Fort Mill times. (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, April 11, 1907, Image 1
PfI I
TI
] ? ?
10TH HTEAR.
I RUIN DEATH.
A Des* iatfivs) ^inado SwBops
ThreP States.
S' ' . "'l 1
i fxmes Are killed.
And Many IIuil?*,,n88 Ape Destroyed
\ In the Path of ,the Hurricane. The
City of AIexai,,drla Had * Fearful
Experience, j^everal Other Cities
And Towns Werc Wrecked hy the
Awful Storm. \
\ A most dedtrilct,Te tornadb vlsltj
ed portions <?f Louisiana, Mississippi
i and Alabama on Friday^ leaving ruin
and death in Its I)ath^ It swept over
three hut d red n1^8 across portions
of tba above named States. Parts of
four towns were devastated with
damage <exceedlr*& $600,000. The
wind 'damaged Property, crops and
telegraph wires throu&h?ut Its course
Alt least 40 are known to have been
Hilled and five times that number
Ihixtt.
ihe tornado us8an at Alexandria,
"La., soon after ^ ne o'clock Friday
i. morning, killing'^our Persona, probably
fatally injur'n? three and seriously
injuring t^'rtwn others. Soon
after daylight it nea*"ed the Mississippi
River, klllinK Ave persons at
Jackson, La., wh|'e a* Bauyou Sara.
La., at least half dozen others were
reported killed. There was one fai
tal Injury at Jackson*
The tornado ne4t appeared at Carson,
Mis*, where 'the great property
daunnage was dom? and disappeared
aoout aoon near '??e?nia, Aia., whero
tho Baw whirling clouds
rise Into the air 48 they crossed the
river. A negro wa? reported killed
near Sel-ma. * It '? n?t known now
how many people w?re killed, and
will not be know? until reports from
the "couri'cy uistrlr1? ar? all in.
Alexandria, a ti,wn *hout 16.000
ia^abltants, had ? Jarful experience.
T/hen the tornadV struck the electrio
lights went out, the cracking of falling
buildings could he heard above
tho noise of the wind' aQd vivid lightning
flashes 3howdd Puch sights as an
empty Iron IVfountaln passenger train
rolling ove- and over- A heavy hail
storm added to the Keneral discomfiture.
'
The main portion c'f Alexandria escaped
the worst of the tornado, which
cut a path through the northern por>
tlon of the town, a residence quarter.
About a score of homes were
lemolished, fifty wer,? damaged, and
all together al>out a hundred bulldangs
were wrecked, including several
business houses.
A freak of the wind drove a small
:section of a house 'nto an empty
passenger coach, wetting these two
'bodies almost lnextr,caljly together,
la the woods about fh town the tornado
cut down trees f?r about nine
miles. Several hou9?8 were blown
down at Pineville ar*d injuries were
reported. The hail did much damage
to crops. ^
At Jackson, I^a., tli? insane asylum
was wrecked, with a jJ88 about $200,000.
In addition t| three fe male
inmates many otheh' were Injured.
Two negroes were kl'l?d on a nearby
plantation, while reports from the
surrounding countiT indicate that
there was probably rfiore loss of life.
At Mayou Sara Be**"1*' iNHWHiguri)
on the steamer Bets/ Ann had a remarkable
escape. (The Betsy Ann
was severely wrecked- While breakIns
timbers from tlie steamer and
from the shore flew through the air
the crew got all the passengers safely
ashore.
At Carson. Miss., the Misslsslpi
Central Depot was bl?wn down, also
;a church, a school pouse, two business
buildings and several cabins;
from Carson the stc,rm crossed the
State line into Alabatna> where It began
to lose much of its power.
Devastation in Alabama.
Specials from varlt?us parts of Ala
hama tell of death and devastation
from the cyclone wplch swept ove
the southern and eastern portions 01
the State Friday.
At- Bradleyton, thd home of Hugh
Farrier, a prominent planter, wa:
blown down. instaptly killing Mr
Farrier and his six-year-old son and
fatally injuring Mrs., Farrier.
The storm tore uP the tracks ol
the Atlantic Coast L.tne from Petrey
to Patsburg, a distance of several
miles.
