Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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41h ,AMA 11 XVI. ~~MANNING, S. C. WEDNESDAY, JULY ~10.N.1 WORK OF VANDALS, Raid of Shqrman's Army Told q3 L S One of ihem. A HORDE OF THIEVES. Letter Written by a L eu'enard Just After Burning of Co lumbia Corrcborative of Charges Made. To the Editor of The State: Below will be found a copy of the original letter written by Fsrst Lieu tenant Thos. Q. Meyers, of Gen. Sher man's army which counter- marched te reach the goal of the "Secession State, which he orly did after bombarding the capitol frem the heights of Lexington county, which are in plain view fro . the high points of this city, lying 'just across the river." Upon these clay hills were planted the batteries, the shells of which scarred the capitol, then in course of construction, and sounded the death knell, as it were, to the fair city on the Corgaree. This leter puts the cause of the buring of Coumbia where it properly' belongs, and places the responsibility upon Gen. Sherman and his sub officers, who were disguiEed as privates," and did the looting." In this connection I may say that this communication carries out the idea, so forceably advanced recently, by Prof. Spahr and Col. J. G Gibbes, who have translated and written up on the Eub ject. Though the letter alluded to is from husband to wife, and sent "by flag of truce," I trust I betray no confidence, as the letter was picked up by an old southern "nigger," and carried to her "Missus," to know if it was Uf value. It is by reason of great coartesy that I have a copy of this letter, saved from the ashes of Jacksenville, and per force, is of a private nature. There are tnou sanas who have never heard anything upon the subject; so with gracious per mission, I am permitted to give this information which every true sympa thizer of a "iost cause" will no doubt, appreciate. The information is from private journaE; so the printing, for bale, of this article is strictly Djained and all copyrights reserved. Fr ob vious reasons some names are omitted in the papers sent. R:bert S. Sparkman. June 22, 1801. February 26, 1865. My dear Wife: I hase no time fcr particulars. We have had a glorious time in this State. Universai license to burn and Ilunder was the order of the day. Tze chivalry have been stripped of most of their valuables. Gold watches, silver pitchers, cups, spoons, forks, etc., etc., are as common in camp as black berries? The terms of plunder are as follows: The valuables procured we estimate by companies. Each company is required to exhibit the result of its operations at any given place. One-fifth and first choice falls to the share of the couImmander in- chief and staff, one fifth to field officers of regiments, and three- fifths to the com pany. Officers are not allowed to join these expeditions without disguising themselves as privates. One of our corps commanders borrowed a suit of rough clothes from one of my men and was successful in this plaee; he got a large rjuantity of silver, (among other things, an old time silver milk piteher) and a very fine gold watch ftom a Mr. DeSaussure at this place. DeSaussure is one of the F. F. V.'s of South Caro lina, and was made to fork over lib, erally. Officers over the ratk of cap tain are not made to put their plunder in the estimate for general distribution. This is very unfair, and for tl a-~ reasor in order to protect thembelves, sub ordinate officers and privates keep badt everything that they can carry abou their person, such as rings, car-rings, breast pias, etc., of which, if ever] live to get home, I have about a quart 1 am not joking-I have at least a quarl of jewelry for you and all the girls, ani some No. 1 aiamond rings and pirn among them. Gjen. Sherman has silver and goli enough to start a bank. His share ii gold watches and chains alone, at Co aumbia, was two hundred and seventy five (275); but I said I could Dot go int< particulars. All the general officers an< many grivates had valuables of ever; description, even to ladies' embroidered pocket handerchief. (I have my shari of them too.) We took gold and ive: enough from the d--d rebels to havy redeemed their infernal currency twict over. This, (the currenco) wheneve: we come across it we burn as we con sider it utterly worthless. I wish al the jewelry this army has could be car ried to the old Bay 8trate, it would decl her out in glorious style, but alas! i will be scattered all over the north and middle States. Tree d-d negroes a a rule prefer to stay at home, particu lanly after they found out that we oni' wanted the able-bedied men, (and ti tell you the truth, the youngest an' best looking wor-en). Sometimes w< take coff whole families and plantationi of negroes by way of repayirg the se cessioniste; but the useless part o these we soon manage to lose-some times in crossing rivers-sometimes ii ;ther ways. I shall write to you agaii from Wuimington, Goldsboro, or som other place in 'North Usrolina. Tb order to marern has arrived and I n~us close hurriedly. Love to grandmfther and Aunt Char lotte. Take care of yoursa f and th children. Do not show this letter ou of the family. Your affectionate husband, Thos. Q. M~eyerr, Lieut., eti P. S.