tho United States to oonsider, bat exclusively under the jurisdiction of the State of Louisi? ana. This is a great deal, if it shall be adhered to; for it will be the end of col? lecting faxes in the parishes. Tho only penalty for kicking Kellogg's tax collect? ors ont of the parishes will be suits or prosecutions in the State ooorts, which I every good citizen, wo presume, will be prepared to meet. But we do not learn I that any suits or prosecutions have been instituted before the parish tribunals for I any acts done by Gol, DoBlauc and his supporters. This looks vary discourag? ing for the usurpers. There may be danger that DeBlancs will multiply in? definitely, wherever Kellogg ravens oumo to roost and gorge; and Badger's artil? lery may safely creep under old sheds, instead of floundering out over rocks and mud-holes, and floundering buck again, becoming glorious by tremendous fictions, rather than sheila. The Washington Chronicle announces its purpose to enlarge and adopt the quarto form, Tho Chronicle has a great many Government advertisements. Htnry Ward Uertlitr'i Nobl? far Juitice to the South. f It was an?outioed from Washington, a week ago, that on decoration day, the friends of all soldiers, Union or Confede? rate, lying bnried at Arlington,' might visit their graves and adorn them with flower i. It seemed that the era of good feeling had really dawned, and all wise and tender spirits said, "Amen." Bat noxt day, it was reported that a commit too of tbe Grand Army of the Bepablio bad straightway hastened to tbe War Department to inquire who is to control the ground on that occasion, and to beg that the "insolt" might be averted. Va? rious journals hastening also to con? demn this intended kindliness, it seems worth whilo to inquire whether there is any excuse for withholding so simple a courtesy. We recognize, of course, iu the pro? test of these gentlemen, a staunch loyalty to their notion of a patriotism which is in itself admirable. Their mistake, as it seems to us, is.a misapprehension of tho conditions of tbe case, both past and present. They asBert, and with truth, that after victory so dearly bought as ours, there must be no tamporing with the spirit wbioh so nearly overcame us. They also assert, and with error, that honor offered to our enemies' dead, or conciliation extended to them living, is snch tamporing. And here we take issue. There are two aspt. s of our late me? lancholy war, which wo of the North ought never to forget, and which, prac? tically, we hardly ever remember. Oue is tho fact that, us a community, we did consent to the ever-growing encroach? ments of slavery, of which war was the logical aud inevitable end. Ours was n baser sin than that of tbe South. For the South bad taught itself to believe that slavery derived its strength from the Bible, and it planted itBelf ou tbe ab? stract right of the patriarchal institution. Supple doctors of divinity supplied it with Scriptural arguments. The church? es, most of them at least, did not hesitate to fellowship it. The wholo South, re? ligiously, was as solidly orthodox as it was solidly slave-holding. Iu an enor? mous agricultural country, where tbe masses could neither read nor write, and where, naturally, the newspapers had al? most no part in the education of the people, it was inevitable that a few ora? tors aud political managers should con? trol the community. So that slavery aud the consequent secession were, to a remarkable degree, the honest causo of tbo whole people. And with a splendid courage and endurance; they followed their dis-Union flag to wounds and death, as simply and bravely as if it had been the Banner of tbe Cross aud they the old Crusaders. They were very ig? norant aud .wholly wrong, but they died for the beBt cuusc they knew?their idea of patriotism. B_t wo who believed Blavery to be wroDg, who could not lure our con? sciences to justify it, still accepted and encouraged it through love of gold and desiro of an ignoble peace. We taught the Sooth that it could not demand what wo should not be found ready to give. And when, at last, slavery threatened our national Ufe, it was the instinct of self-preservation rather than any nobler sentiment which promptud resistance. Iu that golden summer of I860, we wont on gathering and spending, and living luxurious lives, careless of the potents in tho sky. Iu the early spring of 1861, it was not alone