Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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EMPSON MILUS. ?Htcr Hipp Lo YOL. ?. LAI KENS C. LIM S. C., WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1886. big job of Clothing _Baltimore Fir?. ?*vi.~*mJMw.T uwiujKuaauHHn/iirv .it TIIK MISSISSIPPI COLLEUK. ITSOKIOIN, ITS PUKSHMT K{}Vi I'MK < AM) ITS WOUKi Au Observer's Account ?>f (Ion. s. i>. I OO'H I'uriiicr's College-Tho Class-ltooiii IIIMI th?' I'm m. (Kroin tho Nows un<l Courlor.) Aaiuoui/roitAjj ANO MKOIIANIOAIJ COI. i,KUK or MISSISSIPPI, July l. -ltofcrring to u number of notes taken in n mid Bumnior tour of four of the most import ant Southon) Buttes, I do not know lind I could select a moro interesting subji cl tbau tho Agricultural and Mechanical College of Mississippi. This may bo ?stated without discounting, tu any ?vise, the many places, institutions and tilings of note ulong tho lint H of railways \ 'hieb eonneet Charleston witli tho pecillitrly favored land in which the institution named is situated. 'rm: COLLKUU. To begin with, however, tho term "Agricultural und Mechanical Coll 'go," UH applied to lids College, isa misnomer. Tho mechanical doparlincut has no' yot tioon provided for, but may be ron ?zed at any time win n tho institution ia so far favored hy the Legislature ol Missis sippi. The College is, therofore, prac tically au agricultural institution with ?te handmaidens of tho mechanical arts in expeetuney. lint whatever lids institution may heit? has caused a great stir in social, agi'.cul tural and political circles ever since its establishment, soven years ago. li was orodled in opposition, strong bul not fatal; it bas traveled ovor a rough road and still sur vi vos; and it hus lived ? own a certain class of opponents and is still doing battle against uoino formidable foes. As betweon tho enemies ol the College and its friends tho lines arc vorj sharply drawn ; and oven tho compara tivo biran ger, who runs, may read, ?rm: issuus sr.vrro. broadly slated, the question is ol of utility: Does it pay thu taxpayer to i ap port tho Co)legi ; and, {.uniting UK ob? jeots of tito Oollego to bo fully carried out, do tho results warrant the Stn! ia continuing its appropriation '.' Tin his tory of tho College up i i tlic po cul time carries with it the .solution (.1 . ery one of those problems. Something of this history is, therefore, c.< scntial io a clear conception of the interesting situ? ation, ITS om-?iv. From what can ho learned from tho various published reports, tho Co owes its origin to the Aol of tho (Jenora! Government, passed in 1802, to encour age tho establishment of industrial col leges in tho States. This Act, lill mg other things, provided for tho "em ow mont, support and maintonanco in . .oh ?State of at least one collogo where tile loading object shall be, without exclud ing othor scientific and classical studies, and including military tactics, to t ach such branches of learning as are re te.? to agriculture und tho mechanic arti. in such manner us tho Legislatures <>i tho States may respectively prescribo iu or dor to promoto tho liberal and prac ici.I education of tho industrial elnstoa." Mississippi's share of thc agricultural land scrip fund amounted in IS te 9227,150, which is now in the !. Into treasury bearing live per cent, interest. The Mississippi Legislature in 1878 divided this fund botweon Alcorn Uni versity (for colored youths) and tho preheat Agricultural and Mechanical CollegO Of Mississippi, giving to each 8118,070, SubscQuontlj tho Legislature expended ?l?.OOd of this money in thc purchase Ol lands, leaving to each of the institutions named a balance of 808,570, which yields un annual interest al live nor cent, of about 81*028, Till State Legislature up to within tho past var or two has appropriated tho hum of 882,500 annually for tho support ol thc institution. nu: DUI LOI NOS. To enable the Slate to avail itselt ol the Fetleral aid it was necessary to erect the CollegO buildings, ano tiles? were completed for occupation by tho stu dontsnnd professors in 1880. Those buildings arc about a mile and a half west of Btorkville, and occupy positions on both sides of a brunell of the Mobile and Ohio (?mimad. Tho principal build ing., face thc south and aro just north of tim railroad and on thc crest ol a hill, to which thc ascent from tho railroad is over a well kept lawn. These buildings uro: First, tho academy, turee stories in height, of brick, and 127 feet long I y Ti) lt.:l wide. The lippi r story consists of six class-rooms for thc USO of COI tain professors in teaching; tho second story consists of six rooms for tho use of other professors, and on tho lirst door are the College hall or chapel und the oflicos ol dio president, (Jen. Stephen l>. Loo, and tito secretary, Prof, T. Fi Watson. Second, tho dormitory, three stories in height, with basement, lt has a front of 275 feet, running east and west, and two wings, each 1 IO feet in depth, ex tending at right angles to tim main building. Tho lirst floor contains the library, museum, a lecture room, the Oammauda?t's quarters and a writing room. Ou the second Moor are two large rooms, an armory and a guard