The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, August 28, 1895, Image 1
OL. XI. IANNING, S. C., WEDNESDAY._AUGUST Ciw N
CLEMSON (OLLEGE
CHAIRMAN SIMPSON DENIES THAT
THERE IS ANY TROUBLE.
Harmwoay Among the Triz-tees anid Be
tween President Craighead. the Students
and the Faclty--The College is Accom
pli1shing its Mi1ssion.
ANDERSN0. S. C.. Aug. 19.-The fol
lowing is an interview with Col. R.
W. Simpson. president of the board of
trustees of Clemson College. in refer
ence to an article printed in a daily
paper recently about trouble at Clem
son, which appeared in the People's
Advocate today:
"I would like to interview you in
regard to the article concerning Clem
son College which appeared in The
State of the 15th inst. Do you care to
say anything on the subject?"
"I am willing at all times to give to
the public any information concern
ing Clemson 'College that I am pos
sessed of. The meetings of the Board
are never secret. From the very be
ginning the Board of Trustees ad
dressed itself principally to erect at
Fort lll such a plant for the College
as would best secure the results aimed
at. The first of these results was to
reduce the cost of education and place
it in the reach of every boy in the
State, if possible. Our work in this
direction speaks for itself:
Board, room and furniture,
washing, lights and heating
$6.00 per month, ten months.$60 00
Two suits uniforms............ 22 00
Washing ten months.........5 i
Hospital fee........,.......... 5 00
$92 00
"What can you say as to the hiar
nony existing in the faculty ".
"When the College was organized
the management of the College was
placed in the hands of the President
and Faculty. Now, it was not expect
ed that perfect system and order in
'the management and co-ordination of
the various departments of the College
could be attained at once or without
some friction. This the Board expect
ed-because such has been the uni
form experience of all other agricul
ural and mechanical colleges. There
has been, however, far less friction at
Clemson than we expected, and the
Board is now working to harmonize
and co-ordinate the various branches
taught in the College, and to accom
pish this no trouble is anticipated."
"What are the relations existing be
tween President Crai-head and the
Board-of Trustees, and between him
and the students t"
"The relations between President
Craighead and the Board are entirely
satisfactory. President Craighead is
proving himself eminently well quali
tied to manage the affairs of the Col
lege, and the question is now agitated
of vesting in President Craighead
more and enlarged power and author
ity. The very t of feelings exist
between President Craighead and the
students."
"What have you to say about the
management of the mechanical de
"I am personally familiar with the
details of the management of the me
chanical departm nt. This is the larg
est department of the kind in the
Southern States, and it has taken some
time to oreanize anid equip it, but it is
a source of pride to the Board of Trus
tees, and to every citizen who has vris
ited it. Prof. Tompkins was not elect
ed as full professor until the Board
was perfectly satisfied with his ability
to conduct the department creditably.
The fact that the Board last winter
promoted Prof. Tompkins to a full
professorship is enough to show his
standing with the Board. The work
and instruction in this depatment is
entirely satisfactory to the Bord and
the students take great pleasure and
delight in their work in this depart
ment."
"Is the agricultural department in
efficiently managed, by its present
head?"
"It takes more time to fully organ
ize and equip the agricultu-al, depart
ment. This the Board has learned by
experience, but Associate Professor
McGee, the nead of this department,
has the full confidence of the Board of
Trustees."
"Is it true that the boys in both
these departments are dissatisfied with
their progress?"
"If the students in these depart
ments are dissatisfied it has never
come to my hearing. Last winter
when the Board met, and we were in
formed that the Legislature had de
clined to make the appropriation ask
ed for, it was found necessary to dis
continue the pay for labor of students
as heretofere, but when we learned of
the fact that the full amount asked for
had been given, I immediately called
a special meeting of the Board, and
immediately upon assembling the
Board made ample provisions for this
purpose. I have no doubt there was
some disappointment among the boys
when their pay was cut off, but there
has been none since it -has been re
stored.'
"Was the meeting of the Board a
6tormy one in the sense in which The
State speaks of itr'
"Emphatically, the meeting of the
Board was not a stormy one. The
Board felt that the time had come
whben each member should be person
ally familiar with the workings of the
College so that we could the better
work together to forward the interest
of the College, and to this end the
members which have heretofore been
doing the bulk of the work resigned
in order to force the work upon the
whole Board. There was no personal
feeling in the matter."
"Why has the number of students
decreased?"
"This is the middle of the College
,year and we did not expect any in
crease in the number of boys in at
tendance. There is no decrease in the
number, except from natural causes."
"What can you say as to the
amiounts received during the last
schiolastic vear?"
"A full r-eport of the amount need
ed for the College was made to the
Legislature at the last session. Of this
amount the State gave $35,000,and the
balance of the privilege tag tax after
paving the expenses of this depart
ment, amounted to $2,000. The bal
anee of the money coming to the Col
lege comes from the Federal Govern
ment. The $35,000 given by the State
as a special appropriation was expend
ed upon the College plant, a full re
port of which will be made to the
Legislature at the next session."
"Have you substituted convict labor
because tlfie work of the boys was un
satisfactory P"
"The convict labor is used only to
do suh work as the students can't
low is the fare there now: a
"The fare in the dormitory 4s and
has been better than it ever has been.
I frequently drop in the dining room
when least expceted and I speak from
my own knowiedae and from what
th'e boys tell ie."
"AnYthing else that you would like
to state:"
"We are willing and are desirous
for any and everybody to come to
Clems'on and exaIine i'nto everything
on the hill; what is there is open to
the full inspection of every maii. be
he friend or enemy. A full examina
tion will at least impress one with the
many and dillicult problems which
the Board has to encounter. I have
been asked by a dozen men today if I
had resigned from the Board. Let me
say that I have not. I simply resigned
from the executive committee as stat
ed above. --Register.
