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Jfi}^ I I THE I I I By BESJSOS HALLEY CLIFT. | V Fate, from the very outset of his brief college career, seemed disposed *nt. + n fjvii? KaiIsoh. He registered VV ? for serious work in the department of civil engineering; but shortly after tbe fall semester bad opened, he yielded to the demands of his college mates and appeared on the football field tp try for the eleven. He came from Madera, a small town in the sunny San Joaquin Valley, where he had been flume-climber for his father's lumber company. But to the enthusiasts of the university world he wg3 transformed from the commonplace Clay Xeilson, flumeclimber, to tf i great and more significant "Bull'' Neilson, "varsity" half-back. His name became associated with the veteran squad, and his line-buckins: made the coaches secretly jubi ?w lant, until there came a day, shortly before the big California game, when his ankle snapped in the last practice, and his meteoric career was m x over* He took his disappointment with a stoicism for which no one could x account. In the hospital after the game he spent his days absorbing principles of hydrostatics and studying critically designs of arch ribs, while his ankle slowly knitted. One day his nurse handed him a letter from his father, asking him to come home. The flume "boss" of the Madera company had deserted, and Neilson alone could fill his place, for the timber harvest was at its full. So when his ankle was strong enougji again he returned to the mountains, and the mountains welcomed him. The hills and valleys were freshing into green once more Tinder the soft pelting of the first rains. The snows upon the mountains were resolving themselves into myriads of tiny streams that rippled over stones and gravel, wandering through hedges of witch-hazel and manzanita until they joined one anil' " * other at the openings of the guilies and raced down through the valleys and the canons. Among these valleys and mountains the Madera lumber flume, w"h'fch is the longest in the world, threads its way. Far up among the redwood forests it begins, and winds down among dense groves of spruce and I p yellow pine, crossing chasms and cataracts on trestles of steel, and resuming again. the wooden skids when it crosses through the canons and shallow ravines, skirting sheer cliffs and boring through the tunnels of the hills, till it falls at last into the San Joaquin River. As climber, Xeilson kept the flume In repair. Often he had to climb among the maze of beams andgirders, high in mid-air, calking ! leaks in the great V-shaped wooden chute, down which redwood logs and railway ties were shot from the mountains to the river. Along the flume were two tunnels; one, the long tunnel, just beyond the * Brinkhead, a towering bluff skirted by the flume. In this tunnel a leak sprung one day, until the loss of .water interfered with the traffic. The tender at Geyser Peak, close to the ' river end, first noticed the falling off of the current, v "The flow is dropping!" he called through the telephone to the head of the flume. The head logger called to Neilson. At once the climber ordered the drive stopped, and seizing his kit, he lifted the narrow flume boat into the chute and drifted down toward the tunnel, four miles away. ^ "1 x _ x 1 * 3 f ^ ^ ,r~\ "wen cut. on cue issuers ioi <*u hour, so watch your time!" the head logger called after him. "Another thousand feet must go down before 6." It was then 3 o'clock. The short boat carried Neilson rapidly along the great lumber-flume, now close along the ground, now bridging canons and basins of granite, past the Brinkhead, until at last the blackness of the long tunnel enveloped him. The grade lessens here to an angle of fifteen degrees. Neilson hooked the boat to the side, and climbed over the edge to the flume-step. Here the great V is built up from three feet to seven from its centre, that the legs may not leap out in their mad race through the tunnel. Lighting the candle in his miner's pick, he began crawling along the odge of the flume. Darkness closed in tight about him, close and ap/ palling. He crept on deeper and deeper, listening for dripping water above the lick, lick, of the current in the flume. The candle threw a wavering circle of light about him. Far behind him he could see the entrance of the tunnel. After searching a long time ho found the leak. The licking of the water in the immense groove was lost in the drone of the tiny cataracts leaping forth between the sprung planks. Neilson stuck his candlepick into the wooden chute, and began hammering with his calking-iron, forcing the oakum threads into the seams, and tightening the bolts. He hurried, for he knew the drift would soon be resumed abort-. Still the water escaped. He threw most of his clothes and droDDed o?er the edge into the running water - a- ->-% I--"...