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AN OKLAHOMA SOCIETY. What It Has Done For the Terri tory's Morals. Guthrie Letter to Dallas News. In the two terrto ries, hoon to be united as one state under the name of Oklahoma. the Anti-Horse Thief association has grown in ntmbers and importance inore than in any other state 'in the union. and todayi' James S. Kirkwood. or Guthrie. ,r the head of an army of i1,ooo mep all residents of Oklahoma and Ind~n Territory. each man of whom is sub ject to immediate service at an time to take the trail and aid, in te cap ture, at lease, of the f-sti e horse thief. 4 With the advance of civilization across the western prairies the horse thief and his band have been buffeted and beaten until the 'id fair to take their place in obsg r.q with the buf falo, deer an( anti e. Instead of the vast expai of prairie which afforded amplf enue of etcape for the horse thi- and his gang of ma rauders, the plains are now: dotted with towns. in each of which is lo cated a telf;graph instiument, a device which has done more to eradicate the ho,f th'ief and his methods than any er agent. By its means the ban,fit has no sooner broken the law until he is hemmed in on all sides by AUnited States marshals, sheriffs, far mers' posses and vigilance commit tees, who cither force his surrender or shoot him down in battle. The passing of the horse thief in Oklahoma can be credited largely to the efforts of the Anti-Horse Thief association, which now has close to i,ooo lodges in Oklahoma and Indian Territory, with a total membership of 40,ooo men. The National Anti Horse Thief Association was organ ized in northern Missouri forty-three years ago, and it ultimately extended its membership into all of the middle and western states and territories. During the past year in Oklahoma alone there were organized 131 new lodges with a membership of 14,000. In this, county seventeen new lodges were organized during the year with over 700 members. Throughout In dian Territory the increase has been even greater. In the additional di vision of the National associat)on there is one lodge to every sixty square miles; Kansas one to every 216 square miles, in Oklahoma alone one to every 120 square miles. Pawnee county has a lodge to every' twenty-six square miles. Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties one to every thirty-five square miles. Logan one to every thirty-eight and Greer county one to every 140. During the past year the associa tion has aided in the capture of 137 horse thieves and the recovery of $12,ooo worth of stolen horses. There were i24 horses .stolen and 136 re covered, some of them being stolen during the previous year. Out of the 187 thieves captured 117 have been convicted, an excellent record for the association. The annual convention of the asso ciation of the two territories will be hield in Guthrie during the coming week. There will be at least 3,000 delegates present. The president is James S. Kirkwood, of Guthrie, who is now serving his sixth term in that position. He is commander of this army of thief catchers and in case of trouble can call every man into the field. A great part of the prominence at ,,tained by Kirkwood as president of w the association and as the great in trepid leader in the two territories is Sdue to "Trav.eller," a black stallion, Swhich has been in Kirkwood's posses sion for many years. He is said to be able to scent a horse thief for sev eral miles, and he is more widely known in Oklahoma than any other aniami in the territory. The horse has carriedl Kirkwood all day and all night without rest except for food and water, but he is 'still able to catch the air of excitement in a man hunt and on an occasion of that kind he sprints over country roads and fiel<ds as if he were still a colt. Eleven years ago the Oklahoma di-! vision of the Anti-Horse Thief as-* sociation was born of necessity. In the.,e early days the bandits and ~desperadoes roamed at will over the prairies and preyed upon the pioneer settlers, defy ing arrest. One of the ?nost desperate and daring gangs was that beaded by Yeager and Black. These outlaws came in ton1h with a new force when the .klah:oma assoclatin was formed. and werc Ilally bro,-ught into caip with their hws oi." For this imi pt arit capture James Gi)s(n and1 .J. P. 'Ilrig:::md. dc- llmesteaKl h), 2 :,ers of the assneiati n. de - - erelit. They f !!wed. the :1 tf the outlawS for monhs aI( I dly. with ti assistance of a partv i associa:io members, broke up the gang. captured some of the follow ers and killed both Yeager and Black in the pitched battle that occurred. The association at times has provo cation to resort to mob violence, notably in the murder of Capt. J. S. Pool, an Indian Territory asociation leader, by two horse thieves, Barclay and Brummitt, during the summer of 1902, in the Osage Indian country. After a hard fight the two outLws were captured and placed in the fed eral jail here. The feeling against the two was so bitter that threats of lynching were made until Hominy lodge of the Anti-Horse Thief asocia tion took charge of the prisoner un til the two could be transferred to Guthrie prison. and sent out a warn ing that a mob would be resisted with Winchesters. Barclay and Brummitt were tried, cor.victed of murder and sentenced to hang, but afterward the sentence was commuted to life im prisonment at Fort Leavenworth by President Roosevelt. A Serious French Duel. "Yes, William .was passing by a va cant lot some place in Paris where one of these French duels was going on."