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LEAD THE VAN. * Hy 1>. <J. Stokes. Do jon wish to be successful In the struggles of your life: Then press forward, seeking ever, The heaviest of the strife. If the hattle he a fierce one. Fight it with endurance, vim. The end is nearer than you thiuk. And in It you will win. If yon hattle thus with courage. The barriers will fall. Tflii i! find a wav to conquer Be* the forces great or small. Let the dictates of your conscience Guard and guide you in the fray, And with duty as your watchword, You will never go astray. Strive onward, then, and upward, Itememher. lead the van : For as fire proves the metal. f So do trials prove the man. i ; { ...IN... { ? An African Cavern. ? x By David Slocum. J It would make a curious book if the fldvpptnrfts of the volunteers who went to South Africa to fight for the Boers could be collected and published. The cases of some of these men were really pathetic. Many of them were left without means to return to America. A considerable number went to Lourenco Marques in Portuguese territory, a miserably poor, unprogressive colony. A. good many made their way northward into German East Afriea, where some settled as colonists, and others roved about for a while as hunters and explorers. Among the latter was a young -Scotch-Irishman, Norval McClure by name, who hailed from New Jersey, near Newark. In company with a German botanist, named Ludwig Preuss, and an Arab rais (captain) of a dhow, or coasting vessel. McClure went prospecting in the Livingstone mountains, where they one day discovered a vast cave. To reach the entrance of the cavern, they scaled the smooth face of a cliff, by means of a rude ladder thirty feet ; long, which they improvised from poles and tough vines. The opening was a nearly circular hole, seven or eight feet in diameter, and led back into solid rock for about sixty feet. At the farther end of this f<?? I singular natural corridor they came to :a vast, dark room, which gave back portentous echoes to their voices. Mcdure, who had brought up a few splints of dry, resinous wood, now ;made use of them as torches. The 'first large room was fifty-one paces , on length by twenty-two in width; and j the roof was so lofty as not to be visible by the light of the smoky , toiches. , The most interesting feature here ;was the presence, nearly midway, of "two enormous carved stones which may once have served as altars for prehistoric religious rites. Pottery shards were also found scattered about 1 the floor, which was so uniformly smooth as to suggest that it had been made so by human labor. Passing on from u-.s room by an arched aperture at the farther end, 'to#?v oame into a succession of three smaller low rooms, nearly filled with [recently formed stalactites hanging like marble icicles from the roof. It [was with difficulty that they were able to creep through them and pass When he had gone the little party on to a drier and more open portion of the cave. Here they went through two other large halls, one of which had eleven ernormous stalactites in a iW like large Doric columns, all stained dark red; the lime-water was probably impregnated with oxide of iron. Next beyond this hall of the columns, they came into the largest apartment of all, ascending to it by a ! curious stairway, which, beyond doubt, j :had been fashioned by human hands, j Here the explorers felt a warmth in marked contrast to the chill of the other portions of the cavern. As to 1 the size or extent of this apartment | they were unable to judge, except from the echoes; for the torches which McClure had brought were now all turned but two, which he held in reserve, for finding the way out The Arab rais, however, -proposed that they should remain where they were, while he sent his servant, a black Zanzibar sailor, named Cufe. back to the entrance to bring more splints; this being agreed on, one of j the remaining torches was lighted and the black despatched on his errand, of three sat down to wait; but as I their eyes grew acustomed to the darkness, McClure discerned a faint j gleam of pale light, apparently far away toward the othr end of the cave. He was so sure at last that there was a hole leading out to daylight in that direction that they began moving cautiously toward it. Several cracks in the floor gave them trouble, but they crept forward, one behind anntbpr for three hundred feet or more. and came to a narrow passage that led steeply down for fifty or sixty feet to a hole where bright daylight appeared. This orifice, when they had descended to it, was found to open through the well-nigh perpendicular side of the mountain, fronting a ravine, where, at a great depth below, lay a narrow lake of sea-green water. Crawling