CLEMSON COLLEGE.
The Charge of 31isimalnlagemient Delnied by
the BOyA.
To the Editor of The State: We
notice in "Tle State" of A ugust 16th
an article entitled "Bad Manage
ment," in which the condition and
manageient of sone of the different
departments of Clemson College are
basely misrepresented. We, a com
ittee representinig the junior class,
take this opportunity of refuting those
statements which we know to be un
true.
In the first place, the author of the
article seems to be atterly ignorant of
the true condition of the college, and
takes for truth the statenents of some
unprincipled person prejudiced against
the authorities. ie also makes state
ments, said to be substantiated by
members of the faculty, which are
entirelv without foundation.
We cannot believe that any neiber
they faculty made such statements
which he knew to be untrue. Can the
reporter name him?
One of the first statements is that
the students petitioned the board of
trustees about eighteen months ago
to remove President Craighead. We
acknowledge that such a report was
circulated about that time, but it
was untrue. No such petition was
ever made. Can the reporter prove
this statement. The cadets have noth
ing to complain of in President
Craighead. He has always proved
liimself to be their best friend.
The author says: "The mechanical
department is under the management
of the most incompetent instructors
of any department of the college."
Professor Tompkins, the head of this
department, is considered one of the
best electrical and mechanical engi
neers in the United States, having
been selected as one of the judges of
the electrical display at the World's
Fair. The members of the mechani
cal sections are perfectly satisfied
with the instruction received from
him. The systematic management of
the mechanical department is unex
celled. His assistants are fully com
petent to discharge their respective
duties. As to the joke of the bolt and
the screw threads, we acknowledge
that one cadet of the junior class, af
ter a month's trial, was unable to cut
screw threads on a bolt. This same
cadet was continually seen with
your reporter during his stav at
Clemson College. The instructions of
the mechanical department can culti
vate, but cannot manufacture brains.
So we are not surprised at any in
formation the reporter may have re
ceived from such a source.
As to the agricultural department,
those "of us who have attended lec
tures under both Professor Newman
and Professor McGee can see no ma
terial difference- in their respective
courses of instruction. Both have
been entirely satisfactory to the
cadets.
In regard to the mess hall, there
has been no complaint among the boys
as a whole. Major Garlington, in his
annual report, says: "I inspected the
mess hall. My coming was unexpect
ed, but I found the food excellent in
quality and quantity."
We are sorry to have to contradict
any statement of the press about
Clemson College, but we cannot al
low such misrepresentations to go un
answered, Signed,
F. G. Tompkins, Chiairman.
W. W. Klugh,
J. F. Breazeale,
L. A. Sease, -
E. P. Earle, Jr.,
J. H. Moore.
And endorsed by all the members of
the junior class.
THE REPORTER'S CARD).
At the request of The State I wrote
the observations on the management
of Clemson College to which the above
communication has reference. The
young men whose names are annexed
to the communication are to be com
mended for their zeal in taking up)
udgels in defense of their alma ma
ter, arid I will not attempt to resent
through the press the harsh terms
theyvuse.
Personally I have nothing but the
kindest feelings, for the President, and
I would be delighted to see the institu
tion itself a grand success. But I do
know that students and professors
lave told me that President Craighead
was inellicient and the mechanical de
partment was a '"humbug and a farce"
and the agricultural department very
little better.
I do know, further, that Treasurer
Sloan told me that no tuition fees had
been paid this year, but the receipts
from other sources were about *99.700:
and that when J asked one of the trus
tees why the students did not wor-k the
crops instead of the thirty convicts
kept for that p~urpose lie replied be
ause there was no money to pay the
boys. I also know that Capt. Fuller
told me that his books showed only 29)7
boys at the institution now, and that
the President's report on Oct. 31, 1894,
showed the en-oltmeiit for the year to
have been t635: and the treasurer's re
port at the samie time showed $102,
515.49 to have been expended during
the year. The receipts were $1 17.,G52.
47. 1 have not the p~roof at hand to dis
prove the denial of the young men that
about eighteeni month ago students
signed a petition to the trustees asking
for the removal of President Craig
head, but must say that I am aston
ished at time denial of what they ac
knowledge to have been a "report cir
culated. - For further vindication
from the charge of '-false mnisrepresen
tation"' I throw myself "on God and
my country." F. H. McMASTERL.
A Crazy Woman's Crime.
P~Aius Mo.. Aug. 19.-Mrs. John T.
Long. near Madison, this county.
hanged herself and her fJour y ear old
child last inight. The cause is attri
buted to a separation from her hus
and.
WIPED OUT THE WHITES.
TRUE STORY OF THE NAT TURNER
INSURRECTION.
Related from His Own, Conlfe-sion Coni
taLined in an Oid1 pihamplet Forim--Wiere
the Murder Took Place.
From an old lady living in South
hampton County, Virginia, the scene
of the awful Nat Turner negro insur
rection of August, 1831, a copy of the
confession made by Turner has been
'obtained. This insurrection was the
most horrible of its kind in the history
of the country. Fifty-tive whites, half
of them children. and many babes,
were hacked to pieces with axeswhile
they slept, by the murderous negroes,
who went from farmhouse to farm
house on their mission of death.
Turner was a religious fanatic. He
was an intelligent negro,and althougy!
a slave, dabbled in scientific experi
ments. He imagined that he had fre
quent communications with God and
translated one of the myths of his
mind as meaning that lie should band
the negroes together and kill the
whites. The ignorance of the farm
hands gave him great power over
them, and although they feared him,
they did as he ordered.