-' - ... . of the flume, to work the better from within. \ The candle sputtered overhead, flickering fantastically, and 'the water, dark green in its steady flow, I each moment running swifter, tare ! about his legs. Swift and certain J were his strokes, and soon the leaks were closed. Then, as he stood silent, shivering j violently, listening for trickling j sounds, a faraway rumble came to j his ears. It began hollow aud low ! and ghostly, and increased to the | thunder of rapid firing. Instantly Neilson knew what it was. The hour I has passed, and the logs were rush| ing down upon him! Like a flash he dropped the calking-iron and sprang for the top of the gigantic V. His one thought was I to leap over the side. But although j he had done it hundreds of times, he bungled that once?the once that involved his safety, perhaps his life. He excitedly threw one leg toward the ridge?and struck the candle! Instantly he was in total darkness, his grip torn loose. The approaching roar increased to the crash of thunder as the great redwood trunks swept down toward him. Again and again he struggled for the top, and each time he fell back in the face of the renewed force of the stream. His brain became dizzy, his agonized voice returned to mock him. Then' he throught of the flumeboat, fastened to the flume not far from him. He struggled ahead and i ? fny if hanfif? ICaV'U^U AVI A U Uiiiiui; . closed upon the hook that held it. While kis brain echoed to the roar of the logs, he crawled upon it, released the fastenings and shot down the flume. The drive came on, scraping and rending and crashing. He lay fiat, doubled up, gasping and wheezing. He was conscious only of a dynamic rush and throb in his head. Halfdazed, his senses"returned just as the drive struck the flume-boat. Neilson was shot along the tunnel with terrific speed. The air swished past him and the water cut into his face, blinding and stinging him like drippings of molten lead. Still clinging to the boat, he was hurled out of the tunnel into the brilliant sunlight. Ahead he saw, as through a veil, a white, frothing sea, dashing always into his eyes. Then, as in a dream, he realized that death awaited him at the jump-off, when he should be hurled out among the logs into the river! There was but one chance. If the tender at Geyser Peak should see him he could stop the flow. Eut would there be time enough to allow the water to cease and the logs to settle in the chute? Meanwhile, with a swiftness he had never before thought possible, the lumber forced the boat down the flume. Behind him the logs boomed and thundered in headlong, inexorable nursuit. He was carried through the gloom of the short tunnel and over the high steel trestles as one dropped from a precipice. The flume sides became lower and lower. The speed decreased in the lower canon, and as Neilson looked ahead, the converging blurs took shape in faraway mountains, snow-capped in the pale radiance of the early twilight, and in thick forests of redwood and yellow pines, shaggy and gaunt upon the mountain slopes. Over the spans that bridged the boiling streams sped the drift, on and on and on, hurtling and tumbling and booming, winding now through the lower canon toward the river. The jump-off was only four miles away. Gould he throw himself over the edge before he reached it? He tried to lift liis legs, but he was too weak. Neilson prayed that the tender at Geyser Peak would be at his post. It was his one chance of life. The timber rushed on, more swiftly now, close upon Geyser Peak. Neilson was alert again. As he was hurled past, he cried out in a voice | tense with agony, the love of life ; strong upon him. Had the tender j seen him? Had he