Probably loss of HTe is reported
from North Perlco, where on the
plantation of J. C. jfoore, a banket
of Marion, a row of house8 was blowc
down.
nilpir><r a ctnrin s'riday afternoor
lighting struck the Jail at Selma
knocked down part of the wall of th?
prison and terrifying the prisoners.
MANY LIVI^M IA>ST
And Thousands Homeless bj
a IHvstruetlve Earthquake.
A severe earthquake accompanie<
l?y loss of life has occurred at Hitlls
Turkish Armenia, apl>?ar8 to be con
firmed, but the number of deathR 1
unknown. Accord!'1? to advices re
reived in New York t'rom W. W. Pes
treasurer of the American mission a
Constantinople, the Americans an<
their peole In the n iaalons at Bltll
# have been' rendered homeless, th
snow In the vicinlt/ being 25 fee
deep. Assistance *'* urgently re
quested.
Witnessed I* Many.
Three thousand parsons wltneese
the hanging of Fell* Powell at Vi<
torla, Texas, on Ti^wlay He wa
hanged for the mur^dr of Mrs. A. J
Conditt and her foui children In 8?i
' tember 1905.
IP p
M* 4 .M.
QUEER DOINGS.
The Peculiar Capers of Glassware
in a Darlington House.
The Neighborhood Is Mysteified Orcr
The Unexplained Antics of Various
Articles of Furniture.
Very mysterious things are happening
at a farm house In the Coun11y
of Darlington if the story publish|
ed below, which is taken form the
Darlington Press is true. The Press
says:
"W. J. Odom, who llres in the
Marty's Crossroad section, claims I
I that at the residence of his son, Wlli
lie Odom, a curious freak oocurred
I from 8 to 1 o'clock Monday night,
and from 9 o'clock Tuesday morning.
"looking glasses, water buckets,
fruit Jars, etc., danced and pranced
about In a manner as if possessed
with life. A water bucket half filled
with water jumped from its shelf in
tne room and empted its contents.
"It was picked up and replaced,
when it jumped again. A bottle of
white pine cough syrup leaped from
the table a distance of ten or twelve
feet and struck the chimney and
broke; glass ware, fruit jars and
bottles and demijohns cut peculiar
antics, fell about in profusion and
were broken; one empty jar fell to
pieces without moving from its place.
I "The people lnethe house carried
the bottles, one containing turpentine,
out of doors, and these vials returned
mysteriously to the room and
fall ..ana ?W? ? ? -*
IVII U|/V1A iUO UUU1 . A U11ITU W UUUUl
eighteen Inches long, sitting on the
table, bounded from the table about
eleven feet to the middle of the floor
and wbb smashed to smithereens. Mr.
Odom is dumfounded over the phenomena.
"A number of the people in the
neighborhood collected and are all
mysterfled. The whole community
became interested and some thirtyfive
or forty people gathered at the
house. Mr. Odom is reliable and is
not superstitious. He called at the
Press office yesterday. J. M. Gray of
this city, was at the place Tuesdayevening
and witnessed the broken
pieces of glass, etc."
In a foot note the Editor of the
Press says we give the above bb told
us by Mr. Odom, who Books an explanation
as well as advice as to
what Bhould he done. If this mysterious
thing happened some plact
we would attribute it to an overdose
of booze, but as Darlington is
a dry county, there must be some
other cause for themysterious phenomena.
A MONHTKlt HAT.
Weighs Most Three Hundred Pouads
And Has Huge Lip.
The newest specimen at the Bronx
park "zoo," New Vork, is a capybara.
Imagine a rat weighing 280 pounds,
with a huge head, an upper lip a
foot long, and one has an idea of the
beast. He is the largest of the recent
tribe and has harsh, coarse hair
more like bristles, than fur.
The hair is mixed black and yellow
and of dingy appearance. In his native
haunts the capybara has a huge
fat stomach, which almost drags on
the ground. He 1b a water-loving animal
and can dive and stay under for
eight to ten minutes at a time.
The jaguar of South America preys
upon the capybara and the Indians
kill him for his flesh, which, when
smoked, is said to be as delicious as
a Watkln's brand Kentucky ham. although
it has a certain musky flavor.
The capybara makes a sound, if
alarmed, somewhat between a dog's
bark and a pig's grunt. He was once
called the hydrochoechoesus, or water
hog, and lives on a vegetable
diet.
TWENTY MEN BFKNEl).