down to the brink, first McCIure, then Preuss and the Arab rais peeped fearfully out. Concluding that it would %be impossible to descend into the* ravine, they srarted to creep back up the steep approach to cave, which was here no wider than an ordinary staircase. McClure had reached the great. dark room again, the others being close behind him. when he saw the dull glow of a torch far away on the side from which they had come. It was the black sailor. Cute. coming back with more splints for torches. Several times as they had come through the lofty room they had noticed low. snapping sounds, accompanied by a vague stir as of living creatures. It seemed to McCIure. too, that he caught glimpses of minute. ^ - ... - M - t. 4. T>,%f faintly sliming points an auuuu out although the explorers frequently stopped to listen, they had determined nothing with certainty. The Arab captain now called out to his servant to advance slowly and mind his steps. But the Zanzibari, being probably frightened, rushed toward the sound of their voices, with the result that a moment later he fell headlong into one of the chasms in the floor. As he went down he uttered a frightful yell, and that single loud cry appeared to act as a j note of invocation to all the uncanny I spirits of the cave. Instantly there broke forth a chorJ us of wild, harsh shrieks, a snapping I and clacking as of a million jaws and beaks, a strange, hoarse squeaking as of ten thousand rusted hinges, and a deafening burst of noise like rumbling thunder in subterranean vaults. The three explorers, who had started to hasten to Cufe's assistance, were suddenly overborne and pushed bodily backward down the steep descent toward the hole by a rushing torrent of furry bodies and madly flapping wines. It was only by the utmost exertion of their strength, lying face downward and clutching at crevices and angles of the rocky floor of the passage, that they saved themselves from being carried, out at the hole and hurled into the abyss below. The strange winged creatures were bats, as large as barn fowls, of a species hitherto undescribed. Cufe's torch, or his shriek as he fell, had startled them from their roosting places on the walls and roof of the cave, and set them flying out. For more than twenty minutes the outward flight of the bats continued without abatement. The men dared not stir or lift their heads, since the flying bodies were constantly hurtling past so close as to graze them. The living torrent slackened after a time and gradually ceased. Then McClure and his two companions made their way cautiously back into the large, dark room from which the bats had emerged, shouting to Cufe. Obtaining no answer, they lighted their last splint and made hasty search for him. The narrow chasm into which he had fallen looked very deep. Again and again they shouted, but got no response. They dared npt linger lest they should be lost in the darkness of the cavern; they beat a hasty retreat, reaching the first of the lofty rooms just as th^ splint was j consumed. From this room they had i literally to grope their way to the entrance. The sun had already set when they emerged from the cavern, and before more torchwood could be prepared, a j fierce squall, accompanied by lightning and thunder, -swept the moun' *? ' t>..a lao nrrtr>nred |: lainsiue. Dill wc.r ui 11W!. t/. another armful of splints and re-en| tered the cave, to renew the search ! for the missing Zanzibari. The chasm proved to be very deep. Splints dropped into it fell sheer down for forty or fifty feet. The explorers were unable to find Cufe, who had undoubtedly been killed outright.?Youth's Companion. \ Mr. Chamberlain's Command. The latest anecdote concerning Mr. William Waldorf Astor refers to a certain dinner party given by the Anglicised American at which Mr. Joseph Chamberlain and his wife were guests. We give it for what it is worth?only that and nothing more. Mr. and Mrs. Chamberlain started in ample time, but owing to a block in the train, were delayed, and arrived one minute late. Ushered into the reception room, they found it vacant. The guests had been seated promptly on the stroke of the hour. Mr. Chamberlain wasn't worried. "Tell Mr. Astor to come and conduct Mrs. Chamoerlain to the table," he said in his blandest tone to the foctman. "Y-y-y-es, sir," said the servant, with* one glance at the awe-inspiring monHe must have delivered the | message, for Mr. Astor came.?Waverley Magazine. The Japanese in New York. The number of the Japanese on the | Atlantic Coast is small, compared with that on the Pacific Coast There are about 2000 Japanese in the Greater New York and its surrounding states; about 200 are Christians. In New York city there are 20 stores and business offices representing the large | companies in Japan; and 20 students j in Columbia university and 11 in the I Union theological seminary, and many J in the different schools. The great j number of the 2000 are students, 1 whether they are in school or tem- i porarily occupying some positions. The j others are merchants, artisans, architects, engineers, etc. Those who are ; temporarily cooks or butlers are am, bitious and discontented with servitude. All the Japanese thirst for j knowledge and culture. j Their Ancestors. "Have the Newlyriches got qtiite settled in their new mansion?" "Oh, yes. They've got all their ancestors hung except a few who were hung on earth."