-i wili asend this by fltg c truce to be mailed unle-s 1 have chance of sending it to Hilton Hlead Tell Sadie I am saving a pearl bracele and earrnegs for her; but Lambert go the neckatce and breast pin or thc sami set. 1 am tryir-g to trade him out, them. 1iese were taken iro~m tn Misses Jamisen, daughte:s' of the pre sideait of te~ South Carolica secessio: convention. We found. them on ou trip through Georgis. The foregoirng is a copyv of a lette found by Miss Loride Cantey, of Cam den, at the Yankee oamp, Tnear tha city. It is directed to Mrs. Q. Meyers Roston, Mass. and corrobhatesn whe was believed at the time, that offi3er3 woe (itCzns' and privates' dress, in order to rob without comprising their shotilder straps. The following is a letter from Miss F:oride Cantey, now the wife of the Rev. Mlr. Johnson, rector of S.. Pailip's church, Charleston, S. C., written to her son, Mr Joe Johnson, whoerquird ot Ler concernirng the authentici-y of the aforessid .luter. All these are in the posLession of, and form part of the j :urnal, of Miss Grace Eimore, which bhe kept daring these troublous times. Charleston, March 29,.h, 1899 My D.ar Son: The letter yc.u wrote of wis writen by one of Sherman's soldiei s, ar d picked up near our old home (Iobkiik Hill.) The letter was slightly damp from lying on the ground when brought to me by a negro woman who had picked it up. This woma2 had always bcen consitered a quiet, good woman, not r.:markably bright, and could not read a word. She :oand it juit after a part of Sherman's army had raided Camden and the surround ing country, and brought it to me to know if I cculd tell her whose letter it was. She did not have an idea if it was lost by soldier or civilian, or to whom adiressed. Afterwards, I learned that the suver pieher named, corres ponded with one taken from Maj. Jno. M. DeSausiurs home: it was the only picCa taken, as it was left out by mistare when the rest of the family silver was concealed. The letter was printed in the Camien newspaper, but At has never been returned to my pos session. I would be glad to have it LOW, or at least a copy of it. This negro women had been a slave of your grandmother's, and acted then and af terwards, as if she still bore allegiance to htr, and you, I think, rcmember her as she nursed your sister. yourse.f and little John. Sile was nimed Cinda, and waatt d to go with us to Charleston, but hrr mother was old and feeble and wantLd her to stay in Camden. In my own mind and that of my family there is not a doubt of the letter baing at. thentic. I enj )yed your letter, and will write soon. My love to my cousins in the house. Y our affectionate Mether. WRECKED IN A FOG Ship Sank and Passengers Became Panic Stricken The Orient S-:am Navigation Com pany's steamer Lasitania, Captain Ma Nay, from L iverpool, June 13, off Montreal, having 300 pissengers on board, was wrecked Wsnesday night off Cape Bollard. No loss of life on oaired. All the passengera were res cued. - The L ania was bound round C.1pe Rice for a.oLrsa , with a iarge cargo and a sr. , load of passengers. She nistook h$ course in a dens3 fog and went aiw-re near R.nefs, twenty miles no.-of Cape Race, before day break. T, ship ran over a reef and hangs ag -t a citif. The passengers, who are *Btly emigrants, were panic stricken. They stampednd and fought for the bo .s, and they were overcome by the oft ~ers and crew, who secured control a ,er great trouble and a pro lonaed st iggle with the rougher ele mcnt amo 5N the passengers, who used knives. ~.e women and children were first land(e and the men followed. The crew stoo& by the ship. The pas ngers of the Lusitania had a terrible' perience. The first knowl edge wh hthey had of the disaster was who a. owing to the ship rasping over theJsocks, they were all hurled from thei> 'erths. Many of them were bruised ai they all hurried on deck in their n at eieths. A scene of groat excitemet4ensued. Five hundred per-. sons were clamoring to escape while the crew ried to pacify them and launch th') boats. The mrale passengers, in their ~ttempt to seize the boats, trampled ~the women uader foot and fought th. crew with knives. Some of tae more . >ol-headed of the passengers assisted t., crew in their efforts to get out the b' ts. The y ~ en and children rescred were alm, et naked. D~enocd with spray, the were puled up the cliffs by the coast eople. Some of the boats were demolished in the surf while at tempting tolarnd and their half drowned occupants held on to rooks shivering with the cold until r~ scued. This morning the unhappy passen gers, after shivering for hours on the hill top, tramped over weary milks in their endeavor to reach the house of the fishermen, where they are now shelter ed. Previous to reaching the .cliff3, the passengers passed two hours of terrible anxiety on the wreck. The steamer Giencoe, bringing the Lusitania's pas sengers, was due here Wednesday night. -The messenger who brought the news of the wreck to St. Johns says the passen gers on board the Lusitania drew their cnives to cat' the boat lashings and threatened the crew of the steamer when they thought the latter attempted to intesfere with them in so doing. The ltsst message to the agents of the Lusitania here Eays the vessel is hard and firm agroun d on the reef and a hope less wreck. Postoffices Washed Away. Official advices to the postffine de Spartment show that the break on the SV~rginia and Ohio division of the Nor foik anid Western railroad, caused by Sthe flood extendsafor a distanee of 50 mus from Wi!!iamson to Ennis, e xcept mn spots the branch line runing m rim Goodwill to Branweil is practically en t irely washedi away. CLief Clerks Goodle from Washington, ann Sales from L ync bburg, ort the railroad mail service, nave gone to the flood diirit t> m--e a report on thc situation at.d oeed in a Spostal way. Tfhe postmiast r at Cedar -BI'ff. Va., wired Wvdneedsy that the moaey otder furnds, forms, blanks and jstamps, together wath trausi: mail from j amt Lick, Va., were sweg away by the fflood- Ced ar luff :s en t'.e Clinch Val e ey division~ ot ttht Lrf:k and Westera riiiroad, in, Tazwr-ii eounty. Thbe post Smugter at Eas V:.. aho re~prts his the 1ostatfiee d .r.e