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WAR TIME iJALE A Confederate Soldier's Escape from Prison and Death, WHEN THE CIVIL WAR Was Gning On. as Told by His Daugh ter in the Coniederate Veteran Mag azine. He Was Under Sen tence of Death. but Gave Sherman the Slip. The following interesting sketch from the diary of the late Capt. M. A. Miller of how he made his escape from "Irving Blcck" prison at Mem phis is furnished by his daughter, Mrs. Wm. R. Vawter of Richmond. Va. "I have one man urder senterce of death for smuggling arms across the lines, and I hope Mr Lincoln wili approve it." The above is a quotation from a letter of Gen. W. T, Sherman to his brother John after the capture of Memphis, Tenn. And herewith is a sketch of how that "one man, Capt. Matthews Amos Miller. made his escape from prison. Capt. Miller, was assistant city engineer of Mem phis at the commencement of the war: A number of the engineers and ar chitects formed a company of sappers and miners of which we were the oft cers and some of our best mechanic; the privates. This company threw up the first works of fortificati ns on the Mississippi river, beginning four miles from Memphis, then at Fort Pillow Island No. 10, 'New Madrid and Columbus. At the latter place *e had our first infantry fight. Memphis was captured by Gen. Sher man in June, 1862. At that time I was home on sick leave, having, just passed through a serious spell of ty phoid fever. It was true, as stated in Gen. Sherman's letter to his broth er John, that the mercenary spirit of his people enabled us t> buy anything we wanted for gold or cotton. When Sherman irst took possession of Memphis he issued an order de claring gold, medicine and salt. con traband, and as such prohibited their sale to our people. But his orders were practically reversed, and we got anything we wanted. So greedy were they for money that they actually sold us arms. The people with whom we dealt were mostly camp followers and merchants. Finding that arms could be easily procured in this way, and knowing our people needed them badly, I determined to get a quantity of them. I represented no one but myself, and all that I purchas d were paid for by me out of my own funds I was the means of equipping the best part of two companies of cavalry be fore my operations were discr-vered by thd enemy. It was rather diffcult to get the arms to the southern soldiers after I bought them, for in addition to the gunboats, the river was closely patrolled by picket bouats. My plan was to put. my goods mostly sabers and pistols, on board a skiff and carry them over to the Arkansas side, where the cavalry would get them. For a month I was steadily supply ing our soldiers with arms and .met with no serious diffculty. But o)ne afterncon, in the latter part of July. my good luck deserted me. I was carrying over two boxes of offcers' swords, and was in the middle of the river, when a picket boat, that I did not see when I started out, ran upon me,. I at once knew that danger was ahead, and, jumping on the gunwales of my boat, Itried to sink it; but it was too heavy and would not "dip," The officer in charge of the picket boat arrested me, and the skiffmnan also, and took us with the two boxes to a gunboat nearby. - Here the boxes were opened, and as soon as the nature of their contents was disclosed I was at once carried to the military prison in the "Irving Block," in the centre of the city. In two or three days there was a court martial. The evidence was, of course, conclusive, and I could make no defence. What the verdict was I did not learn, as it was not pronounc ed; and it was not -until some five weeks afterward that I became aware of it. I was first made aware of the seriousness of my position in a sensa tional way. Late one afternoon in July. 1862, a friend, a Miss Gibson, who had been calling on me, after glancing around cautiously turned and whispered to me: "Captain, you are under sentence of death, and are to be shot at an early day. Take my ad vice; get away from here before they put shackles on your ankles and wrists, for then you can do nothing." My idea is that the offier in charge had no authority to carry such a ver dict into execution without the ap proval of the president, pending which I was kept in ignorance. Later, the same day on which I was told I was to die (I think it must have been about August 13) Gen. Sherman came into my cell, accomnpanied by two members of his staff, whose name I did not know. I knew the general as soon as I saw him. He sat there some 10 or 15 minutes talking to me. He was very polite, but still his man ner was positive. In the first part of his conversation he said that I was probably aware that the sentence of court martial was death. I told him I had no way of knowing, as that was the first offcial notification of it that I had received. As we talked on Gen. Sherman told me that in the discharge of his offcial duty it would be neces sary for him to have the sentence of the court executed, which he propos ed to do on the Friday foliowing. This was Moniday. Although I knew the sentence had been passed, it did not impress itself on my mind as something that was actually going to happen. Looikiug Gen. Sherman straight in the face I laughed, not boisterously, but in a manner that -suggested incredulity. The general did not resent my beba vior, remaining perfectly silent and courteous. One of bis staff oflizers, a, major, spoke up curtly; saying, "Sir, do you know whom you are address. ng?" I replied in language quite forcible, with the inquiry as to what he had to do with it. Scon after the offcers left I put my wits toi work to arrange for an esca.pe. I had any number of friends in the city who were trying to help me escape. Sev eral plans were suggested; one was that 1 should get on the roof of the prison, then go down through an al joining building. It was arranged that one night all the gas was tobe cut off from that portion of the city, ut the scheme failed. My wife brought me a strong rope with which to "scale" the walls, but I was too closely guarded to use it (several of the other "bo,s" did get away on it, and I still have the rope in my poises sion). Another night the guard on duty was drugged, but that plan failed, too. After considerable