The confession which tells the story
of the awful midnight nurders, was
made by Turner to Mr. T. RZ. Gray. of
Jerusalem, Southampton county. Vir
ginia, shortly before the execution of
the murderer. Only eigiteen negroes
out of sixty odd who participate(d Im
the murders were punisied, aud some
of these escaped the gallows. This is
the confession:
"Since the commencement of 1830 I
had been livin r with Mr. Joseph Tra
vis, who was to me a kind master, and
i)laced the greatest con lidence in ie;
in fact, I had no cause to complain of
his treatment to me. On Satulrday
evening, the 20th of August, it was
agreed between Henry, Hark and my
self to prepare a dinner the next day
for the men we expected, and then to
concert a plan, as we had not yet de
termined on any. Hark, on the fol
lowing morning, brought a pig, and
Henry brandy, and being joined by
Sam Nelson, Will an. IJack, they pre
pared in the woods a dinner where,
about 3 o'clock I joined them.
"I saluted them on coming up, and
asked Will how he came there, lie an
swered his life was worth no more
than others, and his liberty as dear to
him. I asked him if he thought to ob
tain it? He said he would or lose his
life. This was enough to put him in
full confidence. Jack, I knew, was
only a tool in the hands of Hark. It
was quickly agreed we shoul(d, com
mence at home (Mr. J. Travis') on
that night, and until we had'armed
and equipped ourselves, and gathered
sufficient force, neither ap nor sex
was to be spared. We rmained at
the. feast until about two hours in the
night, when we went tc the house and
found Austin; they all went to the
cider press and drank, axcept myself.
"On returning k, the house Hark
went to the door with an axe, for the
purpose of breaking it open, as we
new we were strong enough to mur
der the family if they were awakened
by the noise; ouut reflecting that it
might create an alarm in the neigh
borhood, we determined to enter the
house secretly, and murder them
whilst asleep. 'Hark got a ladder and
set it against the chimney, on which
[ ascended, and hoisting a window,
etered and came downstairs, unbar
red the door, and removed the guns
rom their p laces. It was - then ob
seved that I must spill Lhe first blood.
n which, armed with a hatchet and
accompanied by- Will, I entered my
master's chamber. It being dark, I
ould not give a death blow; the
atchet glanced from his head. He
sprang from his bed and called his
wife. It was his last word ; Will laid
him dead with a blow of his axe, and
~rs. Travis shared the same fate, as
she lay in bed. The murder of this
family, five in number, was the work
f a moment; not one of them awoke.
Ihere was a little infant sleeping in a
cradle that was forgotten until we had
left the house and had gone some dist
nce, when Henry and Will returned
and killed it. We got here four guns
that would shoot, and several old
muskets, with a pound or two of pow
"We remained some time at the
barn where we paraded; I formed
them in a line as soldiers, and after
arrying them through all the ma
n'uvres I was master of, I marched
them of f to Mr. Salathul Francis's,
about six hundered yards distant.
Sam and Will went to the door anid
knocked.
"Mr. Francis asked who was t'iere.
Sam replied it was him, and lie had a
letter for him,on which lie got up and
came to the door; they immediately
seized him, and, dragging him out a
little from the door, he was dispatched
by repeated blows oii the head; there
was no other white person in the faim
"We started from there to Mrs.
Reese's miaintaining the imost perfect
silence on the march, where, finding
the door unlocked, we entered and
murdered Mrs. Reese in her bed while
sleeping; her son awoke. but it was
only to sleep the sleep of death; lie
had only time to say' -Who is that!'
and lie was no more. Firom Mrs.
Reese's we went to Mrs. Turner's a
mile distant. which we reached about
unrise, on Monday morning. Ihenry,
Austin and Sam went to the still,
where finding Mr. Peeples, Austin
shot hiin, and the rest of us went to
the house: as we approached, the fanm
ily discovered us, and shut thle door.
Vain hiope: Will, with one stroke of
his axe, opened it, and we entered and
found Mrs. Turner and Mrs. New
some in the middle of a room, alnost
frightened to death. Will immediate
ly killed Mrs. Turner with one blow
of his axe. I took Mrs. Newvsomle by
the hand, and with the sword I had
when I was apprehended I struck hier'
several blows over the head, but not
being able to kill her, as the sword
was dull. Will turning round and
discovering it, dispatched her. A
general destruction of property and
search for money and ammunition al
ways succeeded the murders.
By this time my company amount
ed to fifteen, and nine men mounted,
who started to Mrs. Whitehead's (the
other six were to go through a byway
to Mr. Bryant's and i ejoin us at Mrs.
Whitehead's.) As we approached the
house we discovered Mr. Whitehead
standing in the cotton patch. near the
lane fence; we called him over into
the lane and 'Will, the executioner,
was near at hand with his fatal axe,
to send him to an untimely grave. As
we pushed on to the house 1 discover
den. and thinking it was some of tihe
white family, I pursued them, but
finding it was a servant girl belong
in.7 to the house I returned to com
mence the work of death, but they
whom I had left had not been idle:
all the family were already murdered
but Mrs. Whitehead and her daughter
Margaret. As I came round to the
door I saw Will pulling Mrs. White
head out of t'e house, and at the step
he nearly severed her head from her
body with his broad axe.
"Miss Margaret, when I discovered
her, had concealed herself in the
corner formed by the projection of the
cellar stoop from the house; on my ap
proach she tied, but was soon overtak
en, and after repeated - blows with a
sword. I killed her by a blow on her
head with a fence rail. By this time
the six who had gone to Mrs. Bryant's
rejoined us, and informed me that
they had done the work assigned them
We ragain divided, part going to Mr.
Richard Porter's and from thence to
Nathaniel Francis's, the other to Mr.
Howell Harris's and Mr. T. Doyle's.