i2 furnishirg rdtgre: . wa taken Wedne~day w'c Amittatt omtster Gieneral Shallere be:ger au.horized the estabiishment of a s geial service to Dubring, via Bran IN WAKE OF FLOOD. The Wreck of Railroads and Bridges Were Comple-e. GREAT LOSS TO MINES. N: Coki Can be Hirdled fcr Weeks Whiskiq Courage Caused Loss of Sev eral Uves. The damage in the coal fields begins at Cole Dale, which is 15 miles west of Bluefield. At that place great -mbankmeats supporting the railroad track have been washed out. &t Mayberry, from the train can be ieen five houses upset and partially iemolisbed. The branch road healing rom this point to the Norfolk and Delta collieries has sustained heavy lamage; tlie track is washed out in ome places and covered over in othere, ind those left of the long row of vaiu tble company houses have an unsightly Lppearance on account of material washed in their yards. The loss here and at Lick Branch is R5,000. At Lick Branch the water was rery high, and at this plaos damage to he main line of railroad begins, and lestruction of coal company property neresmes. At E :nis can be seen the remains of valuable house, and on d >wn below, umber from many builcing3 is col cc ed high against bridge abutments nd other unmovable structures. At his place the east bound track begins :o Cetirely disappear and at bome dis ance further the roadbed is entirely one from both tracks. The iron bridge struciures still re nain but the alproaches to either end n most all cases have been entreIy washed away, by reason of lumber from iemolished houses and other material >eing wedged against the abutments ausing the water to flow around. All ooden bridges are gone. The Turkey ap colleries' loss is $29,000, the tip le is slightly damaged and the coke racks gone. The delivery and cake oven tracks of 1e Crozzr and Houston operations are nost entirely gone. Bridges and all mars are turned over empty and partially oaded, and ,aare demolished. The arozer boiler house is washed out and he damage sustained is $25,000. The damage at Houston is $15,000. it the Upland company the toiier icuse and tipple is partially wash?ed way. Along here tne camp houcs iave been moved and destroed. Bi ween this operation and Kyle, aI racks are bad.y damaged, nearly ever - hing having exchanged position wtit he rormer creek bed. The great fil.s which the railroad compary have beea nakirg and riprapping ever since tae uigh water of 1897, have bcen levelled. ill opcrations have haa heavy lois and eeks will have pissed before they can work again to advantage. Heavy damage was done at L~neh urg operations, mostly to the tracks. Lp north Fork branch a ruined house ,an be seen, besides a lot of building naterial whiph was lodged against >erh Foik bridge. The water has ,hanged its course at this bridge by ~emving the embankment at the east pproach. The North Fork ceparations 11l sustained considerable damage. Algoma lost houses and tracks and 2oreasonable estimate can yet be made. bkridge lost a number cf houses, ecke >vens and trestles. The power house and their tracks were washed out. The ipple is also damaged; loss $20,000. Greenbrier lost a number of house' and their tracks were damaged. At Rolfe the tipple and trestle were iamaged.. At .Roanoke the damage to houses, trestles and tracks will amount to $7, 5>00. At Arlington bridges are gone above and below the tipple and the loss is estimated at $10,000. At McDowell the tracks are washed out and houses dest::oyed. Gilliams loss is heavy in small houses. Indian Ridge lost a liumber of houses and their storehouses was damagd. Dr. Workman's house and office were washed away, loss $12. 000. Ashlands lost between eight arnd ten thousand. Bottom creek lost $25,000. Tidewater lost heavily. At Keystone the streets are washed irregular and debris is everywhere; floors of the building standing are cov ered with mud and water has been all over the town to a considerable depth. Had it not been for the jamming of three or four buildings at the upper end, near the suspension bridge, no doubt the entire property of the town would have been a total loss. Just opposite Calhoun's buildings on the other side of the creek, all houses were entirely swept away, ioclueing the most of Bellcher town. Property is undermined and badly damaged at Burke. The whole fill, on which the two tracks pass through Keystone, is entirely gone, tracks and all. The wagon bridge and the coal company houses on the company's side are also gone, and Bank's building known as "Khe First Change Saloon," is dcmol ished. Many pernions had narrow es capes with their lives and men, women, and childre n succeeded is escspieg through water waist deep, while otners were ca::ried away. A ir. Abbott suc ceded i.n rescuing a man named Lcek wod on? Main street by fastening Lini sit to post by means of a rore and ma lg a dive in the swift water jast as Lckwook was sinking from view. Many similar rescues were made. Eght bocies have becn found bztwee Burke and E akman. There is no doubt that many-lest their lives tarough mcre prjaots and from bcicg intoxiected. One white marn got on a section of sie w.k and left town wi-h his arm, folded remarking that he was goig aosvn be low to tild out Low iver ing was. His body was recovered sir~rs Thes less at Peera(s3 is entn at $3,000 and a. S8.awnee at $39J00 "How to Keep Cocl" recip- are toe order of the day, and I ke a cer tain other long soughit r..medy, have utver yet provee efficacious. Candidy-il a bull be permitted-the only way to THE CROP OU rLOOK The Weather Conditions Last Week Were Unfavorable. Blow is given the weekly bulletin of tne ecndition of the weather and crops in tle State issued last week by Director Bauer of the South Carolina rectien of the climate