Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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VOL. vi. :MANNEIG. s.C.. WEDNEOSDAY, JANUARY 8, 1890. BARNWELL LYNCHING. FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE TRAGIC AFFAIR. 1 he Acene After the Ocenrrence-Feel n= in the Vicluty-Acton of Governor Rtchardson. The Governor has offered a reward of $200 eaeh for the capture and con - viction of the Barnwell lyhchers. The special correspondent of The News and Courier writes from Barn well: ' The safety of the town depends, it its said, on the fact that two hundred armed white men will rendezvous on the square at the very first aote of im peudiag danger. This was considered this morning a bold position to assume when it is considered that there is probably an equal num be- of whites and negioes in the towr and especially as a movement agains the village might be conducted at night by the hordes oi negroes in the districts beyond the town. This illu sion wrould, however, be soon dis'. led by a glar ce at the faces of the ne groes wL o came into the town from the interior today. There was a strange fascination for -hem in the scene of the lynching. It was the objective point of many a %Iong pilgrimage by the colored folks m all parts of the county. They I ed in a dazed, stupid manner at theirees of-execution,, but they would not go to see tne bodies where they lay in the town at a very putblic morgise. - The correspondent of The Newsand Courier succumbed to the spell or desire to see tee blood-stained traces of tie crime. The landscape basalready been described as it was left by the red-handed artists. The p &ee of execution was on either side of a narrow part of the road leading from Barnwell to Aiken. Slender white oak treez and pine saplings grew on eitiher side. The prisoners were divided into signiticaut groups; the men accused of the murd- r of Martin on the right, the murderer and his accomp ice in the Heffernan case on the left. The question is asked. Were the lynchers who killed these Iast two from Barnwell, and we-re the .Iyrchere who Ilew Martin's murder ers from Martin's Station? Be this as it, may, the scene was one of unquali fied horror, more like a picture from the inferno than anything tlbgt has oc cuirad since the death of Dante. The first view of the victims after the trag edy was obtained by the high sheriff of thia county, Chief Marshal Swan and Mr. A. T. Woodward. There were six death's-heads in one row, with faces still transfixed in the throes of their last agony. First one and then another appeared to view as the lantern held by the marshall revealed each dreasful picture in turn One of these was shocking in the extreme. Five of the dead negroes had been tied tightly around the waist to the trees with ropes. But in the death struggles of one the rope slipped from around riswaistraad-he.felt. to his knees. His arms were outstretac4' and his mouth and glassy eyes, fixed in death, were wide open. Those who saw this hor rible vision say they will never forget it, nor those who read of it, so terriule is it in ghastly suggestiveness. The heads of the others had fallen nearly down to their breasts. On some of their faces the blood had been congest ed by the chilly morning air and there it remained iin clotted masses. One passing by such a spectacle might in voluntarily recall the sides of a road marked by the affixed bodies of cruesi fied soldiers in the olden time. WHAT THE GOVERNOR sAYs. Toe Governor, when interviewed by .a representative of the News and Coui -er in regard to the lynching at*Barn well, said that hehad done all that it we~- possible for him to do in the uatter until the guilty person should be arr ested. This was the conension -which he had reached after discussing the matter with Assistant Attorney Gen ta Bachmsan. The lynching, he said, could not be too :;troogly condemned by all law abid ing citistas. It was a most unfortu nate otcurrence, and be would have iven a great deal to have been able to "prevent it. We could not judge at this~ distance, he said, of the aggravation to the perpetration of the lynching, but no matter how great that was, there could be no excuse for so gross a violation of law and order. When asked if he did not consider the wbole affair-the murders of white men ny negroes and the terrible retalliation -&s an additional evidence of the neces sity of separating the races, the Gover nor replied he did '-Unquest.ionably," said he, "the two races cannot live together in peace wLile both are aspiring to supremacy. 'The negroes, if left to themselves, would sot create friction by ambition and jeaonsies against the whites. It is the entsiie influence which leads them to oppose the whites and keep alive race antagonism. They look to Congress to give them control of the South, and thes eggravates the gravity of the race issue- I am wholly in favor of the exportation of negroes in sufficient num bers to relieve the present unhappy situ aton, and at the same time I believe it 'wuld prove a benefit to those who go as well as to those who remain. Look ing~ this question of race antagonism squarely in the face, it is obvious that a separation is the only solution of our taubles. We shoald, however, be kind to these people and do all for them -which it is possible for a superior -a ace to do for an inferior." ALL QUIEr Now. -'i-he following additional information . rurnished by the Bairnwell correspon dnt of the News and Courier: This community is now very quiet ud will remain quiet if alarmists anc tre brands are controlled and repressed. lEveless rumors are circulated and useles: ,w.eings are called, whereas, if the peo pe would attend to their ordinary dutie -n ordinary way the excitement woul< -.re out itself. Barnwell is amply abi ~take care of herself. This is the sen uinent of the most sensible people as get ity expressed to day. f 'iere was a cock and bull story circu ~aed last night that an invasion of tit n.~ by darkies, from places fifteen ecaty miles in the country, was imm ~eut, and other rumoirs of a similar natu rrt have done harm. The town counc ~nIa meeting this morning to consid' e situation. They decided that ti > . ok is serene and every thing as -qui &n be expected, and that no estare - Iry mea.sures are necessary for at thi meeting considerable dissati .