"On reaching Mr. Poter's, he had
escaped with his family. 1 understood
there that the alarm had alread3
spread, and inimeadiately returned to
bring upthose sent to Mr. Doyle's and
Mr. Howell Harris's; the party
I left going oil to MI. Fran
cis's having told them I would rejoin
themn in that iieighborhood. I met
those sent to Mr. Doyle's and Mr.
Iarris's returning, having met Mr.
Doyle on the road and killed him; and
an' learning fr1'omi some who joined
thei that Mr. Harris was from home.
I iiiediately pursued the course
takcn by the party gone on before:
bnt kne wing they wouitl complete the
work:of death and piillageat Mr Fran k
Francis's >efore 1 could get there. I
went to Mr. Peter Ed ward's experting
to find theim there, but tLheyi had been
there also.
"I tten went to Mr. Johnii T. I
row's; they had beeln there and mur
dered him. I pursued on the ir track
to Captatin Fewitt Ilarris's, where .1
found the greater part mounted and
ready to start. The men, now amount
ing to about forty, shouted and hur
rahied as I rode up; some were in the
yard loading their guns; others drink
ing. They said Captain Ilrrris and
his family had escaped. the property
in thelhouse they had destroyed, rob
bing him of money and other valuable
I ordered them to mount and march
instantly; this was about 9 or 10 o'clock
Monday morning. I proceeded to Mr.
Le . -Waller's two or three milles dis
tant. I took my station in the rear,
and as it was my object to carry terror
and destruction wherever we went, I
placed fifteen or twenty of the best arm
ed and most to be relied on in front,
who generally approached the houses
fast a their horses could run; this was
for tro puroses, to prevent their escape
and strike terror to the inhabitants
on this account I never got to the
houses after leaving Mrs. Whitehead's
until the murders were committed, ex
cept in one case.
"I sometimes got in sight to see the
work of death complied, viewing the
mangled bodies as they lay in silent
satisfaction, and immediately started
in quest of other victims. Having
murered Mrs. Waller and ten children
we started for Mr. William Williams's
having killed him and two little boys
that were there. While engaged in
this Mrs. Williams fled and got some
distance from the house, but she was
pursued, overtaken, and compelled to
get up behind one of the company,
who ~brought her back, and after
showing her her the mangled body of
her lifeless husband she was told to get
down and lay by his side,- where she
was shot dead. I then started for Mr.
Jacob Williams', where the family
were murdered. Here were found a
man named Drury, who had comne on
business with Mr. Willhams. He was
pursued, overtaken and shot. Mrs.
Vaughn's was the next place we visit
ed, and after murdering the family
there I determined on starting for
Jerusalem. Our number amounted
now to fifty or sixty, all mounted and
armed with guns, axes, swords and
clubs.
"On reaching Mr.. Jame~s.W. Pars
ker's gate, immediately on the road
leading' to Jerusalem and about three
miles distant, it was. proposed to me to
call there, but I objected as I knew he
was gone to Jerusalem, and my object
was to reach there as soon as possible;
but some of the men having relations
at Mr. Parker's, it was agreed that
they might call and get his people. I
remained at the gate on the road, with
seven or eight; the others going across
the field to the house, about half a
mile off.
After waiting some time for them, I
became impatient, and started to thme
house to meet them, and on our' return
we were met by a party of white men,
who had pursued our bloostained
track, and who had fired on those at
the gate and dispersed them. Imme
diately on discovering the whiles, I
ordered my men to halt and form as
they appeared to be alarmed. The
white meni, eighteen in number, ap
prloachmed us within about one hun -
dred y'ardls, wvhen one of thenm tired
(this wvas against the positive orders of
Captain Alexander P. Pete, who com
manded, and w~ho had directed the
men to reserve their fire until. within
thirty paces,) and I discovered about
half of thiem retreating. I then order-.
ed my men to fire and rush on them.
The fewv remaining stood their ground
until we approached within fifty yards
when they tired and retr'eated. WAe
pur'sued and overtook some of them
whom we thought we left dead (they
were not killed.) After pursiiing them
about two htundred yards, and rising
a little hill, I discovered they were
met by another party and had halted,
and were reloading their guns. (This
was a small party from Jerusalem
who knew the negroes wvere in the
field, and had just tied their horses to
await their r'eturnm to the road, know
ing that Mr. Parker and his family
were in Jerusalem,'but knew nothing
of the party that had gone- in with
Captain Peete. On hearing the tiring
they immediately rushed to the spot
and arrived just in- time to -arrest the
progress of thmese barbarious villians
and save the lives of their friends and
"Thinking that those who had-re
treated first and the party who tired on
us at fifty or sixty-.yards distant had
only fallen -back to meet: others with
ammunition, as..-saw them -reloading
their guns and more coming up than I
saw. at first, and several of my bravest
men being wounded, the, others be
came panic-stricken and scattered over
the field; the white men pursued and
ired on -us several..times. Ihark had
his horse shot under him, and I caught
another..for him as it was running by
me. Five or six of my men were
wounded, but none left the field. Find
ing myself defeated here, I instantly
and cross the Nottoway River at the
Cypress Bridge. three miles below Je
rusalem. and attack that place in the
rear, as I expected they would look for
me on the other road. and I had a
great desire to get there to procure
arms and ammunition.
"After going ashort distance in this
private way, accompanied by about
twenty men. I overtook two or three
who told me the others were dispersed
in every direction. After trying in
vain to collect a sullicient force to pro
ceed to Jerusalem, I determined to re
turn, as I was sure they would make
back to their old neighborhood, where
they would rejoin me, make new re
cruits and come down again. On my
way back I called at Mrs. Thomas's,
Mrs. Spencer's, and several other
places, the white families having lied,
we Iound no more victims to gratify
our thirst for blood. We stopped at
Major Ridley's quarters for the night,
and being joined by four of his men.
with the recruits made since my defeat,
we muster d now about forty strong.