and crop Eer vice of the Uaited States weather bu reau. It is of special interest in view of the gloomy views of the farmers: The week ending Monday, June 24th had nearly normal temperature, and closed with extremely hot weather, with maximum temperatures between 95 and 100. A minimum of 61 was ob served at Spartanburg on the 18h. There was less than the usual amount of sunshine over a large portion of the State, but generally it was aboat nor mal. There was a severe hail and wind storm in Lsxington county on the 22d. The rains of the wec k were local in character, but were the heaviest of the season at a few points. The heavest rains occurred generally in the Nor.h Carolina border ccuaties, where bot tom lands were flioded for the fifth time this year. Cultivation made good progress in the central and southeast era counties, but even there lowlands are still too wet to plow, while else where plowing was practicable on only from ore to three days, and fields con tinue to be foul with grass and weeds, in placis, to such an extent that both corn and cotton have been abandoned, and lowland oats have been cat and cured for hay on accnnt of the grass. Cotton improved shghty where it cou.d be worked, but the plants con tinue to be unseasonably small, ani much of it is yellow. Some cotton is scalded and lice are still in evidence, although less numerous than last week. Chopping is not fiaished. Many fields are still grassy and much cotton is being destroyea i1 cleaning it of grass and weeds. Some fields have been abandoned on accouat of their foul condition and searaiy of laborers. Sea isl.nd made- a decided improve ment. Uplard corn looks well where it was worked, but much looks yellow and is very small, while lowland corn is ir retrievably injured by excess of mois ture and laAk of proper cultivation. B.ottoms3 h've not all bten planted or replanted. Corn is tasseling low and is unpromising generally. Tonaoco is being cut and cured in Florence county; it is small and poor in all sectins, but has improved daring tne week. Rice is excellent in the Charleston and Williamsburg districts, some was damaged -y overflows and stagnant water in tile Colleton dis triet, while in the Georgetown dis tracts freshets injured it, and only sbQut one-fourth te usual amount of Ja:e rce cuid be plancd. Wheat harvest 13- nearly finished, and late .heat was poor owing to rust and Ecab. OA:s about harvested. T-,th grat.s are sprouting in the sBkzk to Eome extent. Threshing has begun wiL>. generally good 3ields. Sweet p-,ato siips ar3 still being set out. Soine peas have been planted. In places melons are blighting but a gen eral improvement is notea. Peaches are roLtening extensively as they ripen. Apples conuinue to drop. Wild plums and berries are plentiful,. A cantinuation of dry weather is needed to improve crop prospects which are still verj unfavorable. A Little Boy Killed. The Columbia State says a deplorable accident occurred at the Epworth or phanage during the storm of Wednes day afternoon. An old cow shed was blown to the* ground, killing one littlei fellow outright and wounding two others. The boys-nine in number -were in the orchard gathering plums. Overtaken by the rain they went under a nearbi cowshed together with two negro men, a half dozen cows and two horses. The old shed was unable to withstand the in creasing force of the wind and soon after fell with a crash. As soon as the ne groes could disentangle themselves the wreckage was removed. Charlie Stack was found lying on his left side pinned to the ground by a heavy sill which had crushea his skull. There were several bruises on his body and his leg was broken. Lee White had a long gash down the forehead and face to his lip, it being cut to the bone, and John H. Parker had his right elbow dislocated. The ages of the injured boys were 9, 6 and 12 years respectiveiy. The little fellow who was killed, Charlie Stack, came to the orphanage about three and a half years ago. His former home was in Florence where he and his older brother lived up to the time of their father's death. Killed With an Axe. Rev. Patrick Chambers, one of the most prominent citizens of the Holly Springs section, Oconee County, had d:aei Iro c the effects of a blow re ceived at the hanas of his son-in-law, Dan Roach, several days ago, with an axe.. All this trouble, it is said was cau.sed by Roach not providing for his own. family. He lives at the home of Mr. Chambers who told him he ought to get to work and make a living for his family. Roach bc e me furious, so c.ared his axe, and dealt a deadly blow with the siae of it back of the left ear. Mr. Chabers is a leader of his section, honest and respected. Roach has been in trouble boicre, his father-in-law al wayis -comag to his rescue, trying to make sne;.irag outo- himn. Killed by Lightning. A gre.IL many more persons seems to be ki.'d now by 1:ghtninig than former iy. Whilec stacking wheat on his farm, six milei south of Ptedx ount, Ala., on Weene::drny. Robert Coan and his Son viet e struck by lig d'.mng and instantly k:Lhed. WhLile working in a field in .L.ecoln ceunmy, Nor-h Carolina, Wed nesday alt.eruoon, ?Jilliam Huss and one son were instantly killed, and another son probably fatally injured by liihmning. A Long Sentence. O.1c of the longest and direct sen teness cver pronuoncd uoon a crimi nvu~s rUo-'azy coauted in the decis o? 01aJude in Naples, who inflicted neemy Uon .n Ihahan adventurer, ws picaeduilt to adwscnit jadg fiure upthe penalties and offi oful solietced the' prisoner to 1,088 yeas o slitryconfinement. STARVING IN CHINA. The Sad Condition of That Un. happy Country. MILLIONS DYING FOR BREAD. fears of Orought the Cause. Death by the Thousands. Children Sold for Bread