work, I finally succeeded in bitting on a successful scheme. In the prison chere were, be sides the regular guards, what were known as "supernumeraries," whose business it was to accompany prison ers to varicus places in the city. I had gotten on quite friendly terms with one of them, a Canadian named Redmond, who belonged to an Ohio regiment. He did not know of my sentence. I told him that my child was sick, an-d I wanted him to go to my house with me so I could see the little one, as it was not expected to live. This was true. The man re plied that he, too had a wife and children, and if they were sick he cer tainly would like to see them, so granted my requEst. I had sent word to my family that I would be home and they must make arrangements for me to get away. It was quite easy for me to get a message home. As the prison fare was unfit to eat, some of my friends always brought me my meals; so when I got my breakfast next morning I sent the message. When I had been home a few min utes, Mrs. Miller asked me if 1 would not like to take a bath and change my linen. She had prepared a bath in the adjoining room. The guard took his position at the door. The room into which I went, after taking off my hat coat, vest and boots, had a second door, which Redmond could not see from where be was standing. In the meantime the young woman who was nursing my child attracted the guard's attention by showing him some hand some pictures in a book. I was not idle, and quickly stepped into a second suit of clothes which my wife had pro vided in the room in which I was bath ing, or supposed to be bathing, for in reality my wife was splashing the wa ter while I was getting away. I left the house at once. To do this I had to jump out of a window, and to my consternation landed right in the middle of a company of federal caval ry that was camped in a lot near my house. Luckily, they took no notice of me, and a vicious bulldog, which came up ab.>ut that time gave me a good excuse for breaking into a run. I crossed the street in a hurry, acd at a bound cleared a six-fcot fencer which effectually hid me from view. A. carriage was in waitirg for me in front of my house, but in such a posi tion as to be in plain view of the guard. While I was crcssirg the street I signaled the driver, an inti mate friend of mine, who was acting in that capacity, and by the time I reached the alley on the other side of the high fence he was there waiting for me. I shall always think that jump over the fence saved my life. Once in the carriage, I was rapidly driven a short distance outside of the city, where I stopped at the house of Judge Woodruff. I wanted to keep on that night. There were three lines of pickets to be passed and the judge advised me to wait until morning, which I did. Toe next morning my host put a pair of navy sixes in my hands, with these I made my way safely south. It was a cas3 of life and death, and I would have fought a regiment. I rejoined the Confederates under Gen. Hulmes. Subsequently 1 was transferred to Gen. E. Kirby Smith's oommand, where 1 remained until the close of the war. Mr. Redmond was still interested in tbe pictures, but finally said to Mrs. Miller who had just returned to the room, "Mrs. Miller you had bet ter call your husband " She replied. "He is not there.'' Mr. Redmond said, "I did not think that of you." My wife said, ''He is niy husband." Mr. Redmond thought a moment, then looking up, said, "I don't blame you. My wife would have done the same for me." Redmond was suspected of having been instrumental In aiding me to escape; but it-was never proved against him, for no one noticed when we went out or paid any attention to Redmond when he returned. The cxset hour of my escape was not known, and the guards were chat ged so often that it could not be found out who was on duty at the time. When my escape was discovered, I had been gone sev eral hours. The strange part of the affair was that when Redmond was tried one of the witnesses swore that he saw him return with me. At tthe time of my escape the news papers stated that, having had access to the city engineer's cff ee which Gen. Sherman was using, 1 had carried off plans of all the works around the city. On the strength of this, a reward of 2,000 was offered for my capture. This statement was not, however, true; for although I was at liberty to go in and out of the engineer's otfice at will, I did not carry off any plans with me. I was able, through mem ory, to give Gen. Forrest some infor mation as to the location of the ene my's works, which proved of great service to him in making his raid into Memphis. I learned after the war was over that by the intercession of Mr. Mc Pherson (who had been a college atnate of mine) and some of my relatives and prominent friends in the north, Presi dent Lincoln was prevailed upon to pardon me. The papers, though, were not received until after the day upon which I was to have been executed, so it was lucky for me that I did not wait for them. A Fatal Fight. A dispatch from Houston, Texas, says Edward Calhoun was shot and killed on board an incoming San An tonia and Afansas Pass train at Wallis Wednesday by W. T. Eldiridge of San Antonio, Texas formerly vice presi dent and general, manager of the Cane Belt railroad. Calhoun is a brother- in law of Capt. Win. Donovant, whou was killed by Eidridge about three years ago on a passenger train on the same road, Eldridge was recently acquitred of murdering Capt Donovant. The tragedy grew out of the murder of Donovant and subst quent attempts made upon the life of E'.dridge. Eid ridge was shot through the lungs by an unknown party but recovered. Dis sension over the control of the Can-: Belt railroad in which Eldridge and 'onovant were jointly interested re sulted in the killing of Donova-:t, sinlc which time a feud~ Is said to have ex isted between relatives of the deceas ed and E'dridge. All of the parties are prominent. Mfurder and Suicide. At Richmond, Va., mentally un balanced by ill health, Frederick W. Hill machinist, killed his wife early Wednesday morning and then com mitted suicide. making orphans of the eight children of the couple. Hill used a revolver, and before ending his c wn lifs attemnpted to shoot his twelve ear-ol sn. The boywa un nninred.I 