--tio wa expressed at some of ti newspaper reports, and ip view of tbi fact I will interview some of the promi nent citizens of the town and send yoi the result later. Correspondence Abont Troops'. Last night Governor Richardson re ceived the following startling dispatel from the Sheriff of Barnwell: BARNwELL, December, 30.-J. P. Richardson, Governor, Columbia. S. C. Threats of attacking some towns in the county on Wednesday night. Cannot call for county troops to leave thelb homes. Send us a company to morrow from Columbia and forty stand of extra arms and ammunition on the next traiu without fail. Wishing to allay the excitement you are requested to prevent the publication of all matter pertaining to rue. i. W. Lancaster, Sheriff. The Governor was willing, of course, to comply with these requests if be could be satisfied that so grave and important a step as sending troops to Barnwell was neccesb..v for the preservation of order, but he dete-mined not to act without fuller inform.tion. He accordingly tel egraphed to Gtn. Johns.in Hagood and Col. Robert Aldrich, asking if they con curre,1 in the sheriff'a view. The tele graph offices at Bilackville and Barnwell were closed at the hour of forwarding the inquiry, and the telegram could not reach its destination last night. At about 15.20 A. M., a dispatch was received from Gen. Hagood saying that he had just arrived in Barnwell and would telegraph immediately upon as certaining the state of affairs. This eve ning another dispatch ivas received from Gen. Hagood as follows: BAINwELL, December 31. -Governor J. P. Richardson, Columbia: There is no earthly use fo: troops. This is my per 5oiat opiniou. It is also that of a con fernce h'tld with the ictendant and bholing citizens. Reports upon which he sheriff sent telegram have been as certained to be senshtional. Johnson Haaood. AN AWFUL MOME'NT. Embnrrasiruc Propuoition of at I)eruent ed -vinsiter In Churca.. DDLETON, Cont., Dec. &.-A very queer woman is Misa M. L. Moore, the peonle of Bridgeport think. 'iss Moore, well-dressed and demure f iranuer, 'tame to that town and be haved admirably at the Atk'ntic Ho tel, where she stopped one night. The next day was Sunday, and Miss Moore, in fashionable apparel, went to the rnate St. Paul's Episcopal Church, in the eastern part of the city. She sat in a rear pew intently listening to the Rev. Millidge Walker's sermon on Christmas, in which he pleaded path etically for Lhrstmas charity, beseech ing his p irishioners to remember all poor people with pecuniary beaevo ence. He had just about attained "third ly" in his discourse when the devout Miss Moore arose and rustled down the aisle to the pulpit front, where she halted. her hands crossed, and face eloquent of self-sacrifice and sym pathy. In a few words in clear tones, that were heard distinctly all over the. church, she said that the spirit of the sermon had touched her heart, and she was ready, eager4to give all that she possessed to the poor; she'was wil ling to give even her own appare! for sweet charity," and anxious and pre pared then and there to take ofi' all er clothes and pass them over to the Rev. Milledge Walker. He could place hem where they would do the most ood. A more astounded clergyman than Mr. Walker probably never was inter rupted in the midst of a Christmas sermota on theoretical charity; his face became pale and then purple, when the young lady ;.proposed disrobing herself in the presence of the congrega ion, and then he tried to say a few words to her. But she interrupted him, 'talked incoherently for seve ral moments, then hastily quit the house. She returned to her hotel and be haved in a ladylike manner until sup per time, when she caused excitemenit in the dining room by springing from her seat at a table and hugging and kissing the colored head waiter, She then delivered a ramibling address to the guests. Late that evening friends arrived in town, and she went away with them on an express train a~nd for the west. No one~ is connecticut knt'ws her story. Hte Dug H11s Own Grave. Something unique in mortuary mat ters occurred recently in McCalmont township, Jeff'erson County, Pa., Solo. mon Himes, an old citizen and a some what dissolute man, who spent most of his time in the woods with dog and gun, became alarmed about two weeks ago on account of the prevalence of typhoid rever in the neighborhood. One of his old neighbors succumbed to the disease, and Himes made up his mind that his turn would come next. Accordingly he armerd himself with mattock and shovel, selectgd a spot on his farm which he thought suitable for his eternal resting-place and proceeded to dig . his grave both wide and deep. After this .he talked ia nonchalant manner about the obse. quies, saping in his drawling way that he really would have preferred to live a little longer, because, as he expres ed it, "a man has such a gol danged long time to be dead." As Himes ws an exceedingly robust man, weghing .oaer 200~ pounds, his neigh bors laugked at his eccentricities and vwhispered around that "Sol Himes w as gettia' a little out of his head." But inthe course of a~ wveek Himes was down with typhoid fever, and when the doctor came he said, "There ain't no use of running up a doctor's bill whn a man knows he's goin' to die," and not a morsel of medicine would he permit to pass his lips. 19 a few days more he was a corpse, and he is probably the first mau on record to perform the melancholy tv-.sk o digging his own grave. The Edgefleld Munrdecrern' Not Caughs. The Governor has been notified by Sheriff Outzs, of Edgefield, that afte: starting for Arkansas to bring back t< justice Murrell and Carpenter. the con demned murderers of Younce. he recei ed on the way a telegram from tha State saying that it was a case of nib taken identity, and he had therefor .abandoned his trip and returnadt : Edgetield. He states that he is unabl ii to understand the numerous and cot er licting staternents he has received tror eArkansas. He was was first notitie e that the men were