to Eat. Twenty millions of men, women and ihildren starving; a universal hunger hat causes thousands of deaths daily; arched fields and a drought of three pears' duration; whole villages abandon -d to the dead, and the population sub isting on roots and herbs; mothers illing their children for bread, and he horrors of cannibalism. Such is the awful picture that has ecently been brought to the attention I f the world fram beyond the moun sins which enclose the provinces of ;hansi and 9hensi, in China. The first break in the silence of de pair, the first signal of distress from he millions of starving in their iso ation came in the form of a cablegram o America from Li Hung Chang, )hina's "Grand Old Man,"-the Bis narck of Asia. The ca legram in itself was a strange hing For the firt time in that long listory which began in the dawn of ime, China- was appealing for aid to he newer world bey ond the Great Wall nd the great sea Never before had the ike occurred. Calamities and wars nd pestilencee there have been in hina during the long, monotonous ynasties, but none that she c.nsider<d mpossible of relief from resources ithin her own borders. Al the tradi ions of her past, all precedent and re igion, were opposed to a pca for aid rom a foreign power. Sad, indeed, nuet be the plight of the 20,000,000, hen Li Hun: Chang says to Christian Imeriea: "Help, or we perish!" "Very serious famine," Earl Li cs led; "spreads over whole province of 3hansi. Over 11,000,000 population ffeted. Urgent relief necessary. Con ition warrant immediate appeal." Wu Ting Fang, Chinese minister to ,he Unitea States, supplemented the riceroy's words with an urgent mes age of his own, and forwarded a .ranslation of the following touching bppeal from the governor and native 'elief committee # Shansi: 'To Our Own People and Foreigners: "This time the famine is more seri >us than ever, becuse in the north are he allied troops, and in the south we iave several places in rebellion. China a very poor now, and the people are in ch a straightened position that no very ig assistance can be expected from hem. Since more than several months iow, the famine has been beginning in >Iaces in this province. In some vii ages they are eating human flash. "All our brothers in the world should >e very sorry for us, and should know iow unfortunate we are. We wish all yr people to share some of your money which you spend amusing yourselves, md for traveling, and for dressing and or all kinds of comforts, to rescue :hse poor people. It is much better : save the starving and dying men, omen and children here, than to build Spagoda or temple, or even a church yecause from ten to twelve million peo le are suffering to death." The two provinces of Shansi and hensi are side by side in the northern part of the Chinese empire, 600 miles rom the sea coast, their combined mrea of 15.7,000 square miles, about that af the 1'New England States with New York end Pennsylvania; yet, crowded into this small territory are 20,000,000 uman beings, more than one-quarter the entire population of the UJnited States. Shansi and Shensi were once beauti ul and fruitful. They are mountain aus and~furrowed by picturesque val eys. In facet, a literal translation of hansi would mean "Mountains of the East." For centuries before western history began, the dense population aultivated rice on the terraces on the hillsides. S3iansi is old ever for China. ts principal city, Tai-ynen, was the cpital of the empire when Pekin was new. Its people were simple, contented and peaceable. During the last decade European and American civilization has driven an en tering wedge into the prejudices and supersititions of the mountain pro vinces. Especially was this true of hansi, the nearer of the two to the sea coast. Until recently it was the scone of the labors tf more than 180 mission ries. Agents of foreign firms in Hong Kong and Shanghai have crossed the mountain passes, and have made a be ginning in what will some day be un doubtedly a large import trade with the farmers of the terraced valleys. There are comparatively few streams in the two provinces, and water for the rice fields i3 supplied by irrigating ditches and wells. These dry up when rain fails, and the result is a faulure of crops and famine. Surch is the condi ton now. For two years scarcely any rain has fallen in Shansi and Shensi. Before the last of the missionaries left Stiansi, the black shadow of hun er hung so low over the land as to make even the famine horrors of India small by ot mparison. And the shadow has continued t o deepen. No one will probably ever know the exact number of victims, but recent accounts give some idea of the death harvest that is being gleaned in the parched fields. Rice, the one imiportant staple of food, is worth its weignt in gold. As a sub stitute the peeple, in sheer despair, eat grass and the leaves ot' treas. DLhaths are too numerous to make funerals any longer possible. Outside of every village a dleep pit is dug, and every morning are laid the bodies of those who have died during the night, covered only by a thin layer of earth. Later in the day another ghastly layer is placed upon them and the proccs coninued until the pity is filed, which seldom takes loger than a few days. Larga towns are depopulated. The in habitans wander lte wild beasts through the fields searching vainly for Leathern straps and sacks are boiled Lnd eaten to satisfy the cravings of iunger. Some idea of the horror of .t all can be gathered from the follow .ng letter received in this city from a Jhinaman in Shansi: "A man just came from a village )utside of this city, and described the sondition of the starving people, which nade me feel as though I was among hem. Thirty dollars was the price of bag of rica. The poor have no rice; hey killed everything in sigh,, if eat ible, and cooked even leather boxes or ags, and stewed tree-bark and grass. 