heard? The j climber's face was stung with the ! rush of water, and his eyes were j blinded. I The drift reached the last grade. I The hills and cliffs gave way once ! more to confused blurs, the swish j of air flung back his hair from his ! face. Mountain and hill and bluff | whirled past him, unseen and uncared for. Neilson still clung to the beat, huddled up, helpless with terror. Miles behind in the mountains i lay the long tunnel; three miles ! ahead was the jump-off! j Then suddenly, as Neilson gripped the flume-boat and prayed desperately for life, he felt the rush of the craft slacken, and the terrific force behind him' lost its vitality. New life sprang into his veins; he thrilled with the sense of his hopes come true. Gradually the drift slackened, the water ceased in its flow. Still the impetus of the logs hurled the boat on, now scraping against the wooden sides of the flume, until at last the friction brought it to a standstill. As Neilson lay upon the boat, weak and exhausted, the river<-drivers came running up the trail from the river, and found him. And listening, Neilson heard how the tender at Geyser Peak had seen him whirling by, and had signaled to the head of the flume for the flow to be shut off. To-day a new climber swings among the girders and beams, and Neilson, who assists at the head of the flume, is always careful when the drifts are resumed after a delay and j the climber is at work. The caution } has become part of the man.? 1 Vnufh's GoTrmanicm. With the Financiers.' Sometimes wc send a thief to catch ] a thief that robbed a thief.?Life. 1 , ?W|| I UMI! umwmWfiieMmiJimr '. ' '< .' v::'' '' " p H AND ILOILO FIRES?THEIR < COMPARATIVELY SM WHAT CAUSES A HOT WAVE. Ey JAMES H. SPEXCI2K, Observer, U. S. Weather Bureau. It is found that hot waves occur only when there is nearly stagnation in the movement of storm areas across the country. We then experience the intolerable hot winds and droughts that destroy growing crops and greatly increase the mortality in our cities. Active conditions are always revealed by frequently changing winds and by warm and often stormy periods alternating with cool, clear periods at intervals of three or four days, as "high" follows ' ?' j "m | ' cu?,r er f.g*!C* \j ! Typical hot wave conditions. Weather map. 8 a. m. (Eastern time), July 20, 1901. Solid lines connect places with equal barometric pressure expressed in inches of mercury. Jiroken lines connect places with equal temperature expressed in degrees Fahrenheit. Arrows fly with the wind. 44low" across the United States at an average speed of about 600 miles a day. "Highs" are characterized by high barometer and outflowing winds, and "lows" by lpw barometer and inflowing winds. [ The first chart is a typical hotwave map, and shows a "low" central in Montana and a "high" on the South Atlantic Coast. These conditions always cause southerly winds and warmer weather far in advance I of the "low;" but only two or three j days of warm weather may be ex- ! j pected when such areas drift rapidly ! eastward as usuaL Occasionally in summer, however, atmospheric activities diminish to such an extent that areas similarly located remain nearly stationary for j many days. As a result of laws explained in a .preceding article, warm winds must then blow from the south or southeast, where the pressure of the air is greatest, just as long as the position of the "high" and the 44low" remains unchanged. When these areas resume their normal eastward movement, the hot wave soon terminates. Moist winds from off the Gulf of Mexico also cause a high humidity, which greatly add^to man's discomfort during a hot wave. ? IGfM I 106 summers ui ?v\jx auu x%/*j-z were among the most remarkable on record. Greater contrasts for the same season than these two years ! present can hardly be experienced. A study of the weather maps for July, 1S01, reveals nearly stagnant conditions over the greater portion of the United States during that month. The absence of decided differences in the atmospheric pressure POSTAL AUTOMOBILES 1 caused what is known as a "flat" map; nevertheless for many days the barometer was sufficiently low in Montana and high over the South Atlantic States to cause light southerly; winds and one of the severest hot waves ever experienced