The Flames Spread Hapidly in u
Hotel Building.
Twenty men were burned to death
and twenty others seriously hurt in
i fire which destroyed the Italian
lotel in the Potrero district of San
-'rancisco on Thursduy.
The injured were of the lat>orins
lass and were usleep in their room,
vhen the fire started. Before the
ould be aroused the flames ha<
pread through the building.
The stairs fell and the Inmate:
were buried In the ruins, twenty be
ing taken out. The on.er twenty ol
Lhe injured the firemen rescued. All
it is believed, are taken from the de
I bris. The injured were rushed to
'.he hospital where severa' died while
I awaiting treatment.
MAHK1K1) BLIND GIltL.
i , ,
( That Is What an Ex-Got. of Illiodc
? * Island Bid.'
>
Ex-Governor L. F. C. Garvin, reformer
and woman suffragists, war
very quietly married last week to
his blind finance, Miss Sarah E. Tomllason,
in the Baptist Church parsonT
age in the villiage of I.onsdale, R. I
His three daughters and the bride'f
two siBters were present. There wert
] no bridesmaid, matron of honor, noi
groomsman. The bride filed hei
marriage intentions last week, bul
friends of the couple did not know
B the ceremony would bo performer!
i- so soon.
1 BAREHEADED AT CHURCH,
t
J That Is The Way a Groenvilh
? Preacher Wants It.
?- At the first Baptist church o
Greenville on Sunday. Rev. Dr. Z. T
Cody announced as an especial re
quest that beginning with next Sun
d day night's service, ladies would hen
J- after leave their hats at home. Thl
-a only applies to night services. Th<
I. matter has caused a good deaf of dis
>- cusslon. but It Is believed the reques
will be generally compiled with.
BR b ." *~ .
ORT
FORT MILL,
AWFUL CRIME.
Negro Murdered and His Body
Hidden in a Swamp.
BY "INDIAN DOCTOR."
Who, With His Wife, Is Badly Wanted
by the Barnwell County, Where
tho Brutal Murder Took Place,
The Murdered Man was a Peaceable,
Industrious Negro and Was
Well Thought Of.
A most awful and brutal murder
came to light over in Barnwell County
on last Thursday. On WedneBnay,
Feb. 27, a man giving his name
as Dr. Jeems and claiming to be an
Indian "doctor." wub in Allendale,
accompanied by a negro woman. He
claimed that the woman was his wife
After making some inquiries about
the town the couple called at the
house of a negro named Stokes and
hired him to take them across the
country in his wagon to Barnwell.
After some explanations and upon
the urgent appeal of the "doctor"
?nd his "wife," Stokes agreed to take
them and started out for the county
seat.
Stokes failed to return homo on
the afternoon of the day he loft with
the strangers. Nor the next day did
he show up. and his folks became
uneasy about him. The third day
-.ame, and not having been Been or
SonrH 4
>* nuui hid laiiiuj organized a
searching party and started out toward
Barnwell to gather some information
from people along the road.
They were told by various parties on
the road that a wagon with the three
occupants as described was seen to
pass along the Barnwell-Allendale
road on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
They found no difficulty In tracing
the wagon to a polilt within about
three mileB of Harnwell. Thfey were
told by some parties that the wagon
turned off at this place and was driven
in the direction of a swamp. Later
t was seen to come back with only
'wo of the occupants, the man described
as the Indian doctor and the
negro woman. The negro Stokes was 1
missing.
Search was made for the body of,
the Allendale negro, it being then believed
that he had been murdered
and hl6 body secreted, but no trace
of him was found.
Negrops and whites looked for a
week after he was missed, some expecting
possibly to find him alive,
while others have searched for his
l>ody. Days went by without their
searches resulting in anything.
Thursday the attention of some
parties wa? attracted to a large number
of buzzards hovering over the
swamp, near where Stokes was seen
'ast, some distance from the road,
investigation resulted in finding a
badly decomposed body, afterwards
Identified as Stokes by means of bis
coat and shoes. The buzzardB had
eaten almost all the flesh off the
bones. The body was face down
when found and there were evidences
which showed that it had been
gragged some distance, from a point
near the road.
The theory Is that Stokes wrb murdered
either in the wagon or on the
road side and his body dragged into
the swamp by the heels. What the
motive was is not known, unless it
was robbery. The mule and buggy
i8 all that the negro Stokes had.