?Town Topics. mi mmmmmma? c?k?mmmmmmammmo?w?i mm.b MASAI CREATION MYTHS. Close Resemblance to Old Testament Narrative. ('apt. Merker. a German officer, who has <i)ent some ten years in German East Africa, has written a very interesting ethnographical monograph on the .Masai natives, in which be describes not only the manners and customs of that race, but also their language and traditions. According to Capi. Merker, the Masai have had handed down to them a story of the i first creation of the world and the human race which bears a remarkable resemblance to that contained in the Old Testament. The Masai relate that: In the beginning the earth was a barren, dry desert, in which there lived a Dragon. Then God came down from heaven, fought against the Dragon and vanquished it. There where God slew the beast and poured out its blood there arose a Paradise luxuriant with the richest xegetation. (The natiee word for tnis Paradise is "Kerio.") Then God created by His word sun. moon, stars, plants and animals. and la?t of all He made the first J human couple to arise. Hereupon follows a description of , how God commanded the couple in j question to abstain from eating the ; fruit of a certain tree, and how on His one day paying a visit, as was His ' custom, to Paradise, He found them ! guiltiy trying to hide from Him. It j was the Serpent here, too, who was j at fault, and the woman who had sue- I to ir? tenant at inn tc> eat the fruit. The Serpent, according to the Masai tradition, had three heads, and was punished by God by being commanded to live forever in the "holes of the earth." The two human beings were then driven out of the Garden of Paradise by the "Morning Star," which was ordered to stand at the gate to keep it. Then the human race grew in number, and genealogies are recorded very similar to those in the Bible account, until the first murder was committed, when a flood was caused to appear. Instead of Noah, a good old man named Tumbalnot was bidden build a "wooden chest" and betake himself into it with his belongings and animals of every kind. From the ark, too, as in the Bible story, Tumbainot sent out a dove, but besides the dove, he also despatched a vulture to find out how the flood was looking. At the conclusion of the flood a four-fold rainbow appeared as proof of the cessation of God's ire. The Jacob's ladder also plays a part in the Masai tradition, but it used for a purpose very different from that in the Old Testament, being a means whereby God climbs down from heaven to visit the human race on earth. Mention is also made in the native tradition of the deception of the first born, and of the law of circumcision, the latttr being sent through Marumi, the Moses of the Masai. Moreover, the Masai tell of the giving out from a mountain top of the Ten Command ments, among wnicn are sptcicii wmmands not to have more gods than one, not to kill, and not to commit adultery.?London Standard. The Wheat Map. The Northwestern Miller, in its beautiful holiday edition, issues a wheat map of the United States which shows some startling comparisons. Vermont was once the granary of New York city. It now produces only one bushel of wheat for more than 200 in Minnesota, the banner state. Rochester was once known as the "Flour City." Now it is called the "Flower City." But new York still raises as much wheat as Wisconsin. Maryland produces more than either, Texas nearly twice as much and Pennsylvania three times as much. Only eight states surpass Pennsylvania in wheat-raising. Kansas produces nearly as much wheat as both the Dakotas, which are much more often mentioned as wheat states. Only a trifle more than half-of the wheat crop grows west of the Mississippi. Illinois, Indiana and Ohio still produce 30,000,000 bushels, which is more than any far western state, and over one-eighth of the whole crop. I Little Delaware raises more wheat j than aJI New England. Virginia, vvesi Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina raises 35,000,000 bushels. New York is the second flour-milling centre in the United States, though far behind