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SLAYER OF FLOYD NOT GUILTY. srv ? Jury Brings in Veridct of Acquittal in Short While. Whiteville, N. C., March 11.? "Not guilty," spoken in distinct tones by R. F. Covington, foreman of the jury, was the verdict rendered this afternoon at 5:30 by the jury, which has for six days had in their hands the fate of Mr. and Mrs. N. M. Hayes, charged with the murder of Robert M. Floyd, on the evening of February 4th, last. ? - - -Lt- - ?oln Kilt I JtSOtll OI lilt? ueieuuamo pait, uui showing little more concern than has characterized their action throughout the trial, stood up, held up th^ir right hand and received the verdict. The announcement of the verdict brought a slight smile to the face of Mrs. Hayes, while her husband showed no signs of the result having dawned upon him. The jury at once having been dismissed the prisoners shook hands heartily with the 12 men who had given them their freedom. Some Demonstration. There were shown demonstration by the friends of the defendants upon the announcement of the verdict, but this was soon hushed in the expressions of disappointment by the most of the people in the court room and belittled the open indignation as expressed by a great number on the streets immediately after the crowd reached the court house square. While the defendants had a number of friends in Whiteville it was clearly evident that the verdict was a disappoinment to the court attend ants. With the testimony all in, the general impression was that a verdict of at least manslaughter would be rendered. Hearing the charge of Judge Cook to the jury strengthened this >. impression, hence the utter surprise at the verdict rendered. ? The defendants walked from the 5-- court room and assembled with a coterie of their friends and relatives in a nearby place of business. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes left to-night for their home in Tabor, leaving Whiteville on same train on which Floyd family left. Their presence in depot occasioned a large and curious crowd, who gazed upon the woman as she 1 v, * laughed and talked with her friends. The Floyd family returned to their home on the night train. Only one or two of the family of the slain were in the court room when the verdict was anounced. Miss Reba Floyd, a favorite sister of Robert Floyd, who remained at a nearby hotel, when told of the verdict, weeping remarked: x ""Thank God, I didn't go to hear it." 1&. , Shed One Tear. , Mrs. Hayes, who since the night of the killing has not shown the least U emotion, who during the week viewed p-l; with indifference the bullet-riddled clothes of the man she killed and the weapons with which she did it, showed her first sign of emotion late this afternoon just at the close of the eloquent apeal of Solicitor Sinclair. It was clearly not done for effect, she having quietly, with drooped head, drawn her handkerchief and dried the first tear that has been publicly shown by her since the evening w hen she, with coolness and precision, fired nine bullets into the body of Robert Floyd. Her composure was at once resumed. Judge Cook in charging the jury stood erect from his bench, something never seen in South Carolina, and commented upon the North Carolinians as something seldom seen in this State. Another striking thing to a South Carolinian was the standing of the jury, and their concerted announcement of their verdict to the prisoners who were also standing with their right hands extended upwards. u "O'Riley is coming!" Disregarded "Eligible" List. gap ftS?; f Georgetown, March 9.?The chief justice has announced the appointment of Judge Ernest Gary to preside over the court which is scheduled to convene here on the 20th instant; this, of course disposes of the issue between the governor and the chief justice, so far as Georgetown is effected. A local attorney was furnished, through the governor's office, with a copy of the list of "eligibles" supplied to the chief justice by the governor, and the Georgetown bar had the list before it when it was decided to recommend Walter Hazard for appointment. as sDecial iudee. Some of the lawyers present seemed to feel that the governor's action in furnishing such a list was somewhat of an indignity, and the bar was determined to let the governor see that they did not propose to uphold him in his attitude toward the supreme court, as they believed that v the act authorized the chief justice or supreme court to designate lawyers to act as special judges, when it mighfc be necessary, is constitutional, and that when he undertook to supply a list of "eligibles," he was going beyond his prerogative. 