"After placing out sentinels I laid
down to sleep, but was quickly roused
by a great racket. Starting up. I
found sonie inounted and others in
great confusion, one of the sentinels
having given the alarm that we
were about to be attacked. I ordered
some11 to ride around and reconnoitre,
and on their return the others being
more alarmed, not knowing who they
were, lied in different ways, so that I
wAs reduced to about twenty again.
WXith these I determined to attempt to
recruit, and proceed on to rally in the
neighborhood I had left. Dr. Blunt's
was the nlearost house, which we
reached just before day. On riding up
to the yard Hark fired a gun. Weex
pected )r. Blunt and his family were
at Major laidley's, asI knew there was
a company of imen there; the gun was
tired-to ascertain if any of the family
were at home; we were immediately
fired upon and retreated, leaving sev
eral of ni men. I do not known what
became of them as I never saw therm
afterward.
'Pursuing our course back and com
ing in sight of Captain Harris's, where
we had been the day before, we dis
covered a party of white men at the
house, on which all deserted me but
two (Jacob and Nat). We concealed
ourselves in the woods till near night
when I sent them in search of Henry,
Nelson. Sam and Hark and directed
them to rally all they could, at the
place we had our dinner the Sun
day before, where he would find me,
and I accordingly returned there as
soon as it was dark and remained until
Wednesday evening when discovering
white men riding around the place as
if they were lookig for some one, and
none of my men "joining me, I con
cluded Jacob and Nat had been taken
and compelled to betray me.
'"On this I gave up all hope for the
present, and on Thursday night, after
ing applied myself with provisions
from lr. Travis's, I scratched a hole
undera pile of fence rails in a field,
where I concealed myself for six weels,
never leaving my hiding place but for
a few.minutes in the dead of night to
get .ater, which was very near.
Thin- g-by this time I could venture
out, I began to go about in the night
and eavesdrop the houses in the neigh
borhood, pursuing the course for about
a fortnight, and gatheing little or no
intelligence, afraid of speaking to any
human being, and returning every
morning to my cave before the dawn
of day.
"I know not how long I might have
led this life if accident had not betray
ed me. .A dog in the neighborhood
passing by my hiding place one night
while I was out, was attracted ~by
some meat I had in my cave, and
crawled in and stole it, and was com
ing out just as I returned. A few
nightsafter,'two negroes having started
to go hunting with the same dog,
passed that way, the dog came again
to the place, and having just gone out
to walk about, discovered me and
barked, on which, thinking myself
discovered, I spoke to them to beg con
cealment. On making myself known
they led from me.
Knowing then they would betray
me, I immediately left my hiding
place, and was pursued almost inces
santly, until I was taken a fortnight
afterward by Mr. Benjamin Phipps,
in a little hole I had dug out with my
sword, for the purpose of concealment,
under the top of a fallen tree.- On
Mr. Phipps's discovering the place of
my concealment, lhe cocked his gun
and aimed at me. I requested him not
to shoot and I would give up, upon
which lie demanded my sword.- I de
livered it to him and lie brought me
to prison. During the time t was
pursuedl I had many hair br-eadth es
capes, which your time will not peCr
mit mec to i-elate. 1 am here loaded
with chainis, and willing to sutl'er the
fate that awaits me."
Tobhacco loim ing.
)AUuiX rION, Aug. 22. --The tobacco
"break" advertised to take pilace in
Darlington came otl' today and e xceed
ed the expectations of the most san
guine. D~espite the i-ain which came
down in tor-rents y-esterday', late in the
afternoon long lines of wagons were
seen winding their way to the two
large new war-ehouuses. On the lloor
of the warehouses every body was busy
pu tting the di tferenit grades of to bacco
in piles inlngrw extending the
whole length of the lloor-. This morn
ing other farmer's came in fronm Sum
ter', Clarendon, Williansburg- and
Florence, till at noon when the sales
began, there was no room on ('ither
lloor' for another pile. There were on
the iloor' of the D~arlington warechouse
about 900i piles and on the loor of the
P lanters' warehouse about 8c00 piles,
aggrregating on the two flours about
40,000J pounds. The tobaccos sold to
day' were mostly trimmuin gs an d is con
sidered by ex perts 'remarkably good.
The tobacco sold up to this time
br-ought 8I, 810, $15. 825, $50 and $tGn
per hundred weight, and one pile, be
longing to Mi-. W. E. Dargan, was
k-noc-ked down for 891 pci' hundred
weight. There is no way of -linding
out at this time the average price, but
it will exceed the average of any prey
isus break. Altogetheri there were
four auctioneers selling, they did not
liuishi this afternoon the first wvare
house. As soonkas this is finished the
buyers will go over to the other house
and it will take nearly all day tomor
row to get through selling the tobacco
on the tloor now. W hen the sale be
gan this moifning our streets wvere al
most deserted, all including a lar-ge
number- of ladies, ~went down to the
warehouses to witness the sales. The
indications nowv are D~arlington will
sell the largest number of pounds sold
in South Carolina. The farmiers from
the other counties are highly pleased
with the sales of their tobacco and
with the kindness they receiyed from
t he citizens of that place.
SUPERLATIVELY FINE.
IS THE CONDITION OF CORN CROPS
IN THE STATE.
What Director Bauer Has to Say of the
Weather and the Crops for the Week
Endlug Yesterday A Satisfactory Week.