in the United States. I On the contrary, the maps during July, 1904, and, indeed, for the entire summer, show a condition of unusual atmospheric activity. Well-developed "highs'' and "lows" passed eastward across the United States with great regularity, and northerly winds and anti-cyclonic conditions prevailed quit&as often as southerly winds and cyclonic conditions, thus ! effectually preventing a single wicie| spread hot wave. By reference to the second chart it j will be noticed that in July, 1901, the average maximum temperature for ten cities representing the greater portion of the United States lying east of the Rocky Mountains was below ninety degrees only on four days, j v- v . j - a il V ^ ?V. :;M;. $ \.v -;::V : - k*PE DESTROYED IN THE MANILA CHEAPNESS EXPLAINS THE 4.LL PROPERTY LOSS. . i while for July, 1904, it was above nin^v nnlv on one day. During July, 1901, the daily maximum temperature at Lincoln, Nebraska, was 100 degrees or above on twenty-one days. In connection with our subject we can very profitably consider the i warm, dry wind that occurs on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. This remarkable wind is called the chinook. In Europe a similar wind is known as the foehn. The chinooks prevail when a "high" is crossing Utah and a "low" is passing north of the Dakotas. Easterly flowing winds result from such conditions, and as the air rises in crossing the mountains, its temperature is lowered sufficiently to cause clouds and precipitation on the western slope. If these clouds did not form, the temperature of the rising air would decrease by expansion about one degree Fahrenheit for every 183 feet of ascent; but when clouds begin to form, further cooling is greatly retarded by heat that is iiderated as the vapor of the ascending air is changed into water-drops or ice crystals that compose the clouds. The heat thus liberated Is the source of the great warmth of the chinooks, since the ascending air reaches the mountain-tops is-uch i lllllll* "ITTlTrlTTltrit UU44 }4il444-U4J. _ Average daily maximum temperatures (in degrees Fahrenheit) for July, 1901, and July, 1904, for the United States east of the" Rockv Mountains, as shown from Weather bureau records at Atlanta, Georgia; Bismarck, North Dakota; Cohimbus, Ohio; Denver, Colorado; Jb'ort wortn, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Richmond, Virginia; St. Louis, Missouri; St. Paul, Minnesota, and Vicksburg, Mississippi. warmer than it would have been if condensation had not occurred, and it is then carried rapidly over the crest of the mountains by the winds and down into the valleys on the other side. The temperature of this descending air increases by compression at about the usual rate of one degree Fahrenheit for every 183 feet descent, and the chinooks reach the valleys remarkably warm and dry, even in midwinter. Under their influence the temperature often rises forty <5r fifty degrees in a few hours. The^ clouds are left behind on the summit of the mountains, and clear skies prevail on the eastern slope? From Youth's Companion. AUTOS FOR U. S. MAIL. The Milwaukee Postal authorities have succeeded in having installed in that city automobiles for the transmission of mail to and from the railI way depots. Where speed and effi :N USE AT MILWAUKEE. ciency mean muefcf and every second counts, as it does in getting Uncle Sam's mail to the trains, the installation of these .high speed vehicles is a great stride in the establishment of a better postal system. ? Technical World Magazine. The Suburban Gardener. Jones had a vegetable garden iji which he took a great interest. Brown, his next door neighbor, had ope also, and both men were espe| cially interested in their potato | patches. One morning, meeting by I the fence, Jones said: "How is it, Mr. Brown, you are never troubled with caterpillars, while my bushes are crowded with them?" "My friend, that is easily explained," replied Brown. "I rise early in the morning, gather all the caterpillars from my bushes and throw them into your garden."