44NOT GUILTY." Jury Sets the Men Free Who Were Held for Murder of Bookhard. The Famous Eatawville Case Which Has Attracted Much Atten tion Ended Friday. The trial of the five white men charged with the murder of Keitt Bookard at Eutawville was commenc ed in the court of general sessions at Orangeburg on last Wednesday and ended Friday afternoon in an acquit tal. The men accused of the crime were J. H. Palmer, S. A. Eadons, An drew Martin, Benny Martin and Pen ny Martin. The followirg gentlemen composd the jury: D. N. Smitb, fore man; W. C. Brickle, G. B. Holman, R. P. Baldwin, R. S. Willingham, E. Grady, George R binson, C. M. Dick son, Henry Sandel, G. T. Ayers, W. J. Whetsell and R. H. Riley. Mr. J. H. Gaskins was drawn on the jury, but was taken sick and was excused. The State and the defence exercised great care in the selection of the jury. There were many challenges on both sides. The prosecution offered three objections and the defense objected to six of the regular panel. When the name of A. S. Salley was ca.lled and Judge Dantzler was catechising the juror as to whether or not he ws in any way interested in or connected with the cate, Mr. Salley stated that a friend had expressed the wish that Mr. Salley would be drawn on the jury so that he could vote to acquit the defendants. Solicitor Hildebrand smilingly accepted the juror, but the defense objected. When the regular panel had been exhausted there were 10 jurors; the State had offE red three objections and the defense six. When the extra panel of 12 jurors was called and as sembled after about an hour, no juror was obtained, the State had used one of its two remaining challenges and the defense four. Another extra panel of 12 jurors was summoned, and from this panel the jury was completed as above named. After the jury was drawn the tak ing of testimony was commenced. The State put up Magistrate Wiggins and others to identify the body found with the weight tied to it as that of Kitt Bookhard. W. E. Jackson, a white man, who conducts a store at Eutawville stated, that among others in his store the afternoon of July 11th were: H. C. 1l 2.ars, Andrew Martin, Benny Martin, Adger Butler. John Palmer, S. A. Eidons and others. They had some packages which were left in the store, among other things two bottles of whiskey. He gave them permis sion to take a drink in there. T. S. Gelzer, a prominent merchant, who served on the coroner's iury stated that J. H. Palmer was on the coroner's jury the night they went down to the river, but did not serve on the jury subsequently. E. P. Winter, another merchant and member of the jury, declared that Palmer had been a member of the jury the first night, but was not subsequently. Solicitor Hildebrand wanted to brlr g out a declaration -made' by Pal mer when the foreman of the coron er's jury called for a private confer ence of the jurors. The statement of Palmer was admitted. He had said that the jury must excuse him a min ute as it was more than he could bear. Peter Giobes, colored, was working for S. A. Eadons at the time of the Eutawville affhir. At 6 o'clock the m:orning after the disappearance Mr. Eidons was not up. The buggy was out in front of the buggy house. Tntere was a lantern, a piece of cotton rope a foot and a half long, and a hatchet. He stated on cross-examina tion that Mr. Eadons was alwaya up except when sick. At that time Bad ons had a carbuncle, had had it for two weeks. THE HORRIBLE CRIME DESCRIBED. Henry C. Edwards was then sworn. The principal witness is a youth of 22, small and pale in appearance, with sharp features but a not unat tractive eye. He gave his evidence in a labored manner as if he feared that he is despised and was cautious against being trapped. Is a native of Orangeburg, 22 years of age andi an orphan. Worked near Eutawville last year for Andrew Mar tin, a defendant, for six months. The week bcfore July 11th he went fish ng with the defendants, Lewis Mar tin, Eugene Washington and Keitt Bookard. Coming back in the wagon he and Keitt Bookard got into a dis pute. The negro cursed him, he cursed back. He said he was unable to defend himself against the negro and the other white men were not disposed to help him. That night sitti~g on the piazza Andrew Martin started the talk about having a war rant sworn out for Keitt Bookard. They kept on after him Sunday to have the negro arrested because he should not talk that way. The next day Andrew Martin went with him to Eutawville and had the warrant sworn out for the arres;. of Keitt. Af ter the trial they sent him to get some whiskey, a quart and a pint, some of which they drank up in Jack son's store. The men there com menced to talk about "putting the negro away." The men in the crowd were: Palmer, Ezions, Piney Mar tin, Adger Butler, Penny Martin, Andrew Martin and Benny Martin. He went home early in the night and was in bed when "Old Man" Lewis Martin came to his window. (Conversation not admitted ) Wit ness then got up at 12 o'clock at nighti and rode his mule to E itaw yille. There he met in front of Cau sey's rare Benny and 1'nny Martin, about 100 feet from the public well They said they were going for buggy. e moved on over to the well and there was j ined by Eadons and Pal mer, who were talking about putting the negro out of the way. In a few. minutes Benny and Penny Martin came with the buggy. Eadons said lets get away from here. Benny got out and picked up a piece of iron like the grate bar placed in evidence, and put it in the buggy and Eidons and Pauer went to the guard house. Benny and Penny went toward the rod and told him to follow, which he did. When they passed Eadons house they were joined by Andrew, Martin, who came out of the house and got in the buggy with Benny and Penny. Tecy were jai-.ed down the road by Palmer and Eidons, who had the ne gr~ with them in the buggy. Keitt was handcuffed. Wnen they had pr.ceeded to a point near the river, about a quarter of a mile, they stopped and E udons and Palmer and Penny took a drink. Benny stood by the buggy in which the negro was. When they arrived at the river bank, Eadons said, "We have arrived at the ier Jord~an onr time haoe."