3ome of them were so famished that hey were even eating earth. "On the first day, he saw a number >f poor people selling their children or rice. On the second he saw the ame party lying starving on the road, and on the third day about half of hem were dead, and their miserable >odies were lying at the mercy of iungry dogs and wolves. "Nearly every city, town or village ie passed through was deserted or the iouses occupied by the dead. It is aid that in one town the people have pened a human flesh market. "Another friend told me of a family if nine. The mother could not bear to iear the cry of the famished children Id finally committed suicide." The Christian Herald caught up Li lung Chang's appeal and spread it roadcast throughout the United tates. The response has been more Luick and generou than to any previ us calls on the genercsity of Ameri ans. One of the first contributions vas from President MaKinley, who, rom his special car on his journey oross the continent, telegraphed his iontribution along with that of Mr. Fohn Hay, secretary of state. Al:ead $20,000 have been cabled to he Relief committee of five mission ries in Tientsin. The obstacles which ed some persons in this country to ear that the distribution of famine re ief in China would be a difficalt taek ave melted away. Shansi's new governor is a very pro ;ressive Uhinaman. He is a friend of he foreginers, and he recently sent an ificial escort to Pe;kin to conduct the issionaries back to Tai-Yen-Fu. ;hensi, too, has been found to be quite a accessible for relief operations as ,ny other part of the empire. These are the days when electricity ,nd steam are knitting the world to ether. $20,000 can now be sent from few York to China almost as easily as o Pailadelphia. While you are reading this a floiilla f small janks and river boats is prob bly well on its way up the Yang-tse iver. The flotilla is laden wlth tons f rice. It will follow its windings to ward the southern borders of the two rovinces, and then continue up the iver Han to a point where its cargo ill be loaded on wagon trains and arried far into the interior. Thou ands of lives will be saved, and, as Vu Ting Fang recently put it, "1he elief w:li go a long way toward help cg the Chinese to realize the foreign re are not their enemies." Yes, $20,000 will go a long way in hansi and Shensi, but after all, it is ly a beginning. A great deal more s needed before the shadow can be ifted from over the desert vallevs. k fund is now being raised which it is oped may rival the hundreds of thous nds contributed for India. Crushed, heartbroken China today ooks to America as her best friend. ~here is something pathetic in Li lung Chang's selection of this coun ry for his appeal. Li Hung Chang was the friend of len. Grant. By his instructions, the hinese minister every memorial day ays a wreath on the tomb on River. ide Drive..- Li Hung Chang made to as the first admission of his country's ffering. Shall lisi apperi be in vain? Will he countrymen of U. 3. Grant give o heed? No, as Dr. Louis Kiopaeh ays, in a little pamphlet jast issned by. he relief fand: " 'Let the dead past bury its dea'd.' hese peaple, though their skin be yel ow, though their customs be strange, hough they live in a different clime, hough they have erred, and griev >usly erred, yet are they our brethren, nd we wili not desert them in this iour of terrible afLhetion and dis ress. "They shall not die if we can prevent ,t. Their children shall not be sold or food, for to them they are as dear is our own prattling babes are to us; hey shall not starve, seeing that God as given us enough and to spare. Out >our abundance will we assist them, nd, God helping us, we will do to hem as we would, under similar con litions, have them do to us, and thus ~educing the Golden Rule to practice, e will give them bread to the full ex ent of our individual ability." Saving lives in North China is not an xpensive process. Ten American cents will pay the ex penses of a small family for a day ad twenty cents will save a life for a week. A dollar is all that is needed o maintain a family of five for a week nd $100 will keep alive a good sized illage. All contributions towiards this eserving cause should be a.ddressed o the China Famine Relief fund, care [he Christian Herald, Bible House, aew York. A Fatal Collision. A collision occurred on one of the itreets of Montgomery, Ala., Wednes lay afternoon between a trolley car and ose cart caused the death of one man mad four were injured. 'Lhe firemen were responding to an alarm of fire and were crossing the railroad track when ;he hose carriage was struck by the car. [he street had recently been graded at hat point and the cut was of such a na ure that neither party could see the >ther until too late to stop. The hose arriage was totally demolished and the ront end of the car badly broken. Tne ondutor and motormen were arrested. A Careless Engineer. A freight of the Seaboard Air Line *an into a freight of the P'iant system t the crossing at]3laden, Gia., Wednes lay morning. It is the law in Georgia hat all trains shall stop at crossings. rom the evidence it seems that H. .E. Bradford, engineer of the Seaboard train ailad to stop his train. A crash was the euit. Bradford was seriously injured mnd his tiroman, Rabert Simme, was nstantly killed. Nobody on the Piant ,ystem train was hurt. Several cars were smashed and the Seaboard engine wa wrecked. THE CROP OUMOOK. On the Whole the General Condition is Better. 