It Is certain that "Doctor" Jeems
and his negro wife never went to
Barnwell. but they were seen to turn
toward Williston. The next day,
Thursday, Feb. 28, they were In Wil'iston
and tried to trade off the mule
ind wagon.
It Is claimed that the negro woman
with the alleged Indian told several
hat her home was in Sumter.
Stokes was a farmer. He was
lbout 22 years of age. and was a
luiet, hard working, honest negro
?nd was liked in his community. Kv>ry
effort was made to apprehend the
'Doctor" and his colored spouse and
lolice officers and sheriffs are urgenly
requested to keep a sharp lookut
for them.
CANT IH*RT t'8.
The South'* Crops Put Her On Kasj
Street.
The Birmingham News says th<
x>rn crop of the Southern States foi
1906 was worth %500,000,000. Th<
value of the cotton crop of the South
<?rn States for the same year wai
about $7 00,000,000. Add to thesi
'.ho value of the wheat, oats, tol>acc<
and fruit crops, the value of livi
stock and poultry, and the value o
i Industrial products In the South, am
i the total will make It easily under
stood why this vast fertile and pro
luctlve region cares not a rap abou
the turmoil among the stock Jobber
\ and gamblers and get-rlch-qulck dls
patches of frenzied finance in Wal
street.
I I1KIDE ANI) OHOOM I'KHISH.
r _______
' Xewly Wedded Couple Rnrn to Deatl
In a Hotel.
Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd Oare. wer
? burned to death when the River Vlei
Hotel at Sutton, W. Va., was destroj
ed by fire on Tuesday, causing
f monetary loss of $18,000. Dr. an
Mrs. Oare were married Wednesda
" in Moundsvllle, W. Va., and were e
r route to the home of the groom'
B mother, Mr*. Mary Oare, where
e> wedding supper awaited their eomlo
Mrs. Oare was Miss Elisabeth Wli
t <rove of Moundsvllle. Dr. Oare wa
2 8 y**rs old snd had Just finished hi
medical education.
?Sg ^'V : m ^
"v: ' ; >* J?5rSr?
Ml]
S. C.. THURSDAY,
I UADn nu Tcnnv
nm\u un ituui
Harriman Says He Asked Him To
Save the Republcans.
And That He Raised Money to Prevent
New York From Going Democrat
ie in 1004.
A sensation was created in New
York Tuesday by the publication of
a letter, written in December, 1905,
and addressed to Mr. Sidney Webster
of New York and signed "E. H. Harriman."
Sidney Webster is a lawyer and a
writer on political subjects. His wife
is a sister of Stuyvestant Fish, who
lost the presidency of the Illinois
Central railroad a few months ago
after antagonizing Mr. Harriman.
Following is a portion of the letter
referring to his relations with president
Roosevelt in the campaign of
1904:
"As- to my political Instincts to
which you refer in your letter of
Dec. 13, I am quite sure I have none
and my being made at all prominent
In the political situation is entirely
due to President Roosevelt and because
of my taking an active part in
the campaign during the autumn of
1904, at his request, and his taking
advantage of conditions then created
to further his own interests. If it
has been a predicated plot it could
not have been better started or cari
ried out.
"About a week before the election
i in the autumn of 1904, when it looked
certain that the State ticket would
go Democratic and was doubtful as to
Roosevelt himself, he (the president)
sent me a request to go to Washington
to confer upon the political conditions
in New York State. I complied
and he told me he understood
the campaign could not be successfully
carried on without sufficient raon!
ey. and asked if I would help thein in
| raising the necessary funds, as the
national committee, under control of
Chairman Cortelyou, had utterly failed
of obtaining them, and there was
a large amount due from them to the
New York State Committee.
"I explained to him that I understood
the difficulty here was mainly
caused hr the nn-Stntn ip?rt?ra
unwilling to support Depew for reelection
as United States Senator,
that If he (Depew) could be taken
care of In some other way I thought
matters could be adjusted and the
different contending elements In the
party brought Into alllnnce again.
We talked over what could be done
for Depew and, finally he agreed, if
found necessary, he would appoint
him as ambassador to Paris.
"With full belief that he, the president,
would keep this agreement I
came back to New York, sent for
Treasurer Hliss, who told me that I
was their last hope, and that they
had exhausted every other resource.