'O'Riley is coming!" SPONGE FISHING IN FLORIDA. A Vacation Among the Keys That Can be Made to Pay for Itself. "One of the most enjoyable of my winter vacations was spent in sponge fishing among the Florida keys," declared a young married woman. "We went down to Key West and there made arrangements to take a trip with a sponger who owned his own boat, which was also his family home. When I asked what supplies we must take along in the way of ' a; 1 1- i _ V. v.+ .r iooa ine question urougut, a acanj laugh from both the sponger and his wife, with a chorus of giggles from their two young daughters "The wife explained that food was the one thing they never thought about down there. All they had to do was to drop a line overboard for their meat and take a walk along some beach for fruit, while at any habitation vegetables were always to be had for the asking. "The mistake I made was not thinking to ask about the water. Before we were out a week that very necessary commodity became uncomfortably scarce. You see the sponger had depended on replenishing our supply from a cistern on a certain key. When we reached that key it was found that something or somebody had not" only emptied the cistern but destroyed it. That meant going without water another six hours, and was not at all enjoyable for me at least. "As that was the only time it happened and was the only thing that was the least bit unpleasant on the cruise, I always tell it first and then go on to the charming and unusual incidents. "To begin with the boat we were in was both commodious and comfortable. When it was recommended to my husband by a merchant he told us that unless we could go in a good new boat we might fin4 the odor of the sponges rather unpleasant before we finished the trip. We didn't, not because there weren't enough sponges taken but because we gradually became accustomed to the odor. "The actual fishing is done by two or sometimes three persons in a skiff. On our boat the wife and each of the girls had a skiff. During the second week a skiff was assigned to me, ana 1 can trutniuny say tnat i never enjoyed any possession more thoroughly. All we women did was to scull, while the man who accompanied us did the fishing. This man was supplied with a water glass and a sponge hook. "This water glass is nothing more than a wooden bucket with a glass bottom. The sponge hook is attached to a thirty-foot wooden pole and is placed across the gunwales of the skiff, where it is within reach of the fisher's hand, when by looking through his glass he finds a sponge on the bottom of the bay. "It is one of the oddest sights to see these sponge fishers sculled about with their ? heads in these wooden buckets, which are thrust almost rim deep* in the water. The fisherman's hand goes back, reaching for the sponge hook, the sculler stops the boat until the hook is adjusted about the roots of the sponge and it is pulled up and into the skiff. "Looking through the water glass at the sponge growing on the bottom of the bays and rivers some of them are like fairy trees in a fairy forest. It almost seems a pity to tear them up. Once they are out of the water much of their beauty disappears, though they are not a bit more un-sightly than seaweed. The odor that so many people object to is produced by the decomposition of the gelatinous matter. "So far as the cost of such a trip is concerned it can be made to pay for itself. We paid our way, though my husband had not planned that we should. We were taken on the sponger by the owner for a stipulated price, not very much to our northern ears, but when one considers the cheaDness of all food suDDlies and the simplicity of our accommodations it was doubtless quite ample to the boat owner and his thrifty wife. "There was the understanding that we were to have all the sponges we took. As I have been accustomed to handling a canoe and rowboat all my* life it was not long before I could manage to scull my husband around in our skiff. On two occasions we brought in more sponges than any of the other skiffs, and you may be sure we wrere praised. "The skiff always returned to the large boat for dinner and to sleep. The three meals a day are bountiful, and in our boat one would not have found better cooking in any first class restaurant, that is of the articles we had. Fish we had in almost unlimited variety. Fruit was as abundant as fish, and vegetables were usually served for dinner. "One old sponge fisher was one of the attraction of our experience. He could remember the keys as they were in the days before the government built lighthouses and when the wreckers reigned supreme. He had any number of yarns about the expliots of these outlaws. One was the SIS HOPKINS ON WEDDED LIFE. "When Yer Hitched Don't Try to Pull Separate," Says She. Rose Melville, "Sis" Hopkins, and now Mrs. Frank Minzey, a native of Indiana, a citizen of the world and a happy bride of two weeks' standing, is spending her honeymoon with her husband and leading man on Diamond Lake, 10 miles from Cossopolis, Mich. It is a very informal honeymoon, says the Indianapclis Star. Mr. and Mrs. Minzey devoting most of their time to swimming, boating and fishing. It was waist deep in water that a reporter found Mrs. Minzey with * * ?i J 3 ?