tho enemies of the Union who doubted its power to preserve its own integrity. It was ?b friends? the Secretary of State, tho oommander in-ohief of its army, tho great merchants and great lawyers, alas! too often the great preaohers of tbe great cities 1 There was nothing in the attitude of the North, almost up to tho momeut of the firing on Fort Sumter, to chcok the menace of the Sooth. There was every? thing to indicate that the Union would quietly fall apart. Because we arc by uo means innocent of the war, therefore it behooves us to speak temperatoly of our fellow-sinuerp, however wo abhor our common ein. And wo ought never to have forgotten that, sharing their guilt, wo could uot shut them out from that redemption for which we fought. If the object of the wur wero not a re? stored and regeneratod Union, but only the triumph of a late-roused North over an insolent and dc?ant South, then their cause was as much bettor than ours as honest devotion to tin ideal, however mistaken, i3 better than pure viudictivo ness. We havo no moral ground to stand upon, but are guilty of our bro? ther's blood, uuless wo meant to make nn offering to God of our national sin, and to freo them, with ourselves, from tho body of that death. Wo lose, then, tho only harvest worth tho reaping from tho tears and blood that both sides so plentifully sowed, if wo will not see onr brother in our enelny, and a common country in tho alien sec? tions. Sober and discreet travelers in tho South, men like Bryant and the great Chief Justice, not easily deceived, testify that they have found everywhere a kindliness of feeling which would bo brotherliocss if any answering kindli? ness encouraged it. If we are not yet lofty enough to forgive the living, who themselves have something to forgive in us, let us at least respect the heroism and the honesty of the dead. They were of our race and of our kindred. They were not greatly different from ourselves. Remembering that we invited, through cowardice or greed, tho war that they plunged ?b into through a mad fanati? cism; remembering that only a re-nnited and noble Union can justify the awful cost of blood and agony, shall wo refuse to lay flowers of kindness on the turf that eight years of peace have nourished? Let us rather heap it high with bloBSomn, and if wo bring roe for bitter mourning, let us not forget roaemnry for sweet re? membrance, and pausics for generous thought*. _ The German-speaking Catholics have raised over $500,000 for a C.ttbolic daily paper in New York. Thb Irrepressible ?* Dundkeaky " Hoaxes the Muhray Hill Fashion ?bi?s.? Yesterday, nearly every family in the neighborhood oj Murray Hill re cdrYed an invitation, neatly engraved on steel, and printed on fine cards, as fol? lows: AMATEUR OPERA 5j pcmtana. Union League Theatre, Twenty-sixth street, Thursday Evening, May 22, At 8 o'clock. Admit Gentleman and Lady. Tickets, $4. Full Dress. German Eleven. Across every ticket was written the one word, "Complimentary," in red ink. At a quarter to 8, carriages began to ar? rive in front of the Union League Thea? tre, freighted with elegantly dressed la j dies and gentleman, in full cveuiug dress. I The gentlemen alighted from tho car? riages, und looked with astonishment at the closed doors. Then they called the janitor, and asked why the dcors were not open. He opened hit eyes in amaze? ment, and said that he knew of no reason why they should be opened. At length the gentlemen, in full evening dress, be? coming indiguaut, produced the exqui? sitely engraved tickets, and demanded the meaning of it all. Meanwhile, the elegnutly dressed ladies were bhirering in their carriages, wondering what br-.d become of their escort. By S i.'clock, Twenty-sixth street was crowded with carriages, and in front oi the Union League Theatre stood a group oi hand? somely dressed gentlemen, nil eagerly scanning the exquisitely engraved ticket, each and every one bearing the favorite ligend, "oomplitneutury." The janitor was called upon so often, that be found it necessary to post a no? tice on the doe r, as i'oilow*: "This theatre b,\a not b.;en engaged for an amateur operatic performance this evening, consequently it will remain closed." The muhitndc steadily increased, each new comer appealing to the throng already gathered and asking what meaut. A handsome gentleman arrive .1 from the Union Club and exhibited a supplementary notice which he had jii?t received, as follows: "Owing to a misunderstanding about securing the Union League Theatre, this evening (for which tho 'management is not responsible,) the amateur opera will tako place at Robinsou Hall, Sixteenth street, between Union Square and F.fth avouue. Southern side. "By Order or tue Committee." Many hurried back into their carriages and went to Robinson Haii, where they .