In his presence I called up an intimate
friend of Senator Depew. told
him that it was necessary In order to
carry New York State that $200 000
should be raised at once and if he
would help I would subscribe $r>0,000.
After a few words over the telephone
the gentleman said he would
let me know, which he did probably
In three of four hours, with the result
that the whole amount, including
my subscription, had been raised
"The checks were given to Treasurer
Hliss, who took them to Chairman
Cortelyou. If there was any
among them of life insurance companies
or any other like organlzatinno
r\t pnurco vaii ntnof Hotrn
Informed the president. I do not
know who the subscribers were other
than the friend of I)epow, who was
an individual. This amount enabled
the New York State committee to
continue its work, with the result
that at least f>0,000 votes were turned
in the city of New York alone,
making a difference of 100,000
votes in the general result.
"There are between 2,200 and 2.300
districts in Greater New York
and in a campaign such as that the
expenditure of say, $50 in each district
for campaign purposes not including
the watchers on election day,
would take more than $100,000.
1 "Some time in December, 1904, on
my way from Virginia to New York
( I etopped and had a Rhort talk with
1 the president. He then told me that
" he did not think it necessary to ap'
point Depew as ambasst dor to Paris,
as agreed on, in fact favored him
for the senate. I had not expected
that he was the ono (sic) as to what
would be necessary, but he arrogated
that to himself, and I, of course,
could say nothing further. After
that I used what influence I could to
have Depew returned to the senate,
3 as I considered there had been an imr
plied obligation which should be 1 ived
up to.
"Tnis is the way I was brought to
the surface in the political matters as
b I had never before taken any active
R part, and had only done what I could
3 as a private citizen might, so you
e see I was brought forward by Roosef
velt in an attempt to help him, at his
j request, the same as I was in the fn.
surance matter by Hyde and Ryan by
their request for my help.
t "Yours sincoiely
? (Signed) "E. H. Harriman."
Ilk'/JlV IMCIIT
1
"Let l"s Pray" Says Man Just Rcforf
Marriage.
I> Just as Justice Stoble started tr
Join Robert G. Jackson, the "ten
dollar-a-week bachelor," and Mrs
e Hello Williams in wedlock at St
Louis, lata week Jackson halted hinr
"Let us pray," he said. Then h<
dropped on his knees and fervidl]
a besought heaven to shower the bless
d inns of happiness and a numerou.
progency. In this pious wish th<
y nrlde-to-be heartily joined.
Q Some weeks Ago Jackson asked i
* JudRo if a man should Ret marriet
A on a salary of $10 a week The Jus
g tire replied in the affirmative, pub
I- lished Jackson's letter, and the lab
it orer received marriaRe proposal
is from eighteen women, including th
i bride. _ _
LL1
APRIL 11, 1907.
onirr mft ?nr?T
umtr iuu uncni
Commits [Suicide Because of the
Death of His Neice.
A LITTLE BABY GIRL
Was Short in His Accounts Several
Hundred IKrilars, Hut His Employees
are Certain That That Had
Nothing to Do With His Killing
Himself, as He Could Have Heplaced
It.
A night of grief and despondency
in Oakland cemetary at the grave of
his little niece, the penciling of a
note at daybreak saying that he was
short $600 in his accounts and two
hours afterwaids a pistol shot?these
were the final incidents in the tragedy
of Robert S. Stewart, who committed
suicide nenr 193 Gilmer street
Atlanta. Ga., on Wednesday morning
of last week.
Tne Journal says Stewart was
bookkeeper for tho Harper-Weathers
and Calllcott Mule company, where
for the past six years he has been
one of the most highly valued and
trusted men in the office. Shortly
after two o'clock Tuesday afternoon
he left his desk, ostensibly for home.
.ie lived with his parents in West
End, near Gordon and Cascade avenue.
When night came Stewart had
not returned. No alarm was felt,
however, until about 7 o'clock his
mother telephoned the office and said
that ha had not been seen at the
house since breakfast. Apprehension
was increased from the fact that
he was known to he in ill health. A
search was begun for him.
On going to the safe to put up the
books for the night, W. C. Harper,
head of the Harper-Weathers & Callicott
company, found a due bill that
Stewart had left and which stated
that he was Indebted to the firm for
something like $foou. The next seen
of the bookkeeper was on Moore
street at seven o'clock Wednesday
morning. A friend spoke to him and
tried to persuade turn to go home.