CoLImA, S. C., Aug. 21.-The
principal feature of last week's weath
er was the aycessive rainfall over the
greater portion of the State. The
drought that had persisted over the
western and northern counties through
out July and the two weeks in Au
gust was thoroughly relieved and veg
etation of all kinds revived and crops
again look promising. The rains came
too late to benefit early corn to any ex
tent, but late planting is now an as
sured crop. The rain came in a suc
cession of gentle showers, except in
Edgefield county, where tields were
washed to some extent, and in Green
ville, where there were two heavy
washing rains. It was remarkable that
the heavy rains had but a slight effect
on the rivers and no freshets were
even threatened anywhere. In the
eastern portion of the State the rains
were also heavy and caused great in
jury to fodder which was already
pulled, and to much on the stalk,
which is said to be rotting. Cotton
also was injuriously affected by the
rains, as the flov-ers that get wet fail
to fructify and tie squares shed; the
reports indicate that this was the case
and the crop that would have put on
from the 14th to the 17th inclusive is
lost. In this connection attention has
been called to the fact that such por
tion of the crop that puts on after the
20th of August is not certain to ma
ture.
Theu rain fall was well distributed, as
the following amounts by stations will
show: Kingstree, 2.13; St. Matthews,
:.2:; St. George, 2.74; Yemasse, 0.85;
Batesburg, 4.55: Greenwood, 4.62;
Blackville, 3.97; Allendale, 2.93; Che
raw, 3.34; Florence, 2.10; Greenville,
2.29; Spartanburg, 2.63; Beaufort,
1.85; Charleston, 1.47; Liberty, 3.75;
Elloree, 2.35; Chesterfield, 2.00; Soci
ety Hill, 1.96; McColl, 4.50; Darling
ton, 3.84; Edisto, 4.55; Camden, 4.68;
Statesburg, 2. 15; Tibnton, 4.31; San
tuc, 2.38; Longshore, 3.11; Columbia,
4.8S; St. George, 4.50; Gillisonville,
2.19; Oakwood, 2.25; Ridgeway, 5.16;
St. Stephens, 2.69; Piniopolis, 5.14;
Anderson, 2.24; Central, 3.70: Reid,
4.25; Eflingham, 2.80; Looper's, 2.90.
The average of these thirty-eight sta
tions is 3.23 inches and the normal
for the same period is approximately
1.47, the rainfall having been in ex
cess over the entire State, except at
Yemassee.
The week had a favorable tempera
ture, with no excessive heats or cool
nights; the daily range was below the
usual, owing to the great amount of
cloudiness. The highest temperature
reported was 96 at Kingstree, on the
13th, and the lowest 64 at Greenwood,
on the 15th. The average mean tem
perature of the week for the State, de
duced from thirty reports, was 79 de
grees, and the normal for the same
period is approximately 79 degrees.
The duration of sunsine varied be
tween 29 per cert. and 90 per cent. of
the possible, the least cloudiness hav
ing occurred in Marlboro county and
the greatest in the western and central
ecounties.
The winds were generally light, ex
cept that in Greenville county in the
vicinity of Reid there was a severe
local storm, with hail, that destroyed
considerable corn by breaking it off.
In general, it may be said that the
average condition of all crops is bet
ter and more paomising than for some
weeks, with the important exception
of cotton, which in the eastern and
central portions of the State has taken
on rust and is shedding too freely.
These reports are not confined to any
county, but are general, and even in
clude portions of the western coun
ties. Over the western half of the
State, however, there was a marked
improvement in the plant in most
places, so that, taking the State as a
whole, there was little change in the
average condition of the staple.- In
the lower part of the State it is begin
ning to open. The bolls appear to be
of good size and the bottom crop heav
ily fruited; the uncertain top crop
looks promising, but, owing to the
lateness of the entire crop, there is
small likelihood of much of it reach
ing maturity, in places the plant is
growing too much to weed. Sea
island cotton appears to be thriving.
The late rains have given the ground
enough moisture to insure late plant
ed corn, andl in all parts of the States
its condition would be truthfully de
picted by calling it superlatively fine,
bottomit lands having particularly fine
crops. In the western portion of the
State early corn was too ripe to be
much beniefited b~y the rains, but is
nevertheless a fair crop. The total
crp will be a very large one. Fod
der-pulling was general, as the weath
er~ permitted, but much fodder that
was pulled wvasdamiaged, especially in
Oriangebu rg and Hampton counties,
and the eastern portion of the State
generally, even some on the stalk was
generaly damaged.
In the lower counties molasses mak
ing has begun, and sorghum is ripen
ing generally. The condition of the
cop) is fair-, but very uneven.
Peas are doing well as a rule, and
are growing better than ever after the
heavy rains. Early peas are ripenimg,
and somec are already on the market.
Turnip sowing will now be pushied
as the ground is in the best condition
for quick generation. Turnips already
planted are growing rapidly.
The wet weather has caused sweet
potates to run too much to vine. neces
sitatingr trimmtiing; but their condition
generally is greatly improved. Along
the coast late sweet and Irish p)otatoes
will soon be gathered Some complaint
of Irish seed potatoes (second crop)
rotting in the groni nd.
The rice harvest will soon begim.
and rice in general apperars to be
heading finely. The weather for rice
has been iniformily favorable the en
tire season.
Late fruit quite plentiful and of better
quality than the earliest varieties.
The prospects arec that there will be
a lar-ge crop of pea-vine. and second
gtowth of meadow hay.
A Fotlh Father.
NAsuviLus, Tenn., Aug. 22.-An
elopement followed by the murder of
the bridegroom is reported from Mont
gmery county. The 16-year-old
daughter of a farmer named I Jalibur
ton went to prayer meeting. where she
met a young :nan named Ilite, who
had been forbidden to visit her by her
parents. They eloped and were mar
ried, but the father of the girl pursued
the ouleand1 killel the husband.
COMMERCIAL MOUNTEBANKS.
Murdering Material Prosperity and Pau
perizing the People.