^ J ^ ner nusuauu, auu a?hcu iux sumc ui her ideas on marriage. "Don't you never get married to a man that you ain't knowed a long time. A man that won't wait, ain't worth waitin' fer," she began, quoting "Sis" Hopkins. "Now Frank wanted to marry me a long time, but I wouldn't. I used to tell him I had a career and it was all I could manage without a husband. But I had to change my mind. I have decided I needed the husband to manage me and let the career take care of itself. As "Sis" Hopkins would say. "Every woman needs a man to take keer of her, even if he only teaches her swimmin'!" "Now, there's more truth than poetry in that. I never could learn to swim before I married Frank, just because I wouldn't trust any man enough to let him teach me. If you I aren't married to a man he thinks it's fun to duck you. No husband I will do that. He thinks too much of j his wife to scare her intentioally. ! In just the two weeks we have been here Frank has taught me to swim, j "Frst of all," she went on, "we are going to make one farewell tour of the United States. Then there will be no more of "Sis" Hopkins. "After that we are going to take a trip around the world. It will last more than a year. And then we are going to settle down in South Bend, Ind. Frank * is going into the automobile business and we are going to have a nice, cosy little house. "One thing more about marriages ?don't begin the honeymoon with thoughts of divorce. That is fatal. When you are married, stay married. Being happily married is simply a process of accommodation. Acommodate yourself to your mate's likes and dislikes. Make up your mind to be happy and you will be: And: " 'When yer hitched, don't try to pull separate. Keep yer ear agin your podner's.' " A Self-Fed Man. A real joke was sprung by* a student at the Western Reserve university last tveek, says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. This student suffered from the stigma of obesity; it appears that even professors do not love a fat man. After a particularly unsuccessful recitation in English III. the professor said: "Alas, Mr. Blank! You are better fed than taught." "That's right, professor," sighed the youth, subsiding heavily; "you teach me?I feed myself." The Russian authorities, it is stated, have ordered that only Russians may fill the higher offices on the railways of the west border, on which troops would be mobilized in case of war, and as a very large part of this district is Russian Poland, where Poles naturally hold many positions on the railways, this may result in many changes. Electric Ants. When you happen to sit down to rest or take notes near a colony of electric ants some wandering hunter is sure to find you and come cautiously forward to discover the nature of the intruder and what ought to be done. if -it/mi oro nnt tr?n npnr thp tnwri and keep perfectly still he may run | across your feet a few times, over your legs and hands and face, up your trousers, as if -taking your measure and getting comprehensive views, then go in peace without raising an alarm. If, however, a tempting spot is offered or some suspicious movement excites him a bite follows, and such a bite! I fancy that a bear or wolf bite is not to be compared with it. A quick electric flame of pain flashes along the outraged nerves, and you discover for the first time how great is the capacity for sensation you are possessed of. A shriek, a grab for the animal, and a bewildered stare follow this bite of bites as one comes back to consciousness from sudden eclipse. Fortunately if careful one need not be bitten oftener than once or twice in a lifetime. way they would tie a lantern to the horns of a cow and chase her back and forth over some dangerous key during a storm. When we showed too much horror he would usually end his story with the assertion that such things only happened occasionally and when there hadn't been a wreck for a good long while." DEFIED