"No," he answered, ss if in a
dream. "I'm going back to the cemetary.
I've spent the night there by
Leonora's grave."
Then he dissapeared.
In a deserted outhouse near 193
(lilmer street a pistol report rang
out about 8:30 o'clock.
A negro washerwoman, frightened
by the noise ran over to the shanty.
She found Robert Stewart stretched
on his face and bleeding from a pistol
wound through his heart. His
hat had fallen behind him and nearby
lay a half-smoked cigar, still burning,
that he had laid aside to tire the
shot.
In the dead man's vest pocket was
found a note, penciled in a firm, business
hand on three seperate scraps
of paper, one a part of a National
hnnlr p h orlH i of Hnr fu?n aliooto
from a scratch pad. In this last message,
he intimated that he had lost
|1,000 of the company's money last
Christmas fit a place he does not
name, and that he was erased with
grief for the loss of his sister's little
child, Leonora Sedden, who died
last Thursday. He vaguely hints of
a disappointed love, declared that he
was weary of living and ended with
saying:
"Love God. He is good, and you
will know It some day, some time."
From this letter It also appears
that Stewart had gone to Oakland
cemetery Tuesday night intending to
kill himself by the child's grave. He
writes:
"I went to the little darling's
grave to die but was prevented from
doing so. My laht request is that you
lay me by the little daHlittf."
That S.ewart's self-inflicted death
was the' outcome of grief for this
baby as well as despotidCrley over his
shortage in accounts many Incidents
of the past few days go to indicate.
With his aged parents, Mr. and Mrs.
W. P. Stewart, he has lived far out
from the city on Cascade avenue, in
the most thinly settled neighborhood
of West End. In the family were
also his sisters, Mrs. Helena Adams,
Mrs. E. Z. Stewart and Mrs. Early
Sedden. It was little Leonora Sedden,
the 20-months-old daughter of
the later who died last Thursday,
from her birth Stewart had an affection
for the child that was almost
miraculous. All of his hours from
work he spent in playing with her
and she returned his love as if he
had been her father. Last Thursday
the baby died and was burled In Oakland
cemetary two days later. From
then until Tuesday Mr. Stewart'?
health, which for a year had been
ill. more and more rapidly declined
i In speaking of the suicide, W. C
! Harper, of the Harper-Weathers &
Calllcott Co., said:
"I am sure that the shortage ir
. Mr. Stewart's accounts is due to nt
i criminal ntent on his part. His ex
_ . A n/v V* Mn 4 1% #\ nr l\ V* /v ?! Ill
|k*n?en were ucavj, uiuu^ii nr- mu
- unmarried, and no doubt in time h(
would have made good every cent o
his indebtnebness. Prehaps we shal
find on examining the books that th<
deficit Is not so great as he though
It was. During the six years he hat
been with us, his work has been o
the highest character, and we re
garded him very highly, as we stil
do.
, FATAL FIRE.
A Mother and Five Children I turn
i ed to Death.
%
r At Passiae, N. J., on Wednosda
- of last week a mother and five of he
* children were burned to death in
- tenement fire. The children range
in age from seven months to seve
1 years.
1 Many women and children wer
- taken down ladders by the flremei
- but the members of the Satupo fan
- lly, which occupied rooms on the 3r
8 floor are supposed to have been su
0 j focated by sinoke before they coul
1 escape from their rooms.
3 - %
riwi
SHOULD BE STOPPED
The Letter Chain Exposed by the
National Government
Which Is Doing All It Can to Put a
Stop to the Nuisance hut It's a
Hard Jol?.
For some weeks people in this section
have been receiving chain letters
from friends in other sections
with the request that they write nine,
one each day, similar to the one received.
Some people did as requested
and others did not. It has come
to light, that the scheme was a stupendous
fraud, and Hlshop Lawrence
whose attention was called to the
matter, denied that he had ever dictated
such a document. The scheme
has grown to such enormous proportions
throughout the country until
the postal authorities were obliged to
take a hand in the matter. The letter
is as follows:
"Dear Friend and Christian: Relow
is a prayer chain just as it was sent
to me. so I send it out to others, for
I do not want it broken in my hands.