room. Tho remaining rooms on this lloor' aro chumbera foi the students. On the third story arc abv.ut lilly rooms, used exclu sively by the htmb nts. The accommo dations of tho dormitory aro for from .200 tO 250 students. Third, tho laboratory, ?l? feet lopg by 88 wide, a two ?.tory building, tho uppei story Oi which contains a large lecture room, un analytical room for Um stu dents, a private work-room lor the pro fessor ol chem i ? li ., and apparatus rooms Tbo lower story is used principally a* storerooms Sud analytical rooms, used by l'rof. A. M. .Meyer?, who is also the Stat? chemist of Mississippi, Tho mess hall is a two utoiy ?woden building. On tho first lloor are a dining hall capable ol accommodating three huudred students, kitchen and bukory. On the uppor lloor aro two balls used l>\ two rival literary sooiotics of tho Col lego. There is also a hospital containing eight rooms, which aro very seldom cc oupied. South of the railway is a plain two story brick mansion, occupied by General Leo ?inti bis family; and nt vari ous points on tho grounds are residences for tho other professors. Tho othor principal buildings uro u larm-houso, a dairy, u binn, an ongino-houso, and the Btabb H lor the stook, oaoh of which is ou ti tied to tonio .special description. I'AltMlNO ANO Mourioi i.roKii. Tho OollogO owns 1,702 UOros of land, which is divided into cultivated Holds, pastures, orchards and vegetable gar dens, and ornamental grounds. There ate, of the 1,702 aeres, about OOO under actual cultivation in diftbronl orops. These (><.') acres are divided into tho farra department and tho horticultural department, rlhc former includes thc eu lt i vat ion of tho usual plantation orops, such aa corn, cotton, peas, otc. The lat ter includes all tho common vegetables and fruits. In tho farm department tho student is familiarized with tito planting, raising and hat vesting of tho large commercial orop3, tito actual caro of tho cattle on tho farm, lb?! constrttclion and USO of barns, stables, pens, and willi tho prac tical use of all tho in proved agricultural machinery now in tho Southon) States. In tho farm work is included a special course in dairy husbandry, covering tho theory of breeding btock, feeding for milk, and of making and shipping milk, cr?ant and butler. This is all reduced to practico in what is called Hu- creame ry, for tho purposes of which there are maintained on tho farm 200 hoad of cut tle, puro bred, grade and native. There is also much attention paid to ensilage, tho raising and curing of hay, clover, etc.. all of wliioh, it should bo borne in mind, is done by "tho boy:;'' themselves. In tho horticultural dopartment lhere arti gardens in which okra, toraatoos, cabbages, beans, Irish potatoes and fruits of all kinda aro rai.-tal. connan OP su m. The course of study prescribed for tho students is made up td' ( l > biology, tho most important branches td' which are fertilization and thc relation of insects ami plants; (2)agriculture, iuoludingtho principios of Btook-hrccding ami fcctliug, drainage, cultivation, curing and mar kotiug of ero]1-, improvement of soil and manuring; (8) horticulture, fruit and Vegetable culture, botany, silk culture, oto.; (I) chemistry, aa appiiod to the analysis of hods, plants, foods, water, otc; (o) English, course of reading in prose and poetry, logic and in? alni seit nco, with written essays monthly; id) nod hematics, alt tho elementary branches, up to analytical geometry, calculus and civil engineering. THE MlhlTAltV IlKAKUIlt There is also the military organization of tho College, with Gonoml Coo at tho head td' the military department, ami St coud Lieutenant U.C. Davis, United statis Army, as commandant of Btu dot ts. Tho students aro all uniformed in ccdet gray and arc divided into ?ive companies. Practically, tho disciplino of tho College is military, ami the rides ami regulations in this respect are of tho usual military institute mtier. All the classes aie taught company ami battal ion drills, dits.-, parado, guard duty, cte. Tho senior and junior classes aro taught target practice anti service of the Held piece; Ul tl)Q, junior year Inion's t?ctica aro taught, ami in tho senior ami junior year tuero are lectures given on tho soiouco mid art of war. The military equipment o? tho eade H consists of two ?3-inch Hold piceos, 250 niles, cartridges, cte., all of which is furnished ny tho United States Govern ment, with tia; t vcoptioi) of IOU niles furnished by the State. LJF? or Tin: sn in;.vrs. Tho foregoing sketch ol' the work dono id the institution gives only a dry abstract of tho essential details of tho lifo ot thc student. This life it., how ever, one ol' gn at variety and activity. The gove! in.n ut of the i list it ut ion is ali of a republic within a republic, and is divided sharply between the military ami agricultural features. In fact those features aro quito distinct, ami in nowise conflict with each othor, the discipline of the om; seeming discipline in thc other. When tia college boy boro goes out into tht: Hold he doh's his military trap pings and puts OU his nhl clothes, old shots, old hat, tte, just as his lather dots on tiie homestead ?atm in any county in