The followingcircular. which was
issued sometime ago from Galveston,
Texas, explains itself:
As President of the American Cot
ton Growers Protective Association,
cognizant of the great wron that has
been perpetrated upon the -masses of
my fellow farmers, the cotton growers
of the South, it becomes my duty, as
far as my limited ability extends, to e
warn you of the dangers that environ t
you and the devices and plans that are e
being laid by cunning and unscrupu
lous men to rob you of your honest ,
toil to further impoverish you and to e
enhance the discord and dissatisfaction e
that is now dominant in the heart of I
the fact that there is something radic- r
ally wrong in your systems. No long- f
er is the product of honest toil ade- t
quate to our subsistence, and no long
er is the production of an article any
standard of its valuation: and the law
of supply and demand has been dis
placed and in its stead intervenes the
results attained by the "commercial
mountebank," the most insidious and
merciless of which is he that with a t
tongue of an Ananias and the heart of
a mafia is murdering the material
prosperity of our country and making
paupers of our people, I refer to that
man who wears deservedly the name
of "Bear"-he that of false prophecy
and wilful misrepresentation robs us 1
of our substance. inperils our posteri- f
ty and leaves us nothing but poverty
in our homes and hatred in our hearts. t
The warning note has been sounded;
let forewarned be forewarned. That
there is a systematized movement to I
depress the value of our staple this 6
season is patent to all intelligent men,
and it rests with the planter of the
South, individually, as to whether he d
will submit to thus be sheared again s
like sheep, as lie was last season. The v
time has arrived for heroic action. 1
The alternative is to either renounce t
the growing of cotton entirely as a d
profitable crop or to take up arms
against a sea of troubles, and by op
posing end them. False rumors of the
immensity of the coming crop have t
already been widely and recklessly 2
circulated, to intimidate the farmers e
into rushing their crops upon the I
market, hoping to receive better price I
before a decline. This action upon the
part of the farmers will accomplish
the intention of manipulators of the
market, and is to be deprecated as sui- t
cidal to their interests.
The crop ought to bring fair values, t
should be judiciously distributed over I
the selling season without allowing
the deliveries to be too great at any
time. And I advise that all farmers r
that can -do so, without violating a
contract, should market their crop as
slowly as they can, or at a ratio of
one-third less than last season; the
equilibrium will be thus fairly retain
ed and we will come much nearer re- t
ceiving the commercial value of our I
product.
It will be remembered by many that
previous to our civil war, on account
of the lack of transportation facilities,
it required from seven to nine months
to market the cotton crop. We now
sell the bulk of it within three or four
months, thus congesting the market,
making competitors of ourselves in
the mad rush to get rid of our pro
duct; while, upon the other hand, a
judicious and gradual distribution of
the same over a greater period of
months would be conducive to compe
tition between the manufacturers, who1
are obliged to have our material, and
they running after us to buy our pro
duct, instead of our having to run af
ter them to sell it to them.
And I desire to impress upon the
cotton growers the imperative necessi
ty of organization for the accomplish
ment of this purpose, and all instru-1
mentalities should be etigaged in the -
achievement of this consummation de
voutly to be wished. Doubtless this t
endeavor will meet with strenuous op-C
position at the hand of those who
recklessly speculate upon the labor of
the farmer of the South- He would t
be offered a little more than the mark- 1
et price to bring in his crop. The ar- t
gument of risk of fire, loss in weights,
etc. ; would follow, with the usual de- 1
nunciation of advice; but I implore
you, for the sake of your families ren-f
dered destitute by these despoilers, and
for the love you bear for our "Sunny
Southland," for all that is sacred to
our hearts and to our homes, to resistt
this current that is insidiously, day by
day, drawing us into a vortex of pov- 1
erty and shame and depraving our
manhood and increasing ceime.
There never was a more cruel andt
relentless war waged upon the people
than upon the South by England and
her emissaries and Tory allies, reduc
ing her people from athuance to the
pittance of ten cents a day for their I
labor, which cotton at live cents per
pound means.
Mr. H. M. Neill, in his statement ar
few clays since, reports a decrease in 1
the Texas crop of only five per cent.t
and an entire crop of Let ween eight
and nine million. I challenge Mr.f
Neill to substantiate his statemient in i
any legitimate evidence. Hie can never
do it and will go down in history as a i
wilder guesser and a reckless statisti- I
cian. I have made a tour of the cotton r
belt of Texas, and after careful inves- 1
tigation I am prepared to raise my
former estimate of sixteen p~er cent. to) i
twenty- live per cent. decrease in acre
age.
I find ab~out two andl a half per (cnt. r
of cotton land abandoned, worms ina
some sect ions doing considerable dam-s
age, and great injury in a large and
most productive portion by rain. The
crop is three weeks late and drought
still continues. I advise farmers tor
move their crops to market just as I
slowly as possible, and not allow 1
themselves to le terrorized to hurried-1
ly rushing their cotton'to market in a
few months, but to hold back what
there is and thereby realize handsome
results by a judicious distribution.
IIECToai D. LAxE.
President American Cotton Growers'
Protective Association.
A Strange Ca.-'e. C
SPARTANIRR, Aug. 22.-The Case
of Mr. Brown, of this county. is at-r
tracting more or less attention. Hisr
atiiction is rather peculiar and is ofI
more than usual interest. Mr. Brownr
is a farmer, and Ihis ailliction is a t
source by a great deal, of annoyancei
to him. ~He drops ott to sleep while1
plowing in a field, talking with I
friends, and even while eating. The1
sleep continues for some time. Mr.
Brown eats as heartily as any man,
and his bodily health is good, but the
desire to slumber overcomes every
thing else. It is said that he has been t
known to fall asleep while driving
along in a buggy. His strange attiic
tion annot bme couted for.-HJerald jt
THE STATE ELECTION.
k VERY LIGHT VOTE POLLED ALL
OVER THE STATE.
ihe Democratic Tickets Nomivated in the
Primaries Elected in Every County.