arrested .at Brinkle: r- and afterwards that they bad bee ty taken to Helena, and he was puzzled b the course of the Arkansas official! - There is certainly something fishy in ti A DEFENCE OFTHE SO UTH THE r.AST ESSAY OF PRESIDENT JEFFERSON DAVIS. Ander.oivitco and Othaer War Prisona The Re-lativc' Mortality Antong the Federal aind Conlederate Pris4oners. A Crushiig Answer to the Chargen of Inhansanity Preferred Againt the Sonth. From the Belford Company. One of the last essays fr.. a I '. pen of Jefferson Davis was on "Andwi.,o ville and other War Prisons." It was written las, summer for the North American Review, but in consequence o1what Mr. Davis characterized as the mutilation o1 his reply to Lord Wolse ley by the editor of the Review, he withdrew it from that periodical and gave it to Belford's Magezine, in the January member olw-Nvhich the first part of it appears. It is a remarka ble paper aDd will attract wide atten tion. "Neat ly a quarter of a century has laps ed," writes Mr. Davis, ":-ince war between the States ceased. Has the prejudice fed on the pas-ion of that period ceased with the physical strife? Shall iL descend form sire to son, hardened by its transmission? Orshall it be destroyed by the full develop, ment of the truth, the exposure of tbe guilify and the vindication of the innocent." Believing, as Mr. Davis without a doubt did believe, that he, personally, and the Coufederacy as a community, were not responsible for the needless sufferings and mortality of prisonecrs at Andersonville, it is natural that he should.have written with earnestness and warmth, even .without mitterness in defence of his own record and his people. The facts that he :n'roduces 0 his paper divide themselves into aree groups: The first group are de signed to show, while no attempt is made to deny the existence of great and veedless sufferings, yet that they were not owing to any fault. of the Confederam authorities, and that, contrary to the common belief at the North, neither the sutierings nor the mortality, among the Federal captur ,d soldiers in Confederate prisons were so great as the sufferings and mortality among confederate prisoners in Federal prisons. This last assertion will seem so as toundirg to Northern readers that, unless fortified, the rest of Mr. Davis's article will excite no attention. There fore, although it is one of his last points in the order of presentation, we quote it first: "It must be conceded that thi North ern States are more generally healthy than the Southern. Then, with equal means and care in providing for the prisoners. it follows that the rate of mertaliy should have been as the salubrity of the country. It may be presumed that all were "on duty" when captured, and the average of the woundedamong the prisoners about the same; therefore that all were in a condition to be benefited by rest and proper treatment in a favorable local ity. What was the result? According to the reports of the United States war department the relative num bers of prisoners and death were in round numbers: United States prisoners held by the Confederacy, 270,000 Confederate prisoners held by the United States 220,000 United States prisoners died in Con federate hands, 22,000 Conf ederate States prisoners died in United States hands 26,000 "From this appears that the Confed erates, with an excess of 50,000 prison ers, had 4,000 fewer deaths. This should not aiave been the case if the means of providing for them had been equal; but, in every material respect in surgical instruments, and all which free commerce contributes-the North had greatly the advantage. Only one element remains to account for the difference-care for the defenseless; and this, in the depths of our destitua tion, never ceased, as the world will appreciate whzaever impartial his tory dhail render the justice which contemporary prejudice and passion have deined." - M r. Davis insists that the needless suffering at Andersonville was caused by the inhuman refusal of the Federal G.,vernment to exchange$ prisoners, and declarIng medicines contraband of war, even after it knew that the Confederae Government was unpro vided with food enough or medicine to care properly for the prisoners in its hands. "It was not starvation," he writes, "but acclimation, unsuitable diet and despondency which were the potent agents of disease and death." He stops in his argument to defend both General Winder and Major Wirz from the charges of cruelty to prison ers, and tells this astonishing anec dote about Wirz, on the .testimony of Father Boyle among others: "On the evening before the day of the execution of Major Wirz a man wished, on thepart ofa Cabinet officer, to inform me that Major Wirz would be pardoned if he would implicate Jefferson Davis in the cruelties at An dersonville. Upon my refusal to take any action in the matter he went to Mr. Schade, counsel for Wirz, with the same purpose and with a like result. When I asked Major Wirz the next morning he told me that the same pro position nd been made to him and had been rejected with scorn. The Mjor was very indignant, aad said that, while he was innocent of the charges for which he wvas about to suf fer death, he would not purchase his liberty by perjury and crime, such as had been wade the consideration of his freedom." Mr. Schade confirms this aet.,und ing statement. Mr. Davis briefly reviews the difler ent and earnest efforts he made toex change urisoners, and even to permit the medicines needed t o treat Federal soldiers to be introduced, solely for their use and in charge of Federal agents, who should distribute them; and he tells how every otuer was re - jected-even the petition of a comn - mittee of Andersonville prisoners wvho were patolled to go to Washington -to present their complaints, at the re e quest of the prisoners themselves. 0 The article is t emperate in toue, and e will be sure to be widely discussed; - for its statemesnts, however familiar they may be to Confederat e historical students, have the sensational quial ', ity of absolute novelty to Northern n ears. Y This essay is Mr. Davis's final plea 3. for his people. His recent death will .e give it a larger and a more unprej udic auencew than it would have com. imandvi during hi, lif*. 