~ l The negro began to beg and said he would work all his life for Eadons for noth ing if he would let him off this time. Keitt was made to get out of the buggy, and Benny and Penny tied him to the grate bar. Pa.lmer had gone up the bank a little ways and soon came back with a boat. Benny got into the boat. Eadons threw Keitt across the bow, face downward, and Palmer made a fl!rt with the boat when he had got out in the stream about 25 yards. The second time that Palmer flirted the boat wit ness turned his back and heard a splash. He then got on his mule and went back to Lewis Martin's. He stayed at Lewis Martin's until Monday following when be went to Charleston, having been sent at Lewis Martin's suggestion. Lewis Martin gave him money to go and took him to Pregnalls in a wagon. Lewis Mar tin gave him $15 in part payment of cotton crop. Stayed in Charleston from Monday to Thursday, came up to Ridgeville and stayed with his aunt until the next day when Mr. Pin: Martin came and took him to Augusta at Mr. Lewis Martin's suggesion. Pink Martin carried him to his son's in Augusta. Pink Martin's son got work for E Iwards at Bugg's sawmill at Dun barton, Barnwell county. There he stayed until the 14th of October. He went by the name of Allen at Dun barton. at the suiggstion of Lewis and Pink Martin. In October he came to Orangeburg to see his cousin, J. R. Mc. Cants. After seeing his relatives he made a statement to Mr. Dimaio. At Jackson's store, when they were talking about putting Keitt away, some wanted to hang him; Palmer was one who wanted to put him in the river. E idons and the others wanted to hang him to a limb. They talked about half an hour. He left Eutaw ville to go home between 7 and 8 o'clock. Piney Martin and Adger But ler were with him. He and Benny Martin occupied the same room. Benny Martin did not come home until after the negro was put in the water. The solicitor then led the witness over the whole story, which was told without any conflict of evidence. The course taken as described by the wit. ness was the same as that described by Isaiah Ellis. It was a rather dark night at the river. Nobody had a lan tern that he saw. He got on his mule then and rode home. Lewis Martin gave him the money to go to Charles ton. and put him on the train. He met Andrew Martin in Charleston. Andrew told him that Lewis Martin told him to come to Ridgeville. Lewis Martin also came to ubarleston. Mackey Mar tin is the name of the brother in Au gusta. He stayed there Friday night and until noon Saturday. He paid his railroad fare out of the $15 Andrew owed him for his work on the farm and had not paid him. He stated that the reason he had come to make a state ment to the solicitor was that he wanted to clear his concience. The crcss examination was conduct E d in a very skillful manner by Mr. Wolfe, who was unable to break the witness down. This cross examination waq the feature of the trial up to this time. Mr. Wolfe endeavored by a mul titude of questions to show that E: wards gave himself up through fear of the detectives and that ever since he has been putty in the hands of Mr. Dimalo. Tnis was a strong play, as there is so much resentment here against the Piakerton man. Mr. Wolfe made the witness report the vile lan guage applied to E-dwards by Keitt Bookhard and he asked when he would ever be a man. (The offensive lan guage is such as to make the jury think rather unkindly of a white man to whom itn would be applied by a negrc "i hout resentment.) On another point Mr. Wolfe worked hard to make wit ness declare what was the' measure of force used by Lewis Martin to make him get up out of bed to take part in a lynching instead of running away to his (E iwards') uncle who lived three miles from Lewis Martin. As none of his boys had gone home from Eu tawville, how did Lewis Martin know of the plot, asked Mr. Wolfe. Witness denied having any conversation with Lewis Martin between Sunday and the night of the lynching when Lewis Martin came to his window. THE DEFENSE BEGINS. The defence then introduced their witnesses. Among the number was Lewis Martin. He is a very large man, white haired, 61 years of age. He has two sons under indictment, L. Andrew Martin and Ben F. Martin. Penny P. Martin is a nephew and S. A. Eadons is a relativ-e by marriage. Witness has lived near Eutawville all of his life. H. C. Edwards has been living around there for about four ybars. He was working for L. Andrew Martin, who had a position with Kaliuski on Young's island and was at home then on a visit. He declared to be "utterly false" Edwards' statement to being called in the night. He stated that Edwards came to him during the day Monday and asked about the wording of the warrant. (Eiwards had stated that he had not talked with Lewis Martin Monday.) He went to Charleston to see his son Andrew and saw Ed wards but did not advise Edwards to leave there and chanare his name. He explained his interest in getting. Edwards to leave E itawville because Edwards lived in the house with Benny and he was afraid from threats he had heard that the negroes in trying to hurt Edwards might do something to Benny. S'j he moved Benny up to his own house and sent Edwards away, as the latter was an orphan and his mother in the asy lum, the old man declared naively. He paid Edwards $15 on his crop but the crop did not bring that much. He told on cross-examination that he went to Charleston to see his son Andrew on private business, although Andrew had been at home just the week be fore. D:.nid saying to Dr. Gilmore at Holly Hill that somebody's neck would be broken. Mrs. Carrie E. Eadons, wife of one of the defendants and aunt of two others, was next sworn. She remem bred the 11th of last July because of te disappearance of Keitt Bookhard, whom Mr. Eadons had arrested that afternoun. Andrew Martin came to supper with Eadons. The latter carried supper to the prisoner. Eadons went to bed in the room in which she was sleeping. Her daughter, Mrs. Coleman, wa in the same room with a sick baby. FE cdons was suff :rlieg with a carbuncle and while giving m-dicine to the baby she poulticed E Ldon's neck several times. At 3 o'clock she woke him so tuat he could go to Moncks Corner with the prisoner. He was not out of the house all night except to get up at 3 o'clock. He went to the guard house in a bug y and was gone about half an hour. He had gone to Moncks Corner lots