Missisaippi. In other words ho goes out to work am1, be thies not go ni holiday attire. In the morning, in tho class room or on dross parade, lie is as gorgeous as you might tic. ire. ile has a tine uniform willi plenty of brass buttons, all of which ht; wi ars with the self complacency of having paid for them by honest Labor through long and dusty in hummer or wet ami dreary days in winter. In the afternoon you may mot t lum at some place, any place, on tho farm and you will not know him. Ho wears a slouch hid, very honest ohl clothes and a very lamest old face. .Maybe he is weeding turnips tu- digging potatoes, or you will meet him out on some of tho green pastures driving tho cows, or if you peep into tho cow stables you HOC liim playing the milk maid, Von will meet hun at any given point over all thc broad acres of tho farm, and in ninety nine oases ont of a hundrod ho is doing something that will help him ?J pay his expenses at the College. And this he d008 in a fashion that deserves a special ohaptor. At night, after nu afternoon's work, ho goes home to study and in tho morning he appears again a military chrysalis as gandy anti as happy as on the day before. or.osK OF Tin-: HI.SHION. .lust nOW the College is about to olOSO for the present year. Tho commence ment exorcises for 1H87 w ere opened yes terday at 11 n. m., at which time Dr. Wi AI. Greer, of Erskine College, South Carolina, preached a sermon ami again iaat night at 8.80 o'clock. Those oxor I aro a groat event in the immediate locality, and in fact are necessarily look ed Opon with groot interest all over the .-itu to, th?re being representativo yoting uieii doro from almost every county iii Mississippi and from several other States. The students in attendance uttmbur :27l). lt ls lt I I. ii - M i e. ' Writes Mrs. Lliza Ann Hoiith, of Vor milhnii, Lrio county, Ohio, to toll the ladies everywhere that nothing surpasse? ; Dr. Darter's Iron Tonio for oil irr?gu larit?:.. "lt ??iitul mo wbon tho physi > oiaus tmd ail othor remedies failed." * SOME BALLOON STOttlES. TU lui.I.IN?. i;\i'i;itii;N(:i:s 01 I'UOK. KIMi AM) TIIK WI8KS. Tritt ollng Soven ty Itllhm un IIour--I.ii titi lng In a WlttloruesH-Ctiiiglil in a Snow storm w 11 * i < ? 111 n Vulvo Uo|>e-Driven to Sou. (From Hui Pldliulolphln Times.) There aro no two names bolter known in tho annals of of American aeronautics tliun those of King and Wiso. Professor Ham itel A. King is now in Inn sixtieth year. Since 1851 lie im? beou u praoti eal aeronaut, making ii is ilrst ascousion in the summor of that year from Hie olil Zoological Garden, in Fairmount lark. Since then ho has tnado 280 aerial voy Ugo s and a groat many lesser ascensions. His wife, who is a quiet, modest little woman, lum made u number of ascen sions with him and regards ballooning a much safer modo of traveling than car riage riding. She is afraid of horses, but doesn't mind tolling a jaunt through tho air a milo or so nbove tho earth. In ono of her trips oho onco had a narrow escape lt was two years ugo at In dianapolis. Aflora remarkably pion ant ascension tho balloon hi descending sud denly swayed when near the cart)) and caught in a dead trco. Tho .shari) brunell ripped tho balloon opt )i causing it to collapse, and landing; tho basket in which slio and her husband sat in a fork of tho tree, sixty feet from tho earth. As quick aa thought Professor King braced tho basket with n rope, until he bad cut tho balloon away, then, dropping another ropo to some farm bands, hu loosened tho basket and was lowered over o limb to tho earth. Neither ho nor his wile received a scratch. Tho only time he was ever hurt was in an ascension from Augusta, Ga. When ho descended the balloon caught on a doad pine and was torn. Ile attempted to deseo'\d by thc drag rope, w hen tho balloon collapsed null caine down with a era di, badly bruising, but otherwise not hurting him. Stone of his voyages, how ever, have bei n oxceodiugly perilous. SOMK TilltlM.tNO VOYAOKS, On < Ictobor 1 !, I sys, be wont up from Scranton, got caught in a windstorm and carno down nt Oak Station, Mont gomery county, I ?il miles from tho : tart? ing point, the wholo trip consuming but two hours. On October 10, 1881, ho made his memorablo ascousion from Chicago with UashagOU of tho Signal Service Bureau. Bo was up uinotoon hours, and desconded in tho Wisconsin wilderness, whoro ho and Iiis oomrado lost their way and sufforod terribly bo foro they again came in contact with civilization. Ono night ho was suspended between sky and earth for hi hours over the .Maine and Canada wilderness. His experience that night was thrilling' and romarkablo. The ascension was modo at I p, m. nt Plymouth, N. H., his companion hoing Luther li. Hohlen, of tho Boston Jour nal. For six hours they hung over a milo above the wilderness, the balloon not losing a foot of gus or the car au ounco of ballast. When they laud? il next morning they carno down at Un bend of a new railroad which wa - being constructed 250 milos below Qiioboc, ueur the Gulf of ISt. Lawrence, over w hich they had spent a portion of tho night. Tho roatl was 'JinI miles away from any othor road or civilization. They rode to Quebec on a buckboard, driven by