1it i:par tance as a contribu: iva t the history of the war can hardl- be overrated. The present generaLion has no interest in giving credence fo the prjudiced opinions of the generatious tbat fought the war. Confederates and Federals have disappeared; only Americans re nain. And itis due to the fair fame of our America that, the real authors of any cruelties that have marred our national history should be condemned, on whichever side they fougiht and that injustice should he done to no wan, whether he wore the blue or the gray. BLIND (.HAPLAIN .'ilLBURN. The Genil ic.. stic lho Pravpefor .the u .- wn The social veins and ante:ies of our beautitul city are filling as:, oys a Chicago News Washington letter, its current of life is quickening to a resh, an,- the national heart, that begau its functions on Yonday at the capital already 6eats :-0 btormily that an agitated sessioin i counted upon. This will mean but little, however, if the membrs adjust all their diflici ties as happily as they did the first the filling of the chaplain's chir-for even the we-n who bd pet.- c:.udidates of their own ar-: glad of tje installation of the famous 'i"iud chaplain" whose noble head and fearless heart. have tur so many years been known and lo-ed by the law-makers, and whose prayers hace at ti:nes produced such startling seusations in the House. Dr. Milburn is of medium height, somewhat rotund in figure, eye. cloud ed to opaquetiess. a good fighting nose, a ieawemi: mottui- 1 t weli-roun ded chin, not :.tiiely cu'.ealed by a neatly trimmed beard ana inousaehe, and a voic- so harmonious anId pleas ant, an int urest and sympath; so rcady and genuiue, a cheerfulness s> u erly unalfected. that every home ihe hon ors with his friendship and every gath ering to which he adds his welcome presence is the happier and brighter for it. Some of his fri'nds call him their clerical tonic, and really it, is a good name for him. He counts his intimates among all creeds end denor inations ama is a warm encourager of c very in aocent amusement that youth craves; is a consequence of these last he moves about in a cloud of young peo )le, and it is interesting to see what 1 iee tact and judgmeut he has won his Nay to the very hearts of a host of oung men, and holds them iu a com, i p)anionship so entertaining that 1 hey forget to go into less g6od com any. "Hang it all," one of them said with 1 L puzzled frown between his eyebrows 'if he wasn't so good, down-to-the round-and-all-around good, I would lever remember he is a minister. He'll augh and joke with you, he won't hrow pious brick-bats at you when I ou're down, and he isn't all the time ] hoo.ing you full of morals. But i omehow or another he get there all he same, and makes you so ashamed f you are not on the square that you ust hustle till you are." I had the pleasure of meeting him o irst at Mr. Springer's home, and it ] vas some minutes before I could rea- i ize that the genial centre of the mer- i iest group in the room, the gentleman I vho turned so alertly from speaker to I peaker, was the "blind chaplain" i vhom for years I had pictured as 1 itting in the darkness and in the nelancholy that such darkness brings. THE WAR ON THE TRUST. ttion Covers for Cottlon ve-asup Jute Covera.-- he Alliance Iloldinglit Own. We w.4 and Courier. Persistence in any cause is to be ad-J nired, but when the cause is a good >ne admiration rises to a height far bove ordinary. During the past two nonths very little has been said about he Jute Trust and cotton bagging. Phe cotton men have ceased to fear rouble across the water, and the plan er, irrespective of tare or no tare, has o the best of his ability tabooed the j >roduct of the trust, and has stuck ] ~lose by Alliance bagging where he ~ould get it, and when the supply at is own town was exhausted has used bheeting. A glance at the drays on the street, t the cotton in the compress sheds or varehouses, will show there has been1 1o very greaf diminution of the amount f Alliance bagging used, and despite hes fact that so much apprehension vas caused by its use in the early part1 >f the season, no harm to any one has ~et resulted. The shippers have had 2o cotton refused on the other side of1 ~he water, and while some has had to ye recovered, the cases were nut more aumerous than ordinarily occur with ute. The indications, judging from the re ports from various parts of the State, are that the Alliance is "lying low" for the trustand as soon as the season for 1890 begins the farmers will knock u hole in it as big as a barn door, and like McGinty it will go "down to the bottom of the well," dressed in its best suit of clothes. A MILLIONAIRE'S PAL ACE. Young George W. |vnndekrbit's l'ark A t Ashvalle,. N. C.-Gro'unds Thai Cover Five vhlouhana A cres. Ahvi!!e Letter in Philiadelphla Times. George WV. Vanderbilt, the young es of the sons of the late William H. Vanderbilt, is determined, in addition t~o his well-known palace in New York, to have the most magnificent private park and the lordliest country estate in America. To that end he has recently bought at a cost of $31(0, u00 nearly 5,000 acres lying just out side of this town-a tract of land fully one-third larger than your magnifi cen Fairmount part, about one-third of the acreage of which lies under the Schuylkill and the Wissahickon H is landscape gardener is already at work laying out and beautifying these ex tensive grounds at an expense of $300, 000 more. His architect is busy pre paring the plan for a lordly leasure house, like an old style French cha teau, which will cost an additional $400,000. His model stables, which will be scattered over the 5,000 acres, for the purpose of housing thousands of hor., ses and cattle of the very bluest of blue bovine blood, will cost, it is said, at least $200,000 more So you see that the estimated cost already foots up to the magnificent sum of $1,200, 000. The shortest distance from the stately ent rance gates to the still state lier mansion of the lord of this vast estate will be lour miles by a magnifi cent roadway sixty feet wide, and it is said that there