4 The growing cotton crop made fair progress the last week and is doing well except in the Atlantic States, where excessive moisture and lack of cultivation have kept its condition low, but in those sections, the crop looks well. In the central and western dis tricts squares are forming and blooms have been noted as far north as Mis souri, while in southwestern Texas picking has begun. West of the Mississippi droughty conditions prevail that will soon injure the prospects unless relieved by rain. Lice are causing some apprehension in the Atlantic Statei, and the boll weevil in Texas has caused damage locally. On the whole, the crop is in a fairly promising condition. In North Carolina frequent showers with cloudy, cool weataer prevailed during the week just passel. Raias occurred at some place or other in the State on every day of the week, and were quite heavy on the 21st and night t of the 24th, causing freshets in the smaller streams; but generally the rains were local in character, and over many counties there were favorable opportunities for farm work. Cotton is making very slow growtjh, but looks well in cultivated fielde; grass contin ues to be troublesome; in some coun ties lice have appeared on cotton. Some early planted cotton is beginning to form squares. In Sousa Carolina cotton improved slightly where it could be worked, but the plants continue to be unreasonably small, and much of it is yellow. Some cotton is scalded, and lie are still in evidence, although less numerous than last week. Chopping is not finished. Many fialds are still grassy, and much cotton is being destroyed in cleaning it of grass and weeds. Some fields have been abindoned on asoeunt of their foal condition and scarcity of la borers. Sia islsad made a decided:im provement. In Georgia heavy rains fell in the eastern counties early in the week; otherwise generally fair weather has prevailed with high temperature. All crops have been given much needed cultivation, but the supply of labor is not equal to demands. A -slight im provement in the crop situation is 1 noted in many counties, while in oth ers the detrimental effects of the past heavy rains are still apparent. Cotton is still in poor condiuon in many lo- , calities, but corn is recovering rapidly. i In Alaama hot, dry weather pre- r vailed, the day temperatures averaging 0 well up in the nineties, and, on a few days during the latter part of the week, a reachir.g 10] degrees at some stations in Middle and eastern counties; practically a no rain occurred, except seattered show era in extreme eastern counties Sanday j afternoon, and a general rain would now t be beneficial to all crops. The dry f weather was favorable for work, and e cotton has been mostly worked out, and i is now clean, and, while it is small, it is generauly healthy and is improving a steadily; squares are forming very gener- s ally, and some is ready to bloom. a In Miskiisippi over the central and t northern portions of the State the work t was very favorable for the cultivation and growth of crops; which are gen- a erally in good condtion, but needing rain. In the southern counties the e continued dry weather commenced to j show its ill effects on crops, especially c corn and gardens. Over the most of a the State cotton is clean and is mak- e ing a satisfactory growth, although , generally from two or three weeks late. It is beninning to bloom in some of the southern and central counties. In Louisiana'the week has been prac tically rainiess, and for the second time during the present growing season drouth of damaging intensivelv pre vails in all parts of the State Cotton is reported in fine condition in a few localities, roughi and kinky or turning red and in other ways show ing the - bad effects of the dry, hot weather in other places, but generally, although from one to three week late and growing slowly, it is looking heal thy and the first planted is blooming. In Tennessee cotton is still small, but I the high temperature of the week was favorable to it, and the outlook is more encouraging now than at almost anyj previous time this seasson. In Texas very light rain was report ed from a few localities in the north eastern and over the extreme north western portion of the State, and show ers occurred here and there along the Brazos and Trinity rivers on the 17th and 18th, but in no case was the rain fall sufficient to relieve the needs of1 crops. All portions of the State need rain and in a great many sections, not ably in the central, southern and east ern, a serious drouth is prevailing. Cotton, considering the dry weather, has done well; the crop is generally in bloom. The crop needs rain, but there are only a few instances noted where the plant is actually suffering for mois ture. Tne boll weevil continues to1 damage catton, but their depredations are confined to limited areas in the southern portion of the State; reports indicate that they are being rapidly thinned out by the various methods used to exterminate them. Early cot ton in the extreme south is opening and is being picked. in Arkansas the weather continues hot and dry. No rain of consequence occurred during the week, except in the northwest section, where scattered showere occurred on the 18:h inst. All crops are begianing to need rain badly. Corn and cotton have made rapid growth. In Oklahoma and Indian Territory3 clear, hot weather, with high southerly winds prevailed during the week; local showers occurred on the 17th, 18k, 19th and 2 1st. Cotton choppping is about completed, and the plant is squaring I and commencing to bloom; it made a good growth and is in good condition. In Missouri cotton, in the southeast- I ern counties, is making excellent pro- I grees and is beginning to bloom. In Virginia there was too much rain for cotton. His Family Lost. Lowell D. Hosmer, the former dis burser of the public works department of Porto R oo, died June 17. His wife and family have been unsuccessfully sought for. At one time they were be-I lieved to be at Jacksonville, FIL, or Memphis, Tenn. Americans at San Juan took charge of the funeral. 