Minneapolis, which can grind 82,000 barrels a day to New York's 14,000.?New York World. A Kansas "Leader." An Erie man. who has no ambition to be a Chesterfield or a leader of Erie's 400, was invited out to dinner a few evenings ago. He conjured up every excuse imaginable, and as a last resort tried to make his wife believe she was sick and unable to go, but she gave him to understand that she was going and he must accompany her. "Well," be said. "I'm sick my self, but I reckon I'll have to go." And they went. When the first course was brought on the old gentleman filled up pretty well, hut seemed to be getting along all right. In the middle of the second course he declared he was full "clean up," and pushed back from the table. "Ahem, you folks jist go ahead an' eat your supper an' don't mind me. I've got to go home an' feed the pigs."?Erie (Kan.) Record. A scientist, who has investigated the matter, states that men who are employed in the Paris sewers are as healthy as the average person, and no other eight hundred men in that citv are so free from zymotic diseases. CNJfMCNirslfNJCSirJrO# l SOUTH CAROLINA I ' STATE NEWS ITEMS. 71 irvirjr^rsir^rsir^CNitf i i Will and George Bell Convicted. William T. Bell and George Beii, ' v.hi e men of Horry county, charged with the murder of Mrs. Millie Bell (wife of George Beli and aunt of Wii- | [ ham T. bell.) have been convicted of j manslaughter in the Horry county sessions court and sentenced to eleven | and five years, respectively, in the peaherniary. The two young brothers of William T. Bell and one Van Bulloofc, indicted as accessories to the <rim<4 j were acquitted. I | Trolley Mail Service for Aiken. 1 The efforts of Postmaster E. D. rrnythc of Augusta, Ga.. covering a period of about two years, towards i having the A'ken trolley cars used for handling maii between Augusta, Aiken and intervening points, have been rJ* ["v.rdod with success. He received'an jnncanr.eir.ent. from iho postoffice dens: (men: a few days ago to the? effect thai troliey ear service would be in overrated March 13. 3 Z To Restrict Sale of Seed. The form of agreement has been drawn up for signatures by the farmers and dealers ot* long staple cotton, restricting the seed to South Carolina parties that the cultivation in Georgia, Florida and other places may be checked. The cotton raised in these alien places does not reproduce itself, and the cultivation will* be materially reduced, unless the South Carolina cotton seed is sold. The agreement will be ratified in Charleston on March 22. and will then go into effect. > * * * Beats Freedom in Russia. According to a Columbia news item the Greenville police hare a peculiar case on their hands which is puzzling them no little. A Russion immigrant with an unpronouncable name, after serving a sentence on the gang for a petty offense, was so much pleased with his Iroatmont oc a nriennor tHat ho ra. fuses to leave and declares that he will spend the remainder of his life with the police. He says life as a prisoner in America beats freedom in Russia. * ? * Barred by High License. A Charleston news item says: It is probable that the oyster and clam dealers and canning factories will test the constitutionality of the new law passed for the protection of the shell Qsh industry. The high license of $400 and the tax of 3 cents on every bushel of oyster and clams marketed and the provisions affecting the boats engaged in the business are considered too drastic, practically amounting to a prohibition, and unless the law is amended or its operation held up by the court, the doors of the factories and dealers will have to close, according to a well-informed authority. * '* * Youth Admits Crime of Arson. Raymond Bowman, the white boy wiiy oyicau outu tciiui wim many fires in Charleston until his final capture, plead guilty to the charge of arson in the court of general session. The evidence was convincing and the boy saw that his only hope of getting a lighter sentence rested in pleading guilty and asking the mercy of the court. The jury recommended the plea of mercy and Bowman was saved from the gallows, which the -aw provides, except in recommendations <5f mercy. The boy set a number of fires in the space of about two weeks, caus ng a loss of $40,000. * * May Musical Festival. The eleventh annual music festival of the South Atlantic States will be given in Spartanburg *on May 3, 4, and 5, 1905. As usual there will be two afternoon concerts and three even.ng concerts. There will also be a popular concert, a symphony concert and an artist concert. Dr. Manchester, formerly of Boston, ,vho succeeds Dr. Peters as director of he Converse Choral Society, is of .ride national reputation and under his I 1 recti on t he prospects are favorable ! .'ct