-aw the following notice: "The Amateur Opera postponed in consequence of the Modcc war." There was n vast turn out of tho first families in front of tho Union League Theatre: the clubs were deserted, and all the elegant young gentlemen in town were on the ground. All wore dumb? founded. At length, Mr. C. B. Bishop, of Waliack's Theatre, chanced to pass, just in time to hear a gentleman drawl oat: "Egad, Sothorn again; let's go home." It was astonishing to see how quick tho multitude saw tho joke. They looked at each other, and in ?ilence en? tered their carriages. As they departed, ladies wero beard indulging in immode? rate laughter, bat thoir escorts were si? lent. At 9 o'clock, the Union League Club stationed a valet in full uuiform in front of the theatre, who iuformed each new? comer that the opera had been post? poned. At 11 o'clock an excited crowd as? sembled at George F. Browno's chop house, 924 Broadway, nud insisted that he should lead thsui to Waliack's Thea? tre in search of Mr. Sothern. That gentleman could not be found. Anx? ious inquiries wero made for him at his hotel und at the Union Club, bnt he was not in. At the clubs numerous groups dis? cussed the hoax, ar?d many acknowledged that they had beon sold. It is estimated that upward of 1,000 persons visited the Union League Thoatro last evening. At 1 o'clock this morning a Sun re? porter visited Mr. Sothern's hotel. On the door of his room a notice was posted, as follows: "Gone to bed." Hearing tho soaud of a piano, tho reporter rapped. The door was opened, nud Mr. Sothern and Mr. Philip Lee (the husband of Miss Neilson) were seated nt tho piano singing. Tho reporter told Mr.'Sothern that it was rumored iu tho clubs that he bad perpetrated a stupendous joke on the residents of Mnrray Hill. Mr. Sothern looked at Mr. Lee, they both looked at the reporter ia astonishment, and Mr. Sothern exclaimed: "Impossi? ble! impossible! if there is any one thiug more than another that I do abhor, it is a practical joke." Both expressed ignorance of tho joke, aud manifested siucero sorrow for the persons who had been hoaxod. Both had received invitations to attend the Amateur Opera, but previous engage? ments had prevented their acceptance. They callod for braudy and water straight and tho reporter retired. [New York Sin, Large Fire? The County Jail De? stroyed.?About fifteen or twenty mi nntes past 12 o'clock, Tuesday night, the fire bell started our citizens from their slumbers, and it was soon ascertained that the flames prooecded from tho jail, located in the very heart of the town. The whole npper story of tho building wus destroyed bofore tho onginos roaohed the spot. The fire had made such head? way before it was discovered, that it was utterly impossible to save tho building. Tho jailor barely bad time, it is said, to tarn the prisoners out, boforo tho upper roof fell in. We loaru that there was an iusurauce of ?2,000 npon tho ooncorn. The loss is a heavy one to tho County, tho building having been erectod at n cost of 36.0U0. The jailor snys thore is but little- doubt that tho fire was an in? cendiary one.?Sumter News. Cai;ada talks of expelling the Jesuits.l Eooal Itera?. ? mm ? ? City Haxth&s.?The pr.vc ui single copies of the Phoenix is fiveoents. More ruin, yesterday. Old newspapers for aale at Pbxehix office, at fifty cents a hnndred. A Republican paper is to be published in Audor.son County. A gas lamp in front of tbe different engiue bouses is desirable. Sheriff B. G. Yocum, of Chester, left this city, yesterday, on his way to Vienna. The State Dental Association convenes in Palmetto Engine House, this morn? ing, at 10 o'clock. The Sumtcr Noes has entered its eighth year. It is ably edited, and cutB into the ruling regime weekly. A. A. Gilbert, Esq., of tbe Sumter \Tutc?iman,ip iu tho city. His paper is the oldest in that section of country. A bluish silk umbrella, with a crooked handle, has been spirited awuy. The article is much needed at the Pncgxnt ofileo. ! The committee of arrangements on