1 RECK.0F A TRAIN. mars Piled One on the. Other in an inex'rlcable Mass. IIX TEEN PERSONS KILLED. rhe Accident Occurred in a Lone ly County at Midnight. Hours Before Wounded Were Treated. Sixteen persons were killed' and bout 50 were seriously injured in a reck of train No. 3, the west bound Vabash limited, nine miles west of orea, Ind., at 12:30 a. m., Wednes ay. The dead ire all Italian-anigrants n route to Colorado, whose names are nknown. Two seations of train No. , one coming ;from Detroit and the ther from Toledo were consolidated in his city into a train of eleven oars, aking up the flyer for its journey to It. Louis. It consisted of a combina ion baggage and express, combination aggage and smoker, day coach, emi ;ant coach, three -chair cars, three leepers and the private ear of General uperintendent Jotter of the Iron lountain railway. Having left this ity one hour late the train was speed ng westward at a high rate when at a oint nine miles west the enging lunged through a trestle which hAd een undermined by the recent heavy ains. The embankment on both -sides f the little stream dropped at a sharp egree a distance of forty feet. Oing. o the momentum of the train the en ine appeared to leap nearly across the mbankment, plunged into the soft arth on the opposite side and fell back o the bottom. Engineer Butler and 'iremsn Adams were thrown from the ab but not seriously hurt. The ex ress =ar and the first chair oar were elescoped. The emigrantoar followed >q two chair oars went down on the eft side - of the track and the firi leeper pitched forward upon the mass I debris. Its windows and trucks rere broken, but none of the oca ants were ivjure: The aining are also left their trucks, but were not adly damaged. It was in the emi rant and day coaches that most of the ,eaths and injuries ooored. There was absolutetly no means by rhich the engine crew could see the rpending danger; in fact, the engine n out upon the trestle before the. tructure gave way. The nigat was intensely dark. For few minutes after the fatal plunge ad dreadful roar of crashing timbers, deathly stillness prevailed, which ras only broken by the cries of the in ared. Trainmen caught up their Ian erns and rushed to the neighboring rm houses for assistance. The farm rs, with their wives and children, earing torches, hastened to the scene. Lll efforts were bent to giving first id to the injured. Telephone mes ages were dispatched to this city and very physician was hurriedly taken 3 a special train which carried them ) the eene. The injured were placed bout on cots and everything possible one to ameliorate their condition. For a time after the rescurers reaoha d the scene of the wreck zittleocould e done in the way of moving the ead. Hundred of tons of twisted iron nd broken timbers rested upon the ar where the unfortunate emigrants reri crushed. By means of wrecking derricks the tess was gradually opened and by Lylight nearly all the dead had been emoved to the city. The Deadly Lightning. The storm which struck Pitsburg and icinity Wednesday afternoon was hort in duration, but terrific in power 1nd disastrous in effeot. TLhe lightning nd thunder was practically continuous or about thirty mnniutes, the wind at aining a -velocity of thirty miles an tour end 46 inches of rain fell. The emperature fell 24 degrees within an tour. One woman was killed instantly >y lightning and saveral other persons nay die from the same cause, number ess houses and churches were struck by ightning and several picnic parties ere paniostricken. At South Avenue >ark, a pienic party, composed of 1,200 ersons, 700 of wiom were children, athered in the dancing pavilion for helter from the storm. Lightning truck a tree within eight feet of the >avilion and set fire to the structure. Che picnickers were panic-stricken, romen feinted, childrens oreameda md eventhe men in the party ave way to thiur fright. Fortuately he heavy rain extinguished the flames md although a large number of the >arty were more or less hurt, in the >anic, none were sedously igured. A imilar panic ensued at St. Qph's arochial school, on Mount O1Y,7 there commencement exercises were eing held. The hell was filled with chil ren and their parents when lightning truck the building, tearing a portion f the roof away. No fatalities result Jumps from Steamship. The captain of the Anchor Line teamer Furnessia, from New. _lork, rune 15, which arrived at Glasgow, Vednesday, reports that Richard Walke, a lawyer of Virginia, jumped iverboard from the steamer June 20 nd was drowned. A dipatch says ichard Walke was a resident of Norfolk nd one of the most distinguished law ers of the State of Virginia. He leaves Swife and four daughters. The widow i Commodore Truexton is his sister. le was aecompanied on the trip to urope by his wife And e gentleman riend. His death is the result of his hird attempt to end his life in recent rears, and he is the third of his family o die by their own hands within the >ast three years. In 1899 Henry Walke, de brother, shot himself in Brooklyn rhile on a visit to that city. Lattleton 2. Walke, son of Richard Walke, tabbed himself to death in his room t the University of Virginia recently. A Georgia editor says if any farmer ets the weeds grow while it rains, and oes not work fast and continuously vhile the sun shines he is going to find arming a failure next autumn. This is a good time of the year to use vhiterah on fences.