one of the most successful festi! ,ais in the history of this famous society. I * * Big Fire Loss in BrooKland. Fire in Brookiand, a suburb of Co | 1 nimbia. across the Congaree river, de- j siroyed iiroperty to the extent of |50,- j too. The flames were not brought under I control until they had burned to the .use of The town. The burned district a half mile in length and several . locks wide. The Methodist church, residences of mill officials and operatives' houses, constitute the destroyed property. The ..antes spread so rapidly That house* i old effects moved into the streets were totally destroyed. It is estimated that 125 houses were destroyed. The j > town has no fire protection. This is ; the village of *hy Columbia duck mills, j which is owned by the duck trust. ; * ~ ? i Drowned in Empty Post Hole. J At Columbia, one day the pa,?- j week, the 4-year-old dapghter of Mr. j and Mts. h. T. Wright lost her life j by falling head-first into a post-hole j filled with water. Several little girls J were engaged at the Wright home In j a game of "hide and seek," and get i;ng urea or me game quit, ana tnen j | for the first time noticed tie absence j | of little Annie. Search was made Eh* i > mediately and after some little time j ! she was found, fallen headforemost j j into an empty post-hole half full of { water. The sural In ess of the hole pro- j I vented iter from extricating herself, j ; cr making an outcry. When found i | her body was wedged tightly into the j hole, so much so that some difficulty j was experienced in getting it out. She ! ! was strangled to death almost imfhe- ! | diateiy. - j i | i | toftS. CKADWICK IN COLLAPSE. ! ' Couldn't Stand Strain in Court?Car- I ; ncgie an Interested Witness. ? A Cleveland. Ohio, dispatch says: A : complete nervous collapse by Mrs. j Cass.t- L. Chadwick brought the firo't day of ..er trial tor alleged violation j of the national bank laws, to an ab- j rupi close Monday afternoon. B. H. Waiter of Oberlln. the sec- ! Olid witness called by the state, was j on the s;and. and had answered but j : two questions when Mrs. Chadwick. i who was very pale, whispered to her j I attorneys that she would be compelled : tn loavo tho rr?nm ! She passed out quickly, and upon reaching the ante-room sank into a chair in a faint. She soon revived, but was in no condition to return to the court room, however, and Judge Taylor adjourned the trial until Tuesday morning. j The trial began in the United States district court before Judge R1 W. Tay- j j >lor. No one was admitted to the courtroom without credentials. The case was set for 9:30 o'clock, j ! and ten minutes prior to that time | Mrs. Chadwick came into court in i the custody of two bailiffs. After a few preliminaries, District i Attorney Sullivan briefly addressed | the jury, stating the charges against Mrs. Chadwick. Mr. Dawley, for the defense, then commenced the examination of the jury. He was busy with the third juror when the door opened and Andrew Carnegie, followed by S. T. Ev| erett, at whose home he is staying, j entered the room. ! Mr. Carnegie gave one quick glance | at the woman sitting by the table and j then walked quietly past her to aseat on the east side of the courtroom. j Mrs. Chadwick was ignorant of his j arrival, and made no sign as he passed her. Later the information was whispered to her that Mr. Carnegie was in the room, hut she did not turn her head nor glance in hie direction. Mr. Carnegie, on the contrary, seemed to be highly interested in Mrs. Chadwica, and as he sat where he could study her closely without being himself observed, he tori: advantage of his opportunity to the full and subjected her from time to time to close ! scrutiny. ; ' FEES OF LAWYERS FIXED. Judrje Spcer Allots Amounts In Lumber Company Case. At Macon, Ga., Thursday, Judge Spcer fixed the attorney's fees in the Red Cyprus Lumber Company case after hearing the argument 0& the j exception taken to Special Master Jno. j R. L. Smith's report. These feea amount in the aggregate to $27,600, about 4 per7 cent of the amount Intmli-o/} -in/} om rfistrlhnted as follows: i If VAJ&U ** V M'-VJ. -- For each of.the receivers, $5,000; for the 'counsel for the bankrupt, $3,500; for the counsellors who defeated the mortgage of $108,000, the sum of $3,000; for the counsel for the general creditors, $10,000; for the committee appointed by the creditors, $600, and for the special master, $500. RED LIQUOR IS PLENTIFUL. Prohibition Does Not Seem to Prohibit in City of Charlotte. I During the month of February.which i j is the second month of prohibition in J ! Charlotte. N. C., the phvs;cians of the ! | ritv wrote 1,694 prescriptions for whig. ' j key. j | These prescriptions were filled at j I seven drug stores. One