?TitBits. . ' ^ Z - f v&g 1 r' BMBM?B? ????I???? W^I. 1^1 , - . jPaSmetto SiaieNews^ ] L i Arrested After Ten Years. Bob Graham, colored, who murdered the two Lowman negroes at Ridge Springs about ten years ago, was arrested near Leesville a few days ago. * ? * t \*/Onw?i< Planned. imrucridv wavci wwvi > A company capitalized at $8,500,000 will build a big dam at Cherokee Falls, four miles below Gregg Shoals, on the Savannah river, for the purpose of supplying power throughout the section about Anderson. Ten thousand horsepower will be developed. Buying Undeveloped Crops. ! Agents of exporters are working among the farmers of' the state, buying undeveloped crops of cotton a; 10 to 11 cents, and are meeting with some measure of success, acording to reports. The cotton association urges that the crop be held for a satisfactory price, believing that, the staple will ye; sell for 20 cents a pound. * * * Aquatic Feat of Constable. 0. G. Ogletree was arrested a few days ago at Piedmont by Cons;able Allen, charged with bigamy. The ar rest was sensational, as Ogletree in attempting to escape jumped in the river and was followed by the officer, an aquatic battle taking place in which the constable was victorious. A few months ago Ogletree married the 15-year-old daughter of J. F. Coward of Piedmont, Mr. Coward hearing, it is claimed^ that Ogletree had another wife in Georgia, secured a warrant for his arrest. * 3 * Son Kills His Father. News has been received of'a shooting affray in Saluda county. From meager information it is learned tnat William Taylor was beating his son, Simon, when his wife spoke to him { and begged him to desist. He let the boy go and attacked his wife. The son went to the rescue of his mother and shot his father, killing him instantly. Taylor was present at the time Stockman killed his son-in-law in Lexington county a year or so ago and was a witness in this case. ' Plan Waste Pickery Mill. a wooto n?/?Vprv mill will probably -fl noovv ^ . ^ be organized in Charleston to handle the products of the mills of the state Preliminary steps have been * taken, and at a meeting of the South Carolina Manufacturers' Association a few days ago a committee was appointed to take up the matter with the Charleston promoters and endeavor to reach some I agreement whereby all the waste of | the South Carolina mills will be manu\ factured at home, instead of being sent north. * * * Killed Man With a Brick. D. K. Cunningham, a farmer who , lives several miles from Spartanburg, j who killed G. B. Hunsinger by strik1 * - 1? J V* n Kri/?L* Tl {? (Z ing-him m me neau v?iw ? ~ been granted bail by Clerk of Court T. R. Trimmier, in the sum of one thousand dollars. Dr. G. D. Dean signed the bond. Hunsinger, it is charged, attacked Cunningham with an open knife, when the latter, in self-defense, it is alleged, picked up a brick and hurled it at Hunsinger, the brick striking Hunsinger In the head, inflicting a wound that resulted in his death. * * Militia Have an Outing. The third regiment of the South Carolina National Guard and the battalion of light artillery of the Aabama national guard are in camp on SuIIi| van's Island, participating in the spei cial instructions, drills and maneuvers I in nnnimwirm with the regular army at Fort Moultrie. The handling of the big guns and the exercises generally is the most interesting that the militiamen have ever had, the idea of becoming an auxiliary to the regular army for coast defense appealing to the militiamen. * * Big Bond Issue Floated. The city of Charleston has just floated one million dollars' worth of thirtyyear 4 per cent bonds, being an installment of the proposed issue of $3,500.000 refunding bonds, due in 1909. The bids were particularly gratifying,' reflecting creditably upon the Charleston securities. The entire-issue was subscribed to by Charleston banks and institutions. Of the issue, $175,000 was taken at par and the rest at a premium, the maximum being one-eighth of 1 per cent. The bonds are exempt from taxation and the interest is payable semi-annually, v - '*> -yV5V. tmrnrnmrnmrnmrnm?mmm?mmmmKmummm, Whisky Drummer Arrested. H. L. Solomons, a whisky drummer, who has had headquarters in tlolumbia for some time, was arrested last Mod- v day 0:1 a warrant sworn out at Beaufort. It is alleged that Solomons offered presents to the members of the Beaufort county board of'control in an effort to push his goods. Solomons was at cnce taken to Beaufcr; by a deputy sheriff. He is the o \ representative ot Aananan & uo., 