will be more than fifty miles of macadamized roads with A. HEADLESS GHOST. TerrmIies a Farnina community In the :South of England. About thirty miles south of London, on one of the prettiest parts of Englan i is a village called Shalford. Adjoining it is a large common or public pasture. There are a fer houses fronting on it, prominent among which there was, about twenty years ago, a rather sin giular looking edifice known to the vilage folks as the "Black House." The name was apparently ill-chosen. for the bricks were white and the tiles a bright red. But there was a good reason for the name, as any local gos siper was pleased to explain. The house had been built by a farrner named Somers for the reception of a young lady of god position who was shortly to become his bride. The wedding day had been fixed. But a few day be fore the tne fixed for the wedding day the bride disappeared, and a few hourz after her denar'u ce a farm hand in the en ploy of Somers was also sought for and found not. Rumor coupled the two names and the disappointed bridegroom started off in hot baste in pursuit. For several months the house remained untenant ed, but one night lights were observed in the windows. The next day there was much speculation as to whether Somers had returned or whether he had rented. But there were no signs of life during the next nor the succeed ing day, and finally it was thought advisable to force an entry. Accord ingly the local blacksmith and Somers? farm bailiff broke open thefet' The house was found exactly !ett by Somers when he started out. on his tour of revenge, nor was there any ex lanation to 1e Jetected of the lights seen at night. That evening the windows were agin bright, and for several successive nights the phenomenon was repeated. Finally a committee of three was ap ointed to in vest igate. The members of the committee were the Uacksmith, he parish clerk and an old skeptic who believed in no one but himself. ifter eating a hearty supper a t the vil ge inn, the trio set out on their task. rhe clerk was nervous, the blacksmith1 lefiaht and the skeptic sarcastic. The loor was forced open and the men proceeded to investigate. They made I tour of aIl the rooms, but dipovered aothing. The cltrk became reassured, he blackst -th siguei for some one or omething to fight and the skeptic hrew i n an "I told you there was ;othing," every two or three min ttes. But shortly before midnight the ighi. of the lanterns carried by the in repid investigators was supplemented )y a bright illumination, which seem d to have no natural source. The - ,!erk looked at the blacksmith, and tven the skeptic felt himself at fault. uddenly the first named sprang to his eet and rushed headlong out into the )asage along it to the front door, md through it on to the pasture. 9 he blacksmith and the skeptic turn- d d and decided to follow his lead as t hey could. For standing in the far f orner, was a figure so weird that not u wen the skentic could control his fears. c It was th e figure of a young woman, t, bsolutely headless and enveloped in . shroud of surpassing brilliancy. From a is unnatural clothing the mysterious g ight seemed to emerge. The two y en got away safely and corroborated j he parish clerk's description of the b cene. The story was not generally l. redited,.but again and again was the ouse rented, only to be vacated by b ach succeeding tenant after one day's r ccupation. Neither Somers nor his t alse lady love ever reappeared at ~halford, and when your correspion- r ent last saw it the black house was b ttill unoccupied and was gradually e alliug into ruins. NEGROES DO SNEEZE. bladelphlrtPhysicinn Explode a Popui- s lar su'prttio.t EHILADELPHTA, December 31.-The neezing part of the system of infiuenza ives rise to a re markable question. L statement has been published in a r eading New York paper, that a negro ~annot snieeze. With a view of ascer aining the opinions of prominent ~hsicians on this subject, several of I he icading doctors of~ this city were een by a .uispaw.h correspondent to-. lay. Here are a few of their opin-. ns: Dr. C. T. Newgarden, of the Jeffer on Medical hospital, stated that he -as certain negroes could sneeze. He ad both heard them and seen them aany a time. Dr. Joe ph Hearn was equally posi ive. He said he had been practicing edicine for eighteen years, and du ring all tnat time negroes had been ( eezing7 the same as white people. Dr. a Costa and Dr. J. William White y ere rather non-committal. "I can't I a," said the iormer, "as I have nevert een any report on the question," i hile Dr. White remaiked that noi case of the kind had ever come under his personal experience.s Mr. Howard, a colored man, is a raduate of Harvard and a regulare icensed practitioner. He said that if< is visitor had come two minutes ear ier, he would have had the pleasure I of seeing and hearing a full-blooded ne- 1 gro sneeze. Dr. Howard added that t present he is treating two cases of nfluenza among colored patients, and( hat they sneezed constantly. Dr.t Potter, another colored practitioner,( igreed fully with the opinion express-t d by his colleague. He stated that e had an old mother, a cat, and a dog, and that all of these had been observed to sneeze, both in chorus and solo parts. If the dog sneezedi first, the cat soon followed, and hisi mother was sure then to sneeze her Gilbert A. Ball, the well.known col ored statesman, was next called upon. He said: "The races arc now so close v blended together that there is very little difference. If the colored pen, pe as a race really do sneeze it perhaps comes easier to them on account of tre broad, open shape of their nostrils. but again the question nowv naturally arises des a sneeze afford them the same re lief as it does a sharp, hatchet-face, gimlet-nose white man?" A MysterZiouN asamna~jltionI. James F. Woodnward died in Atlata~t Sunayv eveoing. TrhLred .y aight WVod war,'who( was a well-kLnown business manm was walking iut .M:arietta street, whn, soriebody stepped~' ini front of him and asked if he waIs .;m Woodward. ie ans wered-in thei aiirmnative, aind th an pushed a pistolto Woodwardi's breast and~ tired. Wood ward walked to