God bless you and others to keep it
going:
" "O, Lord Jesus, we implore thee,
O Eternal God. to have mercy on all
mankind; keep us front all sin. and
take us to live with thee eternally.
Amen.
"Thisprayer was dictated by Dishop
Lawrence. He commands it to be
written and sent to nine other persons.
He who will not do it will be
afflicted by some misfortuneand persons
who pay no attention to it will
meet with a terrible accident He
who will write this prayer for nine
days and send it to nine others, commencing
the day you receive this,
(only one each day), will after nine
days experience some great joy. At
Jerusalem at the feast, it was said
he who would write this prayer
would be delivered front every calamity.
Please do not let this drop in
your hands. I have written this just
as I received it. Now. please send it
to others. Sincerely,
"CHRISTIAN"
Through fear of being overtaken
by some dire calamity, as predicted
in the letter, the recipients have invariably
set down and complied whh
the instructions to write each day
for nine days. It was not superstition
that promoted them?of course
not, but the men and women receiving
the prayer have believed that
they would feel more comfortable
alter complying with the obligation
so solemnly imposed and the neglect
of which was severely penalized. As
a consequence, millions of prayers
have been written and sent through
the mails in the form of letters on
postal cards.
To show the extent to which chain
letters might expand if the chain
was unbroken for even the tenth
power, it may be stated that the total
number of letters would reach
3,500,000,000, as may be seen from
the following table:
1 9
2 . .* 8 1
3 729
4 6,561
5 59,04 9
6 531,441
7 4,782,969
8 354.120,489
10 3,187,932,450
Total 3,585,932,450
The united States postal authorities
have taken hold of the matter
and they are trying to supress the
Craze. In speaking of the above letter
an official of the postal department
said:
"The Hishop Lawrence referred to
In the letter Indignantly denies that
he ever commanded or authorized
any one to use his name in such a
matter. He thinks the originator is
either a practical Joker or some religious
enthusiast, possibly possessing
more piety than common sense."
Th? bishop proves that the originator
of the "chain" was not a good
Christian or he could not have incorporated
the falsehood In his original
letter, setting forth the supposed connection.
The more prayer letters, the more
imprecations from postal dorks and
carriers. The thing seems to have
taken a pernaclous hold upon the
supersticious In widely seperated
communities, and their name is legion.
Theinnocent cause of the trouble
has sought to stem the tide and
entirely disclaims responsibility for
the scheme which has loaded the
mails with these prayer letters. The
ministers have denounced the fake
and urged their congregation to burn
the missies and pay no attention to
the threats they contain, but still the
letters multiply and are seriously
overloading the malls. It seems that
1 nothing but common sense will serve
i to break up the chain.
SKltVKI) HIM 1(K;HT.
i A Masher rimtl Forty Dollars for
Annoying Ladles.
' The State says one of the most out
' of the ordinary cases that has come
. up before the court in a good Ion*
while was that of a white man tvhr
gave' his name as VV. R. IHshop, ancJ
. is a stranger in Columbia.
. Monday Hishop got about hall
drunk and began "making eyes" a
j young ladles on the streets. Police
man Ford soon got on to his garni
and in watching him a while notice*
that the chap was following two la
- ' am
(lies, wnn, iiiuiny iiruiK .....
frightened by the persistent at ten
i- tions of ItiHhop, ran to avoid him.
The man was locked and Thurnda
did not deny the charge against him
He said he was drunk and !f he wa
discourteous to anyone he knei
r nothing of it. His fine was $40. H
a paid up and left,
d ___________________
n .? ... .. Hard to I'lraw.
At Richmond. Va., Mrs. Maggl
Lee, 29 years of age. and twice d
' vorced, Thursday became the hrl(!
of Chas. C. Miiler, 4t> years old. Ti
*' wedding took place In the ante-roo
f adjoining the offlcei of Contno:
*1 wealth Attorney JUnttree Polices,
the city hall. ;
WIS
BS. 1
19
no. 2.. mm
? 1
WIVES GALORE.
A Man Arrested in Philadelphia
Said to Have One
HUNDRED AND FIFTY.
Alleged Daughter Is Accused of Running
Matrimonial Bureau for Hit*
Benefit. Disguised to Please AH.
Philadelphia Detective Says Ho
Has Found Biggest Bigamy Swindle
in History.