of times and always left at 3 a. in., for it is a 60 mile drive. Andrew Martin slept at her house that night. He was up until nearly 12 o'clock playing games in the parlor and +.hen went to bed and slept in the front room adjoining her room. An drew was to go to Monck's Corner with Eadons and she rapped on his door to wake him up. When Eadons came back from the guard house he took off his shoes and coat and laid down across the bed. Andrew Mar tin went back to her house in com pany with Mr. Jeff D. Wiggins and Mr. Coleman to get her statement as to Eadons' whereabouts the night of the 11th. She had not seen any writ ten statement. Mrs. Eadons has a good face and her evidence made a marked impression. Mrs. L. A. Coleman, daughter of Mrs. Eadons, corroborated the testi mony of her mother as to the time her father was called and his return to the house. N o other buggies passed there that night. If there had been anypzssing she would have beard it. Miss Maud Owens of Manning was at Mr. E Ldons' the night of July 11th. She also corroborated the testimony of Mrs. Eadons. She is a neice of Mr. Eadons. Between 2 and 3 o'clock she went out to get peach leaves with which Mrs. E.dons was to make a poultice. Mr. Eadons was in the bed then. Mrs. J. H. Palmer, wife of one of the defendants, tVstified that her husband, who was town marshal came in that night about 7 o'clock and went out again on duty. He came in between 9 and 10 oclock and did not leave the house until Eadons came for him about 3 o'clock, for she heard the clock strike. She testified that he was gone not half an hour. She said that after Palmer's arrest Dima io had come to her house and had said that he wanted to say something in her husband's behalf, but she de clined to say anything to him. She had been married just one year to the day that her husband was arrested. On cross examination she denied having berated Mr. Palmer in Weath erford's store for being out so late at night and that he had replied that he had been tishing. She stated that her mother was at her home on that day and she did .not leave the house. She said it was customary for Palmer to go with Eidons to the guard house when the latter had a prisoner in there to be taken to the county jail. Mrs. Luella Martin, wife of Penny Martin, was next sworn. She swore that she was living at Eutawyille and her husband was at home all night after having come in at 8 o'clocb f or his supper. She went to bed about 12 o'clock. Her mother slept in the adjoining room. Her husband could not have gone out that night, for she was awake nearly all night. Her husband has been away five months andt she has had to depend upon her father for support. Mrs. Katherine Martin, mother o Mrs. Luella Martin, corroberated the testimony of her daughter as to Pen ny Martin's whereabouts. She is a sister of Lewti Martin. Mrs. S. C. Marin lives about five miles from ERawville. She is the wife of Piney Martin, who was at home plowing all day until late in the afternoon, when he went to Eu.naw vIlle. Came home that night about 8 o'clock. Bannie Martin and H. C. Edwards spent the night at her house. They came together at 1 o'clockr. The two stayed in bachelor's quarters just across a little branch, and stayed at her house almost as often as they did at their home. Ben ny Martin was drinking a little, just enough to make him sleep good. El wards wa& horribly drunk and she could hear him vomiting in the ad joining room. They had breakfast a little aftor sunrise and Edwards conid eat nothing, drank a cup of coffee, Piney Martin corroborated the testi mony of his wife. C. H. McCants of Charleston, a first cousin of Edwards, said that they have always been friends. He and L. A. R >ok met E lwards at the cor ner of Line and King streets. He swore that Edwards had told himz tihat he knew nothing about how Kett Bockard came to his death. This was a direct contradiction of Ed. ward's testimony, the first and only contradiction. L. A. Rook was call ed to verify Mc~ant's story but Rock did not answer. After the testimony was concluded speeches were made for the defence by Messrs. Baysor, Dennis, Wolfe and Haynes and by Solicitor Hildebrand for the State. Tne charge to the jury was then delibered by Judge Dantzler. He ap pealed for the jurors to rise above any prejudice and to arrive at a verdict upon the evidence. His charge was that of a high-minded man and con scientious jurist, and made a marked impression. A little after five o'clock the jury, after being out sixteen min utes, returned a verdict of not guilty and the defendants were discharged. STABBED TO DEATH. A Prosperous Sumter County Farmer .Killed by His Tenant. A dispatch from Sumter to The State says Colclough Stokes, negro, cut and stabbed Capt. David D. Wells of Tindall more than 20 times Eriday about 1 o'clock. Capt. Wells died from his wounds. The negro used a dull, hawk bill, one-bladed barlow knife. The first cut began at the right temple and went down to the throat. The next began on the left side of the throat and went around nearly to the right ear, severing the gutteral and and jugular vein; then down the scalp of the head from the back. T wo bad slashes were made on the left hand. The victim rell on his face and the negro jumped on the dying man's back and plunged the knife more than three times into his back, six times in a space no larger than a man's hand into his lungs, at the same time severing three ribs from the back bone. The negro and his wife occupied onebalf of Capt. Wells' dwelling, it being a double pen house, divided by a hallway. This is where the fight be gan. Stokes. it is said, had a bad reputa tion. He was under indictment for disposing of property under lien, and Capt Wells went on his bond and took him int o his employ. The negroe's wife kept house and cooked for -Capt. Wells. Tne dispute arose abaut some do mestic trouble and, it is said, Capt. Wells threatened to withdraw his bond and turn the negro over to the county. Then the fight began. The negro was captured this side of Tn-ial by Magistrate Ingram and a posse. He claimed that he was on his way to Sumter to surrender. He is nw in jail. Capt. Wells was about 45 years of age and unmarried. He was a very thrifty and prosperous farmer, owning a large number of acres of