bis ter's house, a mile i r more aLwayan tnid the story as here given. Hle cre'ced the matter lightly and it was thought be would get well,~ but a relapse Sunda~y brought death. The police have kept the shooting as quiet as possible, hoping to catch the perpetrator.. ONE OF WATTERON*S STORIES The Speech of Abram Jasper in ti Virainia Caipalgn. To point an argument the Courier Journal revives a speech made b3 Abram Jasper to the colored picnic al Shantytown, in the late Virginia cam paign: Fellow freemen, says he, you all know me. I are Abram Jasper, a republican from way back. When there have been a work to do, I has done it. When there has been votin' to do, I has voted early and of cen. When there ha- been any fightin' to do, I has been in the thick of it. I are above proof, old line, and tax paid. And i has seed many changes, too. I has seed the re publicans up. I has seed the democrats up. But I is yit to see the nigger up. 'Tother night I had a dream. I dreamt that I died and went to Heaven. When I got to de pearly gates, ole Salt Peter, he says. "Who's dar?" says he. "Abram Jasper," says I. ".s you mounted, or is you afoot?" says he. "I is afoot," says I. "Well, you can'tgit in here," says he. "Nobody's 'lowed in here 'cepjt them as come mounted," says he. "Da*'s hard on me," says I. "arter comin' all dis distance." But he neber says nothin' mo' and so I sttrts bac k, an' about half way down de hill who does I meet but General Willom Ma hone. "Whar is you gwine, general?" says I. gwine to Heaven," says be. y by. gen'i, says I, 'taint no se. ['s just beer up dar an' nobody's 'low ad to get in 'cept dey comes mounted, in' you's afoot?" "Is dat so?" says he. "Yes it is," says I. "Well, de gen'l sorter scratched his ead, an' arter awhile he says, says he: 'Abram, I tell you what let's do. You s a likely lad. Suppose you git down n all fours an' I'll mount and ride ou in, and dat way we kin both git n. "Gen'l";says I, "do you think you ould work it?" "I know I kin." says he. "So down I gits on all fours, and de eu'lgits a-straddle, an' we amble Ip de hill again an' prances up tot: e ate, and ole Salt Peter says." "Who's dar?" "Geu'l Willomn Mahone of Virginey," ays he. "Is you mounted or is you afoot?" ays Peter. "I is mounted," says gen'l. All right," says Peter, ''all right," ays he; "jest hitch your hoss outside, en'], and come right in." LITTLE CHILD POISONED. he -on of Mr. W. C. Bradley Polsoned and Killed With Concentrated Lye. Columbia Record. Yesterday, though seemingly a very uiet Sabbath, witnessed a horrible eath from poisoning in this city, and bie case is doubly horrifying, from the act tbat the poison may have been ad 3nuistered, thouagh--how the--child: e eived the deadly poison is yet a mys Dry. 'I e child was pliying in a back room rith its nurse, who was a small colored iri, about 12 years old, the whole of esterday morning and was as well and appy ai it had ever been. It is a little oy, about one year and a half old, and i the son of Mr. W. C. Bradley. Noth 2g unusual happened until the mother ead a scream from the child in the so'm about 1 o'clook, and rushing into be room where it was playing, she ound It on the floor, with its lips and iouth horribly swollen and uttering earltrending cries. She at once made ery effort in her power to alleviate the tile one's sufferings, quickly summon 2g physicians. In a very short while rs. ralley and Sylvester arrived and ade every effort known to medical cirm e to save the life of the little boy, t their efforts were in vain, for the bild died just before 2 o'clock, after uffering most intensely. There was no concentrated lye in the o.>mn, so) the mother states, and the only tOX In the house was locked up in a loset. in the room, entirely out of the each of the little one. Hence, suspicion ointsto the nurse, as she was the oniy ie in the room with the boy at the me, and when the scream was heard he was outside. There was no lye ound on its bands, and bow it procured he dead ly stuff is ye-t a mystery. A STRANGER IN TOWN. A Christmnan Story From the Far West That lteadN Mighty Fine. TEIARKANA, Tex., Jan. 2.-On 'hristmas day two noted desperaders, Red Lindell" and "Choctaw Pete," oad into the town of Tissawa. They ad been drinking, and immediately ook possession of the main street, fir g their revolvers recklessly and driv g everybody within doors. While his was going on, a well mounted tranger with a veritable arsenal ,round his waist arrived. The new omer was supposed to he a comrade If the outlaws by the inhaibitants. But t turned out he was a stranger. When te went to hitch his horse Lindell cut he leathe r. The stranger protested, vhereupon Pete covered him with a evolver and called upon "Red" to lisarm him. The stranger waited until he latter was close to him, when he Irew his revolver and shot Lindell hrough the heart. He then opened ire on "Choctaw Pete" and sent two ullets into his head, killing him in tantly. The stranger oD'ered to give himself ip, but finding no one willing to ar -est him, rode leisurely oilf. His idenity s unknown. Faith hlenlers lu Trouble. LovNGo-ro, ILL., Jan. 2.-Great ex :itenent prevails here ove~r the attempt )f the maic mnewners of the Pentecost Land to decoy MIi.s May Whitman and Miss Eldorado Million. two highly re spected girls, from their homes. There was almost a riot at. the depot when the Faith H~e'lers tried to take .he girls with themi agiint the- xihes of hbelr frietuds; and knives andi re-volvers~ were sho~wn. The girl. were tinally persuaded ?not to o oni tihe trii, i)uL immediately left town in buggies in company with naern ers of ri -band They were overtaken ando carried back to L vi ngton? Miss Mllion escaped, and left for Tuscal'' last ~vning. Two brothers of the girl per sued hter to Tfuscali.' Feeling agaimst the Faith Healers runs very high. -Alex. lIamiltocu, one of the ablest layeers of N,:wYork~andi grandson (if the teat stateanli whose nasme he bears, id Monday at the Hamilton estate rear Irwing'.on, of heart disease, at. the age of 72 years. Hamilton ranked as a lawyer with Chas. O'Conner, Daniel Lorda nd other leaders of the bar. THE FARMERS' ALLINCE y its Pewer and Influence Increasin Alabama. From the New York Times. MONTGOMERY, December Ul.