After the arrest In Philadelphia on
Thursday of James Marshall, a picturesque
looking Westerner, and
Miss Teenie Marshall, or Miss Edith
ltoss, his alleged daughter, the first
on a charge of desertion and the second
on a charge of "false pretence,"
the police of that city unfolded what
ihev claim is the boldest and most
multiple conspiracy of bigamy and
robbery in history.
Edward Bryant, of the Bryant Detective
agency, which uncovered the
"Mrs. Edith Ross Bureau," asserts
that Marshall has at least one hundred
and fifty wives, and probably
twice that many. He claims to have
evidence that in one month the man
married as many as six women. ,
The plan according to the police,
was for Miss Marshall to introduce
Marshall to the dupes as n rich and
gentle suitor. He would appear in a
variety of disguises. The marriage
would be quickly effected. Marshall
would get all the valuables he could
from the bride and would desert her.
His wives, it is said, are scattered
across the continent.
The proceedings were brought by
Mrs. Marjorie Friel, of No. 1525
Summer street, who applied at the ?.
Ross bureau for a husband and got
Marshall. She had saved some mon
< v irum m*r wages ana Marshall tried
to get it. Then he deserted her. '
in the kitchen of the house occupied
by Marshall was found a lot of
charred paper, indicating that alot
of loiters and stationary had been
destroyed. Upstairs, in the sleeping
room in the second floor, were found
about :t,000 letters from women ail
over the country in answer to advertisements
inserted in various papers
by the "Mrs. Fdith Ross Society" the
name of the matrimonial bureau operated
by the Marshalls.
There were also found many botles
of hair dye of nil shades, tending
to bear out the detectives assertion
that Marshall "made up" to represent
different types to please the
varying tastes of the "society's" feainale
clients. A bottle of laudanum
was another find. All the articles
were kept by the detectives.
At the hearing Friday Marshall
who is 61 years old, wore a towering
and flaring sombrero. The postal authorities
are interested in the case,
as li is charged that Marshall UBed
the United States mails in his scheme
to lure women into his clutches. Postal
inspector Frank O'Hrien is investigating
the case on behalf of the
Federal authorities.
Moth prisoners were held in $1,000
ball. .he police say the woman is .
not Marshall's daughter.
INDIAN SWINDLER.
Mmlc Ton Ears Erotu tlie Skin of a
Wolfe.
It took an ingenious Indian to
dupe the Treasury department of
Clark county, Wis., and swindle it
out of a cool $ 1 00 with an ease that ' *"
would have put even Cassie Chadwick
in the shade. The Indian received
the $100 for five pairs of
wolves' ears, for which a bounty is
paid. After he had gone the clerk
examined the ears more closely and
found that they were made of pastehoard
covered with pieces of wolfskin
cut in the shape of ears. The
Indian was arrested.
COST TOO MICH.
An Expensive Way to (let Rid of
Rats.
In a large warehouse in Liverpool
a hoy named Edward Scott was
employed to run errands. There were
many rats about the place and he was
told that if he could catch one and
singe its tail all the others would
leave. A trap was set and a rat was
caught, hut while singeing its tail according
to directions the lighted paper
blew into a pile of straw and started
a conflagation that burned four
big buildings and inflicted a loss of
half a million dollars.
SI'S WIFK A WONDKR.
She Remembered the Wad of Money
Hidden in The Stove.
Almost, too good to lie true was the
r good fortune of Silas H. Kayburn, of
J Rising Sun, la., who recently sold a
. lot of cattle for several thousnnd
dollars. Rayhurn has always been
. suspicious of banks and bankers and
l would have none of them. So he put /
his money in an old stove used by J
his wife on wash days. The other J
. day his wife went to build a fire in
the stove but she first removed the
j money.
SHOT W IFK AM) It/VltK.
y
i. And Then Blew Out Ills Own l>c8
at mooted llrain.
? The details of a shocking tragedy
which occurred at Flint Hill, Rappahannock
county, Va.t Saturday
[e week reached Winehestetr on Thursj.
day. Henry Foster, a young farmer,
to while out walking with his wife and
two-nionths-old baby, suddenly drew
m 'his revolver nnd shot and almost inn.?
stnntly klllotl both of them. Foster
Inltnen blew out his own brains. No
- 'reason is known for the deed.
tzal