$ "And what did William do?" "He looked on while the principals jabbed the air with their swords. Finally he got tired and was going away when they brought out pis tols."' "Both fired at the word, and one shot grazed a tree in the next field, and the other tore a hole in Wil liam's hat."' "What did William do?" "He got mad and chased the whole party two miles through the woods, but the only man he could catch was the doctor."' "What did he do to the doctor?" "He kicked a hole in -his surgical case, traded hats with him and let him go." Cleveland Plain Dealer. Who Saw It First Jim and Fred, brothers of six and four years of age, were fond of argu ments between themselves, says the Chicago Record-Herald. They were arguments that never went beyond the. wordy stage, but on occasion be came somewhat heated. They were out one day with their nurse when they happened to pass an old house that was a landmark in the neighborhood. Instantly the spirit of dispute was aroused. Said Jim the elder: "I saw that house first." Fred picked up the gage of battle promptly and replied: "No, you didn't; I saw it before you did." "No, you didn't," persisted Jim. "I saw it before you were born, 'cause I'm older than you and passed by here 'fore you were born." This was convincing, even to Fred's infanuile mind, and for some time he was silent. Then after a pause he answered triumphantly: "I don't care if you are the oldest, I saw it before you. When I was dust I blew by this house and saw it." Jim was s.lent. He Was Ready. "At a certain Swiss hotel," said an American tourist, "when I got rea'dy to go I tipped everybody who had waited on me to the slightest extent and was ready to drive off when an individual appeared and ask ed if I had forgotten his existence. '" And what did you do for me?' I asked. " "I am the undertaker in the can ton.' he replied. " 'But, thank heaven, I have not needed your services.' " 'That is not my fault, monsieur, For two weeks I have been ready to patch up your mangled remains and send them on to your friends with my condolence, and yet you 'have re fused to go up on the mountain and mieet with a fall. It is not for what I have done, but for what I should lik to hav done * Reduce the Acreage. At a meeting of the Southern Cot on Growers' a sociatint. at Shreve wort. La.. last week. Prezident IIar 1ie Jordan, c Georgia, in the chair, :he olon ~W!P.resolution,i was unani -'Thc St.uthern Cottoc Growers' Prtelctive a-s eianot'n recognizes t!:at tlc -South faces a monetary crisis, due to the re-clent depression in the )rice of 1hcr great money staple crop, cott on." A Drop in Values. Henry Clews, the banker, was talk ng about a stock that had dropped in value. "Great was the fall," he said. "It was pathetic. It made me think ol an incident thatt happened the othei day in an express office. "To this office a burly, king look ing young man came with a pack age under his arm. 'I want to express this package, he said. "The clerk as isual, asked him: " 'What is the nature of the con tents of the package?' 1 "It is,' said the simple-minded youth in a sad tone, 'a bundle of let ters from a young lady. I am re turning them to her.' " 'Their value?' said the clerk. "The young man swallowed. " 'I don't know what their value iE now,' he said huskily, 'but a week agc I thought they were worth about hell a million dollars.' Hot Prices On Flour! Full Patent Flour, wood .. ..$6 2C Full Patent Flour, cot sks .. .. 6 ic One-half Patent, wood .. .. .. 5 & One-half Patent, cot sks .. .. 6 Straight Flour, cot sks .. .... Meal ..7.............. - Mosely Bros, Prosperity, S. C. The Southern Company Lexington, Ky. Incorporated 1894. Amount paid investors and held foi their Benefit nearly THREE MIL LIONS OF DOLLARS. Deposited with State Treasurer of Kentucky $ioo,ooo.oo. Full paid Capital Stock $ioo,ooo.oo. Stockholders additional liabilit' $ooooo.0o. Home Office Building $zoo,ooo.oo. Surplus over Legal Requirement: $300,000.00. Under strict supervision of Thirty Six States, including South Carolina Our Bonds mature in six or ter years, as you select and pay a: good dividends as is consistent witi good business management. We Sell Bonds upon Monthly Pay ments as Low as $ Per Month. Our ten year gold bonds for any multiple of $1,ooo are sold at $6.95 per month and carry a guaranteet oan feature of $1,ooo, after it is three and a third years old and charge yo six per cent. per annum for the loan, enabling you to purchase one 0: these bonds in order to purchase real state. pay S6.oo per month before oan is madie and $1 1.99 after loan is made with the use of the home for 5 2-3 years while von are paying $11.99 per month therefor, when the bond matures it cancels the mortgage :ebt. lbet H. Aull, General Ageni FOR Upper South Carolina, Drew1nerry. B. 0. Reductioi If you have never traded w to do so now. Our Goods--al of same quality are sold anywl now to reduce our stock by J) SHOES. 7 M This is one of our strong [ largely and expect to make thi To make ready for our up-to-c sell any Shoe in our Store tha six months AT ACTUA CLOTHI To close out some odds anc Cost: Pants, 50cts and up; C $3.50 and up. We carry a c dies' and Children's Under-w< ractive bargains in this line. on Beds, Bureaus, Harness, Buggies and V Just received a Car of as g where, and will make right pr for anything you wish to purc: AULL &UlIPP, P P. S. We give trading stamps for handsor o our store. SCOME SOOl *Whenever you start out on a shop S* This plan will save you many ut * time. If we haven't just what yoi + -. We shall not urge you to buy, but * goods as soon as you can. It will every way to make selections befo: + MAYES' DRU SOUTHERN I THE SOUTH'S GREA TEST SYS'I UNEXCELLED DINING CAR SEl THROUGH PULLMAN SLEEPIN( TRAINS. CONVENIENT SCHEDULES ON. WINTER TOURISTS' RATES are points. For full information as to rates, route Railway Ticket Agent, or R. W. TTT, r 'Pp, 1 Sole! ith us before, it will pay you ways priced as low as goods iere--are being sold for less kNUARY 1ST. )epartments. We bought s our banner Shoe Season,. ate Spring Line, we will t has been on the shelves NS L COST. N4G. ends, we offer at less tham )ats, $1.00 and up; Suits, omplete line of Men's, La ar, and can offer some at Also a full line of Trunks, Saddles, Lap Robes, Etc. Vagonsy ood Wagons as sold' s ices to buyers. Come to us hase. OMIARIA, S.G. ae sets of China-Ware onr exhiibitioa-* L AND SEE ping tour come here first. necessary steps and much twant then look elsewhere. we do wish you to see our be to your advantage in e the final rush begins. G STORE. R AILWAY! EM.7 IVICE. 1 CARS ON ALL THROUG H ALL LOCAL TRAINS. now in effect to all Florida s, etc.; consult nearest Southern. 'ivision Passenger Agent, Charletn, . C.