-T! political situation in Alabama to-da is exceedingly interesting. The Den ocratic leaders and papers are w.gin vigorous war on the Farmers' Allianc The war has been brought in th platform of confederation betwee the Farmers' Alliance and the Knight of Labor adopted some days ago u the National Convention in St. Loui The Alabama delegation was compos ed of office holders and they hav been openly denounced for their ac tion in approving the platform an, charged with misrepresenting the peo ple and the Alliance in this State Several county Alliances have adopt ed resolutious condemning the actio of the State delegati3n and pronounc ing the platform as rotten, undemo cratic, and dangerous. The platform demands the abolitior of national banks, endorses the Green back party, has a plea f'r an unlimi. ted issue of greenbacks, and demand. that the railroads and telegraph line. of the country shall be owned and ope rated by the Governmnt. It alsc contains a stated resolution to elec men who will carry out the principles of the Alliance and stand by its inter e-ts, indepondent of and uninfluenced by party caucus. This latter clause is especially obnoxious to the people of Alabarna, for here the compact organ ization of the Democratic party and the rule and supremacy of the white people can only be maintaiaed by a strict adherence to party principles and loyalty to the party caucas. The selection and nomination of candidates by party caucus and convention amount to election, because the peo ple abide by the enoice made in this way. The Eon. R. F. Kalb, State agriclu tural commissioner of Alabama, is a candidate for Governor, and the chosen candidate of the Alliance. He has publicy announced that he will not seek nor accept the nomination except by the State Democratic Convention, but his political opponents charge that he is the head and front of a political movement which, if necessary to ac complish his election, will go to almost any length. He was a delegate to the National Convention, and did not op pose the platform of confederation. The State Alliance lecturer, A. B. Brassel, recently delivered a public speech, in which he advised the farm ers to attend the meetings and primar ies, and then, ir necessary, to work for and elect men to -public office who can be depended en to carry out the principles of the Alliance, independent of the Democratic or Republican par ties. The Alliance men, as a rule, will oppose an independent political move medt, which would mean the grave for Democracy and white supremacy. The Democratic leaders will make a desperate effort to prevent any division of the white vote. Many Alliance men d lare they an independent po it cal movement. The next State Democratic Conven tion will be held next:April, and ths election in August following. Thert are four avowed Democratic candidate, for Governor and doubtless there- wil: be several others in the field before the :onvention meets. GRATITUDE. Wk Ge eral Jones Loved Jef'erson Da vlu. Sew York Tribune. Many people are speculating as to the reason which induced the Hon. eorge W. Jones, ox-Senator from [owa, to travel South so hurriedly, at bis advanced age, to visit the late Jefferson Davis betore his death. A friend of mine thinks he can furnish the reagon. When Mr. Jones, he says, first name to Washington, as Senator-elect from Iowa, he found himself although a man of means, to be what is known as'"landpoor" f-r a brief season, hav ing a good deal of money tied up in temporary unproductive lands. Hear ing that Mr. Davis~was in town he called to see his old friend. Mr. Da vis received the Senator-elect most kindy. In the course of conversation Mr. Jones mentioned his temporary embarrassment, stating that he had a note for $10,000 to meet, and that he thought his host,"being better acquain tad in Washington than he, could in troduce him to some broker from whom -having good security to offer he could secure a loan at short date. To his visitor's amazement Mr. Da-, vis whipped out his pocket book, took from it a blank check, which he filled out for the $10,000, and handed it to him with many expressions of pleas ure that he was able to oblige a friend. Thereupon Senator Jones. after thanking his host very warmly for his generosity, asked for a sheet of paer, wrote out a note of hand for the amount at 6 per cent. interest, and payable to Mr. Davis "or bearer" on demand. This he handed to his friend who asked, somewhat sharply: "What is this?" "Read it," replied the visitor, which Davis did with great deliberation, and then with equal deliberation tore it into small pieces, observing.. "Of course I have no use for this, and if anything should happen to me suddenly, it might cause you some slight temporary embarrassment." "Gratitude," said my informant with a smile, "is said by some to be a plant of slow and uncertain growth, but it seems still, at least, to fiourish in Iowa." Camnpelled to F-orega s lk P'unch. A special dispatch Ir. m Leavenworth, Kansas, says: At the banquet given to .Jdge Brewer last night by leading cim zes of Leavenworth, in honor of his el-vton)f to the Supreme Counrt of the( United Statcs, the committee oif arra:,ge muents for the barnquet had prepared to provide i:s guests with milk piunch. In some war tils fasct reached trie car.s f the Police Commissimuers. and the pro. oret.rs oif the house were warned by umnur:1Ier Lowe tha'. if any liquors wee- z-erved th.:y w.-.u.id o arrested . sch informhati -n The baaquet com mitteeave ordere~ to pay no heed to this thr cat. (Cmilioers Lowe a:d Abernathy heard of this, and declared that if the punzch wvai tc-rved the police would cetainly enter the place uduring the banquet and coufisc'-e the hiquors. Rather than have any disturbance. the comittee consent ed to forego tai punh. anid the on(ly bevenues :: 'V fess x-re tea. edice. :ri.k and -The Frence governlment intends to enforce the legal penalty againsi 300 priests convicted oj eddling wit: electins. - S OMdE NEW LAWS. Important -rntutes Passed at the Lage .