land. He was worth about 825,000. Tum~ St. Paul Daily Globe has sus pended publication. The Globe was a "democratic" organ that almtst in variably supported republican poli TAGS NOT USER Many ot Them Bought and Scatter in the 'ars. That Is the Charge Made in Many Letters to the Secrecary of the Cotton Association. A dispatch from Atlanta says addi tional letters received by the South ern Cotton association show that the fertilizer tags, the sale of which has been reported in large quantities of late, are being scattered over the country by putting them In Zars in which fertilizers are shipped and by placing two, three, four and five tags on each sack of fertflizer. These letters are from people who are ac quainted with the situation and who have seen these things with their own eyes. This wholesale distribu tion of tags is not cor fined to any one section or State, but extends through out the whole cotton growing belt. The following are some of the letters: W. P. Gaffney, LaGrange, Ga.: I notice that much has been said re garding guano tags that have been sold. Did you ever stop to think that the tags may have been sold, but not the guano? I have been investiga ting Troup county and find more guano on hand than last year by sev eral thousand tons. LaGrange Is heavily overstocked as I heard several parties who know say ChIpley has not sold to date more than 25 to 30 per cent. of last Iear. West Point and Hogansville are way behind last year. This probably explains the guano question-that tags have been sold, but not the actual guano. I know my section around Troup factory has reduced both acreage and guano and am loath to believe that every section of the county and State will not dc likewise, .Tohn G. Key, Welsh, Ala.: Cotton acreage here (Chambers county) un doubtedly reduced about 20 per cent. and fertilizers under cotton reduced 30 per cent. More corn planted and more fertilizer used under it than heretofore. It is also a notorious fact that %housands of unused tags are In fertilizer cars in bundles, 'bis in ad dition t> those on the sacks. One small dealer.says he has half a bushel. Two other dealers whom I have heard upon this matter make the same re ports. There is fraud or collusiot somewhere W. H. King, Weston, Ga.: You will please find enclcsed fertilizer tags that were sent here loose in car. You will notice that they have not been sepa rated or broken loose. These tags are extra ones, besides all the bagi baing properly tagged. Other people are naving cars shipped in same condi. tion. Seems that lots of tags ari being used besides those that are re quired. G. W. Everette, Lumpkin, Ga. The big increase in the sales of guant tags may be accounted for in a ver. different manner, and an unexpectec one, as well as unusual. There have been several cars received here it which there were several hundreds o: tags other than those attached to thi sacks--some In bundles of 50s, somi in boxes and many scattered abou1 loose in the car. This to me Is some thing new and startling. There Is n< use to read between the lines to find cause. There is something dead uj the creek. G. H. Laramore, Leesburg, Ga. Mr. Jordan, I think that the guant tags that are claimed to have beer sold ought to be looked Into. Mr. Tomp McDonald, at Su'uter City Ga. found 25,000 tags mn one of his sack: of guano. The same is reported lx DeSoto, Ga., in my home town, What is more shameful than thai every effort Is made to keep the pooi farmer down? If it can't he donE honestly they .will dc It anyway. F. W. Traylore, White Oak, S. C. Tne reduction in the cotton acreage is far greater in the, country than thE man sitting on a dry goods box In town Is aware. Now, as to commer cial manure: In this section there has been less bought and less used In the cotton crop of 1905. Lots of guanc has been and will be used until corn planting and working Is over. G. C. Williams, Empire. Ga.: Now, Mr. Jordan, ab ut the tags: Mr. Horsford said there were 390 or 400 to come to Empire loose in a car and had never been on a sack; and It was said that one half peck of them came to Dubois In a car and some came to Yonker, four and one half miles from Empire. F. B. Doyle, Bowersville, Ga.: A very large number of tags can he ac~ counted for on account of unsold guano now In hands of dealers, and most of it will remain unsold for this season. The sales for April this year will be lighter than any year which I have been In the business. It Is no exaggeration to say that there are not less than 7000 tons of guano between Toccoa and Elberta now stored In warehouses that will not be sold this season. I know of three loaded cars right here at Bowersville that dealers are trying to get tbe company to take back. I have sold 20 per cent. less than last year, and believe that this has not been exceeded by any other dealer. The sales of guano here are less than last year, it don't matter wha't the bear crowd say, and there Is gong to be more carried over than ever before. H. Y. Brooke, Luverne, Ala.: T. W. Shows, Luverne, Ala , Informed me that all the cars he has received con taned a number of loose tags in ad dition to those on the sacks. L. C. Williams, Sr., of Luverne. Ala., bought a carload of fertilizer, every sack of which contained two tags. G.I W. Bowen, of Mo~orefield, Ala., writes me that a carload of fertilizer came to his place with sIx tags to the sack. At Union Springs, Mr. J. M. B 1ls showed me 150 tags that were picked up loose in a car of fertilizers, and he aded that he had a bushel b aket of them In his office which came In the same manner. These cases come from different portions of the State and lead me to believe tbat the pra cice is general. Last in Marca the Virgin ia-Carolina Cnemical company pur chased 55,000 tags; this year they pur chased 150,000 tags for Alabama. Last year they could not get their stuff hauled by the railroads, this year they buy nearly three times as many tags. How is that for trying to rob the farmers? S. H. Christopher, Buena Vista, Ga.: A gentleman told me that some where in his travels he had noticed a large number of loose tags scattered promiscuously on the floor of cars. I was talking to a representative of the Virginia-Carolina Chemical company a few days ago, and he says the on put from that concern In