drng store j | fiTled 535. which is the highest nurabeT i ! of the seven, the lowest be'ng 71. Dur- j i 5ns: tfje mourn or January tne nurauer > filled was 848. | I l j THE SAN DOMINGO TREATY- I j I ' President Will Ask New Senate to ! Ratify Convention. President Roosevelt will send to tbe new senate a special message relating i to the Santo Domingo treaty. The I j I message will present in concrete form j the circumstances of the negotiations I of the convention and the arguments j on which its ratification is urged by j the administration. j i" # i s . DISLODGING SLAVS y Japs are Busy Driving Russians Into Mukden, * SUCCESSION OF VICTORIES 4 Mikado's Forces Capture Large Quantities of Stores While Driving , / the Enemy from Many ; Positions. ...j C Advices received In Tokio from f headquarters of the Japanese armies in Manchuria show that the Japanese activity on the extreme right con- v j ttnues. l'MLl Wing it vicscju^ tui _ I ward and Is dislodging the Russians i A dispatch from the front says: . # "Our troops in Sing King (Yenden) I j direction are occupying Tsing Ho- I ! chong (Tsinkhetchen?) and pursuing I the enemy northward. We captured-' | large quantities of provisions at Tsing- J ; hocheng. ' J "Our force at Henshshue is gradu- 8 ally dislodging the enemy from his j ' position 13 miles northeast of Ben* m, j ziaputse and from another position f i seven miles northwest The first poo- S | tlon is four miles west of the second. 9 ; Our force has pressed the tenei*|y 1 | northward of the Sbakhe river and ' |l j has occupied Sunmupaotzu, Tiaochin- I I hutun and Sunhupoatzu, three miles 9 | north of Wjaito mountain. 1 "The enemy has many field and I j heavy siege funs on either side of '-9 | the railroad heretofore unused and fs I I now shelling us." 9 A dispatch from Tokio to The Lon- -9 don Daily Telegraph states that the 1 Japanese are endeavoring to force a ' ml decisive battle in Manchuria, but that j it Is feared General Kuropatkin ' vrM |J retreat, fighting a rear-guard action. J Reports from the Shakhe river indicate, saya the same correspondent, I that the Russian morale is serionppr B impaired and there fire numerous vol- JB nntary surrenders, not only of Poles ,9 and Jews, but of recently arrived European troops. They relate that 9 rumors are current in the army that ^9 ~ " 1,J- 1 .Analliul i General nuropaiKiu una uccu i <n?uv> , _ i and knowledge of the internal tron- fl * bles in Russia causes a deep depres- 'a sion in the army. _ Jfl Reports are current at Tokio, bat j I not confirmed officially, that the %Jap- 38 anese haye occupied Sakhalien. fl Chinese arriving in Niuchwang from .8 Mukden report that the Japanese have fl advanced almost to Miukden. ThaT m Russians having been reinforced have Jfl recaptured several positions out of <|8 which they had been driven. The hat* fl tie is still raging. . |9 BUSY DAY IN THE SENATE, f J Sundry Civil Appropriation Bill Passed j| After Much Debate. f |8 The senate Thursday passed the sundry civil appropriation bill carry- jfl lng about $68,000,000. Varions amend- ^ jfl ments were offered to the measure and 9 most of them were debated at somo length. When the hill came up the house ) i provision relating to the expenses of federal judges was amended at the Instance of Mr. Piatt of Connecticut 8* as to provide pay for "reasonable expenses actually incurred for travel an* \ j attendance," not exceeding $10 a day. . : \ Mr. Culberson presented an amend- J ment prohibiting the allowance of fees to United States district attorneys is - J excess of their salaries. It was aimed- ' n especially at the New York district .11 attorney. Mr. Bacon suggested a sal- v ml ary of $10,000 for the New York offi-- II cer and with this change the am^nd- I ment was adopted. It prohibits the % I payment of fees to district attorney* I except in the case of the District of * I Columbia. ] I The house bill for the celebration of I ' the anniversary of the first English w . j | speaking settlement in America on or ^1 near the waters of Hampton Roads.Vir- fl ginia, appropriating $250,000 for the I purpose, was passed. I The general deficiency hill wa3 pass- 1 ed after str;k;ng out a provision appro- 11 priating $190,000 to pay mileage to -MM senators and members on account of II the extra session of the fifty-eighth - ll congress. j 11 NEW RAILROAD PROPOSED. I M Line of Brief Length to be Built in,' ll Screven County, Georgia. |l Application wiil be made in a fe^ - II days to the secretary of state for a MI charter for the Sylvania and Burton'i - 11 ferry railroad, in Screven county, II Georgia. .^1 The proposed line is 18 miles in - IH length, and will run in a northerly ai- ll recti on from Sylvania, crossing Briei ? II creek at Mill Haven. H H jl^l