BAND OF INDIANS. How Skunk Johnson Withstood Siege of Red Skins in Cave. There is a considerable quantity of real water at times in the Ninnescah river, which circulates in Pratt county, Kan. In one of the bluffs overlooking this river there is a cave in which the small boys play and imagine themselves pirates or scourges of the the plains. The cave, which is commodious and in two sections, was originally the work of nature, but it has been improved by the hand of man. In the strenuous times when hostile Indians were a condition rather than a theory it afforded a retreat for Skunk Johnson, a celebrated trapper and hunter of those days. Johnson roamed over a large territory and killed animals whose pelts were valuable. These pelts he traded for groceries and munitions of war at Hutchinson, then a struggling village, now a large prosperous town with a municipal coat of arms and a board of trade. The cave was Johnson's headquarters. It was admirably adapted to his purposes, for it contained a spring of cold water, and there was a natural flue leading up through the rocks. When the winter storm raged he sat by the fireside he had built for himself, and smoked and read old newspapers. One day in 1874 Johnson went to Hutchinson to buy a supply of tobacco and other necessaries of life. The storekeeper warned him that the Indians were out, with blood in their eyes, and the settlers were flocking to the village for protection. Johnson had a profound contempt for Indians. He urged that they were great bluffers; that they couldn't shoot straight, and that they were a false alarm generally. So when he left the village for his cave his heart was free from care and he beguiled + /lull mnmante with 1anerht#?r and song. After journeying several miles on his trusty pony he found that he was followed by 20 Indians, all armed with deadly weapons. Johnson had a contempt for two or three Indians, but 20 in a bunch was a serious proposition. He suddenly became homesick for his cave, and urged his pony to its best speed. A long hard race followed. He managed to keep his distance ahead of the red men, who shot at him every now and then to remind him that they were thinking of him and longing to tangle their hands in his flowing hair. Johnson reached his cave, turned his pony loose, and crawled into shelter. He blocked the opening of the cave with rocks, leaving only a small hole for the barrel of his gun. He had scarcely made these simple preparations for a siege before the Indians arrived with the customary blood-curdling war whoops, which have been so ably described by J. r emmure v>uoyei". The red men tried to break down the barrier at the entrance. Johnson's gun popped derisively and a red man went to sleep with his fathers. The Indian who stepped directly in front of the opening found that his death warrant was waiting him, so the survivors gave up experiments in that line and tried the smoking out process. They could approach the mouth of the cave obliquely without danger; so they gathered brush and weeds and built a'fire, and the smoke went into the cavern and up the flue. This flue saved Johnson from strangulation, but he was far from comfortable. It is distinctly unpleasant to inftlie smoke for hours together. Johnson endured this ordeal for two or three days. Then he began to wish the Indians had never been invented. But worse was to come. The red men discovered that the smoke was escaping through a hole in the hillside, the outlet to the flue so they set to work, with admirable industry, to plug up the hole. When this was done the unfortunate Mr. Johnson was seriously inconvenienced. ? t- j: a. i ne iiiuians, uui uciug ca^ci w craftsmen, had made a botch of plugging the hole, and some of the smoke got away, or there is no doubt that Johnson must have surrendered. As it was, he held out, coughing and wheezing, and having a horrible time. Day after day this disagreeable smoking process went on, and Johnson was beginning to feel like a cured ham. His sufferings were added to by the fact that he didn't dare sleep. A few winks now and then constituted air the repose he had. There was plenty of water, but it tasted like creosote. Kis food supply ran out, with the exception of sev 1 -1 1. ~ ?U ; V, ^ /^1? ciai stvuiiKS w iiiuii nau ucci uiuugiu in from his traps a day or tv*o before this adventure began. For days together he lived on smoke and water and skunk flesh and there is no doubt : that he felt pessimistic at times. < He never lost his vigilance or his fighting spirit, however. Every now < and then his gun would crack, and < he never wasted any ammunition. An