%vusrlon ui the LesinIature. Below will be found the text of some of the Acts of public interest; passed at the recent s.sion of the Legislature: TIE CIGARETTE LAW. Xn A-. to prohibit the sale, or fur n.nhiu, or giving, or providing to certain imin-o s of cigarettes. tobacco,or cigaret te paper, or any substitute there for, and to provide penalties for the same. Section 1.. Be it enacted etc., that from and after the p --sage of this Act e it shall not be lawful for any person or persons, either by himself or them selves, to sell,furnish give or provide any minor or minors under the age o 18 years with cigarettes, tobacco, or cigarette paper, or any substitute therefor. Section 2. That any person or per sons violating the provisions of the preceding section, either in person, ty agent or in any other way, shall be held and deemed guilty of a misde meanor, and upon indictment and conviction tlherefor shall be punished . by a fine not exceeding $100 nor less than $25, or by imprisonment for a term of not more than one year nor less than two months, or both, in tho discretion of the court; one-half of the fine imposed to be paid to the infor mer of the offense. and the other half to be paid to the treasurer of the county in which such conviction shall be had. THE STATE FARM. An. Act to amend the law in regard to the leasing and hiring out of -con victs and to provide for the purchase of a state farm or farms and for the employment of the convicts thereon. Scetion 1. Be it enacted, etc., that the board of directors of the State peni tentiary be, and they are nereby, an thorizvd and empowered to purchase out of the surplus earnings of the peh itentiary a suitable farm or farms to be worked and planted by convicts under the superintendence of said board of directoirs; provided, that the price paid therefor shall not exceed $40,000 and the said board is authorized to re tain in its hands and apply to such purchase all surplus money reeeived by it from the operations of said in stitution during the past fiscal year provided further, that no farm or farms shall be purchased io which said di rectors or any of them shall or may be directly or indirectly interested. Section 2. That no contracts for leasing or hiring out convicts to be employed in phosphate mining or railroad building shall hereafter be made by said board of directors. Sectiou 3. That said farm provided for in Section 1 shall have sufficient elevation to prevent the same from fioods and overflows as near as prac ticable. LABOR CONTRACTS. An Act to amend Section 2084, Ti tle VII., ChapterLXX VIII., of Ge Statutes of this State, bn rnracte Section 1. 3e it enacted, etc., that Section 2084 of the General Statutes of this State, relating to violation df contracts, be, and the same is hereby, amended by striking out said section and inserting in iieu thereof the fol lowing: "Section 2084. Whenever such contract or contracts are viola ted, or attempted to be violated or broken, yr whenever fraud is practiced or attempted to be practiced, by eith et party to such contract or contracts at any time before the conditioes of the same are fulfilled and the parties released therefrom, either in keeping any account or accounts between him, her, or them, and the other party or parties to such contracts, or in -the division of the crop or crops, or the payment of money or other valuable consideration, or if it be a disinterest ed party chosen to make a division-or divisions of crops hereinbefore provi ded, he, she, or they shall be liable to. prosecution as for a misdemeanor, or in failing wilfully and without j.ust cause to give the labor reasonable re quired of him, her, or them by Vhs terms of such contract, or in other res pects shall refuse to comnly with the conditions of such contract or con tracts, or shall fraudulently make use of or carry away from the place where the crop or crops he, she, or they may be working are planted, any portion of said crop or crops, or anything con nected therewith or belonging thereto, such person or persons so offending shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction, be punished by im prisonment of not less than thirty days nor more than two years, or by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $500, in the discretion of the court. COL. TALCOTT'S RESIGNATION. The- New orgzanizattom of' Ih-Lchinoad and Danvillo Railroad. - Col. T. M. R. Talcott, who has been first vice president of the Richmond at d Danville Raiiroad Company , with * supervision and direction of the traffie business on the line, since September or October, 1888, has resigned, and his resignation was accepted, to take effect January 1st. He is one of the ablest and most highly esteemed rail road men in this country, and this announcement of his resign ation will cause great regret in Richmond. The board met in New York Saturday and elected W. G. Oakuan of New 'York, tirst vice president; A. B. Andrews of North Carolina, second vice president, and John~ W. Johnston of the Georgia* Pacific third vice president. The vice president's office in Richmond will be closed. Mr. Oakman is an ac countant, and has been for some year assirsting the president in the *vay of examining the accounts and reports of the company. As first vice president' he will continue to be really an .assis tant to the president, and will have nothing to do with the operating de partment. Major Peyton Randolph will remain general manager with of fice in Washingzton and C'aptain W. H. Green will remain general superinten dent with headquarters at Washing ton. Mr. Sot H aas will have entire control of all traffic. It is said that the new preeident, John H. Inman was anxious for Colonel Talcot to re main with the company, but thatth Scott party and the Talcott party did not agree about certain matters of policy and detaii. The Scott party had the controlling voice in the Rich mond and Danvilie management. -An anonymous giver has contribui ted ?100,000 to found a convalescent ~home in connection with the London ' -pitals -Mrs. Jefiersoni Da.vis has written a letter to Mayor Ellyson, of Richmond SVa. in which she states that 3he will want perhaps a year before mamng ithe selection of a permanent burial ploa f or the emains of her husband.