pic-nic, to bo given by Excelsior Dodge, No. 7, I. O. G. T., will meet this after noou, at C o'clock, at Masonic Hull. The sale of express goods comes off at the auction room of Mr. Jacob Levin, this morning, at 10 o'clock. Look ont for bargains. Thoro will be uu accommodation train ou the Camden branch of the Sou'.h Ca I rolina Railroad to-day. It will leave on regular schedule time?2 P. M. Persons iu arrears to the Pdoznix for subscriptions are notified that prompt payment must be* made. It is either money or no paper. Rev. C. W. Warren delivers his pecu? liar lecture on "Snobs and Snobbery," in Parker's Hall, this evening. It is 6aid to be very amusing as well as enter? taining. We are informed by a gentleman from FuirSeld, that the crops in that County have literally gone to gras3. There has boon so much rain that the farmers have been unable to keep the grass down. Riehland is but little better off. We were in error 33 to tho Newherry I. O. O. P. celebration. It came off, yesterday. Talmctto Lodge was well represented. The father of the order in this city?John McKenzie. Esq.?was in attendance. There is a beautiful silver service en exhibition in the window of Mr. George Bruns, jiwelcr, on Main street. The service is a testimonial of the esteem of tho Charleston firemen recently visiting Columbia for Captain John Dennison, of the Vigilant Fire Engine Company. The four colored men, who were oharged with robbing the storo of Mr. Thos. Steen, were carried before Trial Jastico Thompson, yesterday, and held to bail in the sum of ?300, for trial at tbe next term cf the Court of General Sessions. Complaint has been made as to certain parties holding possession of more of tho street in front of their premises than tho law relative to tho width of the streets allows. Tho proper distance is easily arrived at?as all the streets, ex? cept Assembly and Senate, are of uni? form width. It is preposterous to put it, as some papers do, that such a man died "to? day," when wo know tho paper was printed the night before; but it ie fa? tiguing and detrimental to soundness of mind to read, as in an exchange of the 27th, that "to-day John Calvin, the re? former, died 309 year3 ngo." PntcsixiANA.?If a small boy is a lad, is a big boy a ladder? Step on an orange peol if yon want to make a quick trip. What is tho perfection of politenecs? Offering a standing joke a scat. It is our solemn conviction that iu the facility of "turning a tune," no musical instrument can compare with a hand organ. A goo 1 wife is to a man wisdom and courage, and strength and hope, and en? durance. A bad one is confusion, weak? ness, discomforture and despair. Chemistry for the Czar?"What are the Russians to do with Khiva, now they have got it?" asks the Times. Well, perhaps they will decompose, the Kha? nate oHKhiva, and precipitate the Khan. Tudlic Library of Kentucky.-?We are informed that tho third concert of this enterprise comes off on the 8th of July. Five hundred thousand dollars have already been deposited in La?ik to pay all gifts in full. All tickets unsold will bo canceled, so the Library draws no prizes. Tho two former drawings having been so fairly conducted, and there boing two moro to follow this, is a guarantee of its perfect fairness. Now is the time to try your luck. Wo understand that the generul agent has left a few tickets with our friend, Mr. D. Gambrill, for sale. Call and see him. * Mckdeb in GbejjntHlLE ?A parallel to tbe Hodge Van-Eaton murder baa beeu discovered iu Greenville. A pas? senger from that town reports tbe dis? covery of the body of a tobacconist in Davis* pond, about a mile beyond the corporal iou. There were several wounds upon the body, indioating that a murder had .been committed. Li3T op New Advertisements Meeting Acacia Lodge. Lecture by Prof. Warren. Hotel Arrivals, June 4.? Wheeler House?J D Brooks, Wilmington; W A Butler, J F Smith, Baltimore; B G Yo com, Chester; Mrs Wbeeler, Yorkville; W D Starling. Bicbland; W G Beok, city; Geo W Gwinn, Mrs M J Clark, H J Farber. N Y; W L DoPass and wife, Cum Jon; J H Alexander, G P Kirkland, ?arnwell; W C Hill, Germanton, N C; Dr G F S Wright, Pomaria; Dr R S Whaley, Newberry; Dr John 8 Thomp? son, Patterson Wardlaw, Abbeville; J W Hey ward, D P Phifer, Newberry. : EendrLc House?G W Turner, Granite ville; Mrs E E Boyd, J R Boyd, Lees ville; Mrs TB Walker, Camden; W H Snowden, Charleston; P 8 Williams, W ? Tel Co; W H Heiskell, Md; W C Hill, N C. Columbia Hotel?J H Stelling, Penn; J Williams, Penn; G H Sohivanny, Charleston; A A Gilbert, Sumter; LS Browne, B R R; J S Browning, W H Snowden, J F Newman, J J Morrell, Charleston; W J Sprinkle, J O Roatb. city; T W Bell, N H; C L B Marsh, G W Thames, Wilmington; Donald Mc? Queen, Camden; Mrs Gardner, Cheater; A J Federick, SC; W H Erans, Charles? ton; G S Goodale, Washington, D C. my ? ? Captain Jack and Hia Antecedents. The Oshkosh Bugle, in a late issue, gives some interesting paxticulars concerning the birth and parentage of the famous Captain Jack, which we condense as fol? lows: Captain Jack is now about forty years old, and is the son, on hia father's aide, of en American who spent many years among the Moduc<?, where he was known as "Colonel Jack.'* It was in 1848 that this young Texan, brave as a lion and full of a spirit for adventure, attached himself to an emigrant train, then on its way to a settlement at the headwaters of the Columbia River, in Oregon. On the route, after the most horrible suffering, the party became scattered, through deaths aud desertion, and only tvw or tbroe wero ever heard of afterward. These two or three fell in with a small band of Modoc Indians, while in a des? titute condition. Two of them died, being unable to rally, but tbe other re? covering, lived among the Indians for many years afterwards. His courage, dash and manly accomplishments soon endeared him to the tribe, who wor? shipped him as "Big Medicine." In the spring of 1813, with great cere? mony, which lusted several weeks, and was attended by all the neighboring bands, on an island in Kalmah Lake, he was regularly adopted into the tribe and married to the daughter of the head chief. The Indian name he received on this occasion was "Yahk-Wah-ton"?in English, "Man with the Flaming Eyes." This was afterwards corrupted by the American post traders of the vicinity into Yahk, then Jack, and gradually Colonel Jack. The old chief dying a few years afterwards, he succeeded to the command of the tribe, which he go? verned wisely and well for the length of time stated. Colonel Jack had several children by this marriage; the eldest, known as Captain Jack, succeeded to the command of the tribe at the early age of eighteen. The subsequent history of Colonel Jack is involved in mystery. He disap? peared from the Modocs ahout the time of the breaking out of the rebellion. A rumor exists among them to the effect that he entered the Confederate service, and became a very famous cavalry of? ficer. Colonel Jack is still believed to be alive, and, if so, no doubt views with parental prido the achievements of his warlike son, Captain Jack. The Modocs Before the War.?The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin publishes a letter from Elijah Steele, a lawyer in Yreka, in which theJModoos are partially described as they were before the out? break of the late troubles. Twenty-three years ago, they wero a numerous and powerful tribe, and those who aro left aro not renegades. They were not, as has been asserted, in the habit of loung? ing about Yreka, but went thither twice a year to trade furs and goose feathers for supplies of provisions and olothing and thus provided themselves well. Their credit was good with the mer? chants of Yreka, who trusted them from fall to spring. They wero, however, al? ways requested to camp ont of town. Captain Jack, who was always thespokes man, never drank any liquor, and in? variably punished any of the tribe for any wrong-doing, whether they were drank or sober. They are, according to Mr. Steele, a superior race of Indians in intellect and pbysieal development, and they aro resolved to die rather than yield. In Captain Jack's own words: "To dio by bullet does not hurt much; starve to death on reservation hart a heap." The Fire Fiend at Woke.?We are truly sorry to bear that our energetio and enterprising fellow-citizen, M. Ret? tenberg, hud his steam mill,* located eight miles from town, completely de? stroyed by fire on Wednesday morning last, the 28th of May. It is believed that tho fire was set by the band of an in? cendiary. We have not learned whether there was any insurance upon the pro? perty. This is the second time Mr. Ryttcnberg has been burnt out, within tho past two years.?Sumter Newt. There were 36 deaths in Charleston for tho week ending the31st ult.?whites 13; colored 23.