Indian fell over dead when that gun i RABENS HAS BEEN PARDONED. Gov. Blease Shortens Time of Penitentiary Service of Charleston Man. Rudolph Rabens with several aliases is back in Charleston, having been pardoned by Gov. Blease after a service of about two-thirds of his sentence in the penitentiary, having been convcted at Walhalla for complicity in the blowing and robbery of the safe of the Newry Mills in Oconee county several years ago. Through his attorneys, Rabens made a hard fight to keep out of the penitentiary but it was a futile contest and he was placed behind the bars. The pardon of the governor enables Rabens to return to Charleston much sooner than he had hoped to do. Rabens was charged with being the "fence" for the gangs of yeggmen who operated in South Carolina some years ago blowing safes in postoffices and cotton mills. In several instances, better results were gotten with the prosecution of the yeggmen in the State than in the Federal courts, and the United States authorities gave away to the State in the trial of Rabens and his pals, on the charge of robbing the Newry cotton mills. It was not known here that any steps were under way for the pardon of Rabens and his return to Charleston without any notice of his case was a surprise. His former friends and companions could scarcely believe that it was Rabens when he showed himself a few days ago for the first time about his establishment on upper King street.?Charleston Evening Post, March 8. An Old Story. I have heard of poor and sad congregations, but the saddest preacher I ever knew went from Posey county, Indiana to Pike county, Missouri (where John Hay discovered Little Breeches and Jim Bludsoe,) says a writer in the National Magazine. He was starving to death on donations of catfish, 'possum and hundred-dollar salary. Finally he made up his mind to go away. With wet eyes he stood up at the prayer meeting to bid good-bye to his weeping congregation. "Brothers and sisters," he said, wiping his eyes on his red bandanna handkerchief, "I've called you together to-night to say farewell. The Lord has called me to another place. I don't think the Lord loves this people much; for none of you seem to die. He doesn't seem to want you. And you don't seem to love each other; for I've never married any of you. And I don't think you love me; for you don't pay me my salary? and your donations are mouldy fruits and wormy apples. 'By their fruits ye shall know them.' "And now, brothers and sisters, I am going to a better place. I've been appointed chaplain at Joliet. wnere I go ye can not come; but I go to prepare a place for yoii.' " "OlRiley is coming!" spoke. Then there would be a chorus of barbaric yellls, and the besiegers would heap more brush on . the fire, and the unfortunate prisoner was driven to wish that he could hang his lungs on a tree for half an hour. This ordeal lasted for 15 days. During that period the intrepid old hunter lived through his baptism of smoke, and had no thought of surrender. On the 15th day the Indians received worcjs from one of their friends that soldiers were coming their way, so they abanodned the siege, leaving their dead behind. There were ten of these dead Indians lying around on burial platforms when Johnson finally emerged from his cavern so well smoked that he would keep in any climate. It took him several hours to get enough fresh air, and then he went to Hutchinson and told of his adventures as calmly as a farmer of these days would tell of cows breaking into his cornfield. His exploit became one of the traditions of the frontier; for years it was told by campfires, and always with boisterous laughter. The heroism of this undaunted man, who kept up his desperate sleepless fight for two weeks, did not impress the pioneers, for stories of heroism were common enough then; but the fact that Johnson was driven to eating skunk flesh was so irresistibly funny that the "old timers never wearied of tell ing the story, and the brave man was known as Skunk Johnson as long as he lived. The coming of settlers drove the wild creatures farther in to the wilderness, and Johnson went with them, and his cave knew him no more forever. When last heard of, years ago, he was frequent the wild places of Colorado. Now and then some writer seeking local color visits the scene of that historic fight, but it is chiefly used as the playhouse of adventurous boys, and it is to their credit that they, when discussing the cave's history, dwell upon the heroism rather than the humor of the situation.?Chicago News. i 1 ?? OOUURT QUESTION IN HORRY. Citizens Trying to Arrange for Court