Georgia will fall far short of last season. My in dividual guano bill will be about 1-3 less than last seasdn, and nine out of te farers 'wil tell you that they have made a cut both as to cotton acreage and guano. Hon. 0. B. Stevens, In an inter view on April 27Lh, says: 'If we are to judge by the sale of tags, it seems that the farmers have not decreased their purchases of commercial fertili zers. Reports, however, come to this office to the effect that a considerable amount of the fertilizers shipped out have not yet been sold, and may be left on the hands of the agents. We -re also informed by letter from many sources and conversations with per sons representing every section of the State that a much greater percentage of fertilizers than ever before is being applied to crops other than cotton, and that the farmers are standing by their pledge to reduce the cotton acre age." CONVICTED OF CONSPIRACY. Tried to Break Up a Picnic at Laurel Bay Landing. The whsle time of the Court of General Sessions was occupied on Monday with the trial of A. B. Ama ker, J. B. Amaker, Cleveland Hooker, William Jamison and James McLeod charged with conspiracy. The three first named defendants are white meri and the other two are negroes. Thi case has excited corsiderable interest, and the verdict of 'uilty, which wa reached late Monday afternoon, will be generally approved by all who are at all familiar with the circumstance. leading up to the arrest and convio tion of the defendants. On the Saturday before Easter Sun day there was a neighborhood picnic at Laurel Bay, alanding on the Nortl Edisto River, a few miles above thih city. Early In the afternoon it h charged that the defendants went t< the picnic grounds and Intentionall3 created a disturl.ance that broke u; the picnic party. There was a fight, a pistol and a knife were drawn, ac cording to the testimony, and on young man was knocked senseless witt a boat paddle. It is claimed that th three white men carried the negroea to the picnic for trouble, and wher the negroes had gotten in a row' on of the white men drew his pistol an( demanded that he be not interferec with. The charge upon which the eefend ants were tried and convicted wa criminal conspiracy. A large numbe of witnesses were examined on boti sides. The defendants were ably de fended by, Gen. Jas. F. Iziar anc Messrs Wolfe & Berry, of the Orange burg bar, and fjrmer State Senato W. H Snarpe, of the Lexington bar In the indictment that was passe< upon by the grand .jury B Lee J ffcoa was named as one of the defendants but, upon a showing made by Han Abial Lathrop, who represented Jeff coat, that his client had nothing.to di with the row at Laurel Bay, Solicito Hildebrand consented to a nolle prose qui being entered as to Jeffcoat befor the trial was entered into. The case was ably handled on bot] 'sides. Solicitor Hildebrand Is said by those who heard him, to have mad one of the best speeches ever heard 11 the courthouse here in a simf~ar case The lawyers- for the defence also mad' able speeches, and when the jury re aired it was a sheer gusss as to wha1 the verdict would be-The jury wh'c1 was composed of good men, after be ing out a short time returned a ver dict of guiltyas toall five of the de fendants. The verdict seemed to be great surprise to the defendants ani their lawyers, as they hoped for ai acquittal or a mistrial. A motion wa made for a new trial, arguments beini made by Messrs Wolfe and Sharpe fo: the motion. Solicitor Hildebrand di< not think a reply necessary and mad< none. He was right, becanSe Judgi Dantzler promptly refused the mo tion, and ordered Sheriff Dukes t4 commit the defendants to jail pendini sentence. -A. B. Amaker, J. B. Amaker an Cleveland Hooker, the three whit4 men, had never been in jail as the' were out on bond, but William Jami son and James McLeod, the negro de fendants, have been in jail ever sinc4 they were arrested, but as soon as Judge Daintzler refused the new trial they were all locked up in jail. JudgE Dantzler was requested to sentencE the defendants at once, but he de clined to do so, saying he wished tc give some thoughti to the matter 01 their punishment. He said, however, teat the crime for which these nienhbac been convicted was one that deserved severe punishment, and that he was disposed to make an example of them. On Tuesday afternoon the prisoners were brought into court and sen tenced as follows: A. B. Amaker, J. B. Amaker, Cleveland Hooker, white defendants, two years at hard laboi in the penitentiary, William Jamison and James McLeod, colored, 18 months in the penitentiary at hard labor.-Or angeburg Times and Democrat. Two Killed in Wreck. A dispatch from Union to The State says late Wednesday afternoon as the passenger train on the Lockhart railroad was rounding a sharp curve about one and one-half miles from Lockhart, going at a moderate rate of speed, the tracks spread and the en gine and tender were completely over turned. The terrible ahock of the ac cident was In but a short time suc ceeded in those who were uninjured by the desire to rescue and relieve those under the wreck. Their search soon showed that the casualties were: Killed. B. T. Hollaman, fireman, of Gor gla, died instantly. Richard H. Wilburn, aged 18, a pas senger, caught under the engine and scalded so terribly that he died within an bour. injured: Ed ward McChesney, engi neer, hurt internially, may die. Mrs. J. H. Wilburn, the mother of the young man who was killed, is at Union under a physician's care for a week and the terrible news Wednesday night completely prn'etrated her. Misus Fitz Strack it kRich. M:ss Francis Fitz, who left Boeton, Mass , five years ago and went with a party to Alaska sent out by a New York send-cate, has returned to her home In Medford with a fortune esti mated at over $500,000. She ha been United States deputy recorder, owner of a newspaper, keeper of an Insane woman, land stairer, hind owner, mine owner, and is now at the head of a big mining company State Equitable Policy. Emil H. Neumer, a clerk employed, by the Equitable Life Assurance so iety, and Thomas Lobley, Jr., have been arrested charged with compli ity with Samuel Lobley, who was aken into custody at Spragueville, Penn., a few days ago, charged with fraudulently obtaining a $27,000 loan n a policy which is alleged to have heen stolen from the societys vaults. WBATHEE AND CROPS. Complete Review of the Crop Situs tion in South Carolina. Section Director Bauer Wednesday issued his weather and crop report as follows: The temperiture during the week ending Morday, May 8th, was much above normal, aild the daily maximum ranged generally above 80 degrees during the last half of the week; the night t:nperatures were also slightly above normal. Th1e precipitation was heavy, lin many places excessive, and damaged lands by erosion and flood ing. Farm-work was impracticable during the greater part of the week, as the lands were too wet to plow, plant or cultivate. The prevailing high temperature and copious rainfll caused crops of all kinds to grow rap idly, and were particularly favorable on small grain and truck crops, and for transplanting. Many felds have become foul with grass and weeds and stand in urgent need of work, this be ing especially true of early planted corn and cotton; though much early corn has received its first cultivation. Corn has good stands as a rule, but bud and cut wcrms are thinning> stands on low lands; some corn is trin ing yellow from too much rain. Cotton planting is not finished In the western parts, though Practically finished in the central and eastern counties, except on bottom or low lands that have been too wet recently to plant. Stands vary greatly, being generally good for that planted since the April killing frost, and very poor for the early plantings, much of which is being replanted. Some being re planted on account of cut worms, and some on account of being too foul to rid of grass and wee/s. Some cotton. has been chopped. Tobacco transplanting Is about fin ished, aud is doing well generally, though grasshappers and cut worms have damaged stands locally. There has been a marked improve- - ment in oats, which is quite promi. ing. Wheat Is not doirg so well on account of the Hessian fly and sodhe rast. Truck crops and gardens have improved rapidly, though melons are still poor. The weather was favorable for rice. Peaches are dropping In the eastern and southern counties, with" enough left to make a good cropIn k the western counties the fruit pros-.. - pects are very poor; apple and per. I trees are blighting badly. Pastures are fine. The shipftents of beans r peas and strawberries are heavy. California To'mato Story. Throughout the winter months, when easterners were crouchin abut their fires and shivering, and nature growths were either asleep or fro e: stiff with the cold, F. J. Batcs, of Pasedena, Cal., was in his garden climbing an 18 foot ladder to gather his various crops of tomatoes. He: has three plants which have readhed a length of 30 feet. The seeds wer planted in May, and three months from thattimethey bad climbed to the top of a 20Ofoot trellis. When they reached this remarkable heighk -they waved their flower tanneld. heads wonderingly, then turned. around and grew backward until they have attained a length of 30 feet. -They have had no especial care or cultivation, andlbavejlad. no protec tion from the weather, yet,~in spite7 of every disadvantage, they have kept on growing and fraiting. in the. most astonishing fashion. T he trunks of these vines are one and a quarter inches in diameter. The fo liagelis thick and luxuriant, and air all times blossoms, green fruit and ripe fruit can be seen on the. vines. Enormous q antities of tomaenoe have been picked from thesesthree plants. The fruit Is of unusual siza and has an extraordinary fine flavor -Scientific American. A Drunken Engineer. A dispatch from St. Matthews to The State says on Tuesday nightrof last week -several residents of thatT town boarded the Sduthern's traIt from Charleston to Columbia at 0: angeburg and It was not long before it became evident that something was wrong, by the lurching and sudden jarring movements of the train. Oa - reaching St. Matthews the enginee-r was found to be almnst helplessly drunk. The conductor, Capt. Murray, who was In charge of the train, had the engineer removed to the baggage car and wired to the authorities for an engineer to carry the train to Colum bia. An engineer was sent from Branchville to take the train on and meanwhile the many basngr ad a tires->me wait. Among the passen gers were several, prominent men. This of course, is a very serious mnaa ter and the penalty under the rules of the railroad is Instant dismissal for the offending engineer. A pathetic feature of the case Is that the engt neer in question is said to be one of oldest in the service and has made an honorable record. The Largest Book and Map. The largest book inr the world Is in the British museum. It is an atlas measuring 5 feet 10 inches by 3 feet 2 inches and weighing close upon two hundred weight. The largest map In the world Is the ordinance survey map. of E ;g and, whic'i convers over 108, 000 sneets. In its preparation It 0ost .?200,000 a year for twenty years. Iue scale varies from ten feet to one tenth of an inch to the mile. Taie details are so minute that maps hav ing a scale of twenty-five inches "snow every hedge, fence. wall, build ing and even every Isolated tree in the country. The plans indicate n >b only the exact shape of every build ing, but every porch, area, doorstep, lamp post, railway and fire olug." Horde of tmmzgrane. On twenty-two steamships arriving in New York last week from Great Biitain and the continent Is the big gest crowd of emigrants ever sche~d uled to enter during such a period of time. The horde numbers nearig F2.5 000. Figures for the past week were close to 22,000, showing that the rush has kept up for a longer period than ever before, and It Is likely th,.t the total Immigration for the spring has far exceeded any previous year. It Was ".Bibcuic Morning." The cadet mess ball of the Virginia Military institute was destroyed by fire at 4 o'clock Thursday morning. The building was a large stone stru3 ture, used as a dining hail and for of flee purposes by the authorities of the institute. Nothing was saved from the building, which was completeiy' gutted by the fiames. It Is part'y covered by Insurance. The only re great expressed by the cadets ovemr 'their loss was that the hail burned donm on "Miacn t morning."