Several Counties Send Mixed Delegatlo
of the Two Factions.
COLUMLA, S. C., Aug. 22.-The
lection for delegates to the Constitu
ional Convention last Tuesday result
d in the complete success of the Dem
cratic party in every county in the
;tate except Beaufort. In several
ounties the Republicans had out tick
ts. but they were beaten everywhere.
lie tickets elected were those nomi
ated in the Democratic primaries a
ew weeks ago. The vote over the en
ire State was very light, not mnch
ver a half vote being polled.
Oconee, Pickens, Anderson, Green
ille. York, Kershaw, Edgefield, Aik
n, Chesterfield, Chester, Barnwell,
airfield, Newberry, ilorryAbbeville,
,olleton. Hampton, Marion, Marlboro
Lnd Williamsburg, all Reform coun
ies, each elected one or more Conserv
tive delegates, and Richland and
umter Counties, which are Conserva
ive, divided their delegations with the
leforners. Charleston elected a solid
,onservative delegation, and George
ow-n divided her delegation equally
etween the Conservatives, the .Re
ormers and Republicans. Beaufort
ounty is theonly county in theState
hat went Republican.
The counties of Berkeley, Claren
ton, Darlington, Florence, Lancaster,
,aurens, Lexington, Orangeburg,
Jpartanburg and Union elected all Re
ormers. In most of these counties
lie Reformers refused to divide their
elegations, with the result as above
tated. In most of the counties there
-as no opposition of any kind to the
)emocratic nominees. Independent
ickets were run in the counties of An
erson, Greenville, Fairfield, Oconee
.nd Union, but in each they were bad
y defeated by the regular ticket.
In Sumter County Mr. D. E.Keels,
he County Treasurer, was opposed to
. compromise ticket, and put out one
onsisting entirely of Reformers, with
Limself at the head, in opposition to a
icket composed of three Reformers
.nd three Conservatives. The Repub
icins also had a ticket in the field.
he Keels ticket was badly beaten by
lie fusion ticket, the vote standing as
ellows: Fusion ticket, 1,175; Keels
icket, 391; Republican ticket, 836. It
vas charged that Keels had entered a
ombination with the Republicans,
-hich he denied, but the fact of his
eceiving more votes than any other
aan on his ticket is takeu as a signifi
ant fact.
The result of the election is a reve
ation. It saows that only about elev
n white counties in the State refused
o harmon,izB their differences and di
ide their delegations between the two
actions. One of the counties that re
used to divide is controlled by the
onservatives and ten of them is con
rolled by theReformers. It will thus
>e seen that over two-thirds of the
unties of the State are sick and tired
>f strife, and have determinrd to bury
he hatchet. In some of those coun
ies that elected solid Reform delega
ions a little concession on -both sides
vould have resulted in a compromise.
L in all, those who have been work
ng for peace between the two factions
nthe State have causetobeencouraged
Lt the result of their labors. It will not
e long before all the counties in the
tate will be in line for peace and uni
y amonI the white people of South
jarolina. ________
-We Wil Have the Fair.
CoLmmIa, 5. 0., Aug. 22.-Col.
[hos. W. Holloway, the genial and
ndefatigable secretary of the State
tgricultural and Mechanical Society,
as in the city yesterday, and gave to
he press the following address, which
ontains the gratifying announce
nent that all obstacles have been ov
rcome and t'he fair will be held in
his city on the usual dates in Novem
er. This will be pleasant news to
housands all over the State, and they
nay rest assured that Columbia will
>e repared to give them a heat
relcomie and will do her part towad
urnishing them plenty of attractive
emusements:
o the People of South Carolina:
It gives us great pleasure to say that
le State Agricultural and Mechonical
~ociety is in a condition to carry on
he great work in which it has been
ngaged looking to the advancement
f the agricultural and mechanical mn
rests of our State, and that the us:
tal fair will be held in Columbia No
-ember 1t-15tht under the brightest au
pices.
All money arrangements have been
nade for paying premiums and other
xpenses. The railroads have acceded
o our request: and have given us the
ate of one cent per mile, counting
oth ways, for three days. Excursion
rains will be run during the time so
hat it will be convenient and cheap
or the greater part of our people to
.ttend.
Thec revision of the preniutm list is
a the hands of a commhittee appointed
or that p~urpose, and will soon 1
eady for distribution. It. is highly
>robable that some tiue racing wi >
vitnssg.d in addition to other attract
ve feattires.
The last two fairs were as full and
qual in all respects in point of the
iubr and excellence of exhibits as
.ny precedingr fairs, though more
imly attended, because of excessive
airad rates. All of these drawbacks
taving been satisfactorily adjusted,
here is no reason why this fair should
ot be as successful as any heretofore
eld. Attend the fair, and encourage
is with your presence and assistance
1 this great enterprise.
Yours trulv, Thios. J1 Moore,
'hos. W. Hollinvay, President.
Seetary.
A Short lnoneymoon.
iRowi Ilu lL. Aug. 22.-Whether at
emptd suicide or accident is not
:nown, but there is some excitement
aver the fact that a young man by
he name of Davis shot himself this
norning. One week ago Davis was
narrieto Miss Evans, who lives on
lamptoni street. At the time of the
narriage the bride's health was such
hat they could not leave her home as
ntended. I understand that they had
ntended leaving today for a trip to
ie home of his relatives. The shoot
ng occured at about 9 o'clock this
noruing in his room and the weapon
ised was a.,8calibre Smith & Wesson.
Iis shot through the right temple,
dI there is. no0 chance for recovery,
houh~ at thiis hour lhe is still alive.
iverthing points to suicide. Davis
lied ~this afternoon. The verdict of
he com mn' s nur was suicide.-State.