the Last Week in March. Senator Spivey, of Conway, was in the city this morning on his way < to Columbia to attend a meeting of the financial committee of the State Fair Association. In discussing the 1 court situation in Horry county, he said that the people were very indignant over Governor Blease's action. It had cost their county between five and six hundred dollars and nothing done. The senator was very much wrought up over the way matters stood. He said that they were trying to arrange 10 nave court there the last week in this month, i but did not know who was to be the . presiding judge.?Florence Times. ? The Rich and the Poor. " The lights and shadows of life, as well as the width of the chasm between the rich and the poor, were ^ shown in New York a few nights ago, " Uptown a social leader was giving a ball to his friends of the "400" . | stretched now, is it said, to 900. Al&o uptown the finishing touches A were bei? z given to preparations for .J an "international" wedding costing . a fortune. In the Bowery, exposed to a raging snow storm, was a line of men, half-mile long, receiving shoes I and stockings through the generosity \ of " Big Tim" Sullivan. In all 7,000 * unfortunates were thus aided. In * the crowd were many who had seen 1 better days. One man was at one m time worth several millions. He is now an inmate of a lodging house on the Bowery. Wall street specu- 1 lation had ruined him, while family \ M pride forbade him making himself known -to friends. Tears of gratitude came to his eyes as he gave thanks for the shoes. Others had been j&pj bankers, brokers, merchants and Vj poets. According to those who know, drink was the ruination of at least 90 per cent, of them. For eight years in the winter time Senator Sullivan has been giving out shoes and stockings because, when he was a fj. i kid of seven years, as he expresses it, . ] he had to go to school with torn J shoes with his toes sticking ou?. State of Ohio, city of Toledo, Lucas county. 1 Frank J. Cheney makes oath that he is senior partner of the firm of F. m J. Cheney & Co., doing business in 'j tl the city of Toledo, County and State aforesaid, and that said firm will pay m the sum of one hundred dollars for 1 each and every case of Catarrh that . ^ ? nnm-nr\4- Via nurfiH Vkir VJlO 11 CO nf Wfl 11 Si ~ tauuut UC V/UI v/J ^uv uuv , - 1T-- *r Catarrh Cure. ^9 FRANK J. CHENEY. 9 Sworn to before me and subscribed - 9 in my presence, this 6th day of De cember, A. D. 1886. (Seal.) A. W. GLEASON, I Notary Public. 9 Hall's Catarrh Cure is taken inter- 9 nally, an dacts directly on the blood 9 and mucous surfaces of the system. 9 Send for testimonials free. F. J. CHENEY & CO., Toleda, O. Sold by all druggists, 75c. Take Hall's Family Pills for con- ;-y stipation. Education a Failure. J Senator Robert L. Owen of Okla* Sjj homa, whose mother was a Cherokee 9 Indian, stired up some excitement 4I down Oklahoma way in one of the 9 first law suits he ever tried, says the '9 Washington Herald. I The opposing counsel saw fit to 9 call Owen a liar. 1 Owen got up and addressed himself j ' * a : ? _ V?..* .V.in lancnioM1 ^ TO IDG court in ctuuui lino lou^uwgvt "Inasmuch as the court has done fx nothing to maintain its own dignity, -Aja| and as I am amply able to take care \ of myself, I shall take this affair into my own hands." Then he turned to the lawyer across the table and remarked to him in a loud voice that he was both a liar and a blackguard, and that fur- / i thermore, he could just take that, ; { and that and that! Whereupon the opposing counsel fell to the floor as 4| one man. Owen had used only his ' J fist, but everybody in the court room, B fled, not knowing when bullets might be in the air. After the affair was over, the laV yer who had called Owen a liar stood the front steps of the court house ^B and observed to a couple of friends: J "I was never much in favor of a educating these Cherokee boys, any- I Too Well Known. I "Is the gnv-nor in?" asked the visitor. -^B The office boy, with his chair tilted fl back and his legs stretched out upon the desk, made no reply, says An swers. fl "I asked if the guv-nor was in," fl said the visitor. The office boy threw him a disdain?-i? - ?iAnd nf picarette iui giance, mew <x u?uu smoke down his no. rils, and resumed his reading. "Did you hear me?" snapped the 1 "O' course I 'ear you," answered I the boy, scornfully. 1 "Then why the dickens don't you 4 1 tell me if the guv-nor's in?" I "Now, I ask yer," retorted the of- J fice boy, as he recrossed his legs 1 upon the office desk and prepared to 1 resume his reading, "does it look like S