01 w Baltimore, and the Big Springs Distilling company of Cincinnati. This is the first arrest for alleged violation of the new law. The maxi- $ mum penalty on conviction is $1,000 . ; or imprisonment for two years, or both. Solomons is a native of Hampv . ton county. I * -li Business Section of Town Burned. Fire, believed to be of incendiary orign, wiped out th? business portion v of Holly Hill, a smal ltown iiv Berkeley county about 1 o'clock Monday morning, causing a less of about $40,000, with insurance of about $15,000. The principal losers are H. Hoares, A. B. Bennett, E. Levin, H. P. Price, |Rhame & Son, W. B. Cress, R. B. | Cress, Ellis & Lea, E. Edwards, B. F. I Aver*' hotel, telenhone exchange. 'A. F. Carter, Bank of Holly Hill and ^ the county dispensary. Bloodhounds were sent to the scene , with the hope of capturing the guilty, - 4 party. "Warpath" Episode Denied. Colonel Henry T. Thompson, commanding the second South 'Carolina yj regiment at Norfolk, returned to Co- V lumbia a few days ago and made the. . . following statement concerning the ? trouble on the "Warpath" at the James- :M town exposition. He says: "The statement sent out from Nor- ^ ? folk regarding the riot at the exposi- |i UUll, UU ILie iiigiiv \JL ULIC U111U, IB aw~ r>:. t solutely and unqualifiedly false, so* v* far as the second South Carolina regi- 'ment is concerned. Not only js the statement false that the regiment 'threw off all discipline/ on this occasion, but, at this cime, as all others -X||| during cur entire trip, extending over a period of ten days, I had complete, and absolute control of all the men.'* * * Shot at Negro; Killed White Bo/. : An unusual homicide occurred/ at Darlington a few days ago, whereby young Lide Kilgo, on a visit there fromBishopville, with his father, J. P. Kilgcu || was instantly killed. . v/fl Young Kilgo was at the fruit stoxe-'^ of J. Wiley Rhodes to make a purchase, when Rhodes rushed out to resent an insult offered his wife by a negro named- Sam Teague. Rhodes shot straight at the negro. The bullet hi' struck his head and, glancing, penetrated the brain of young Kilgo between the eyes. The negro ran, being. .little injured, and escaped. Rhodes is an exemplary citizen. ;tJ| Young Kilgo had just graduated in the public schools, and had entered for 8 college course at Furman university, s > Greenville. JUDGE SWAYNE DEAD. . ;A': Well Known Florida Jurist Succumb* to an Operation in a Philadelphia1 Hospital. *--?P Judge Charles Swayne of the United < States court for the northern district y of Florida, died at the University of-' Pennsylvania hospital in Philadelphia p Friday afternoon. ' ''^|g Judge Swayne had been suffering for some time from complicated kidney , , troubles, and went from Florida to ; the residence in Philadelphia of Gard-' ner W. Kimball, hi3 son-in-law, for treatment. He did* not improve, and later was removed to the hospital, where an operation was performed on. A him. He improved, but in a few days' he again began to fail. Those at his bedside when he died were his wife, TT ? ~ ^itTOT mo O l2TXfr^r _ HIS sou, narrjr vx. unajnv, ? ..... of Philadelphia and his daughter, Mrs. " Gardner W. Kimball and her husband/>|fe Judge Swayne's name became far. miliar to the reading public a year or two ago through an attempt to im- ' peach him for "high crimes and m&-0M demeanors." His trial took place lit the United States senate toward the ; A close of the first session of the fifty-.y''' ninth congress, and was the first im- peachment proceeding in that body y since the trial of Secretary of War;/ Belknap under the administration of // General Grant. The trial lasted for five or six weeks. Swayne was represented by a number ; / of lawyers, and many witnesses were ; " / called both for and against him. The < & cnorifio charges were that he did not \ reside in his district; that he made * vj excessive charges against the govern- - % ment for expenses; that he used his position to extort favors from railroad v?% companies, and that he sat In a case In Florida in which his wife was per- ^ J sonally interested. The trial resulted in his acquittal by a vote which was y almost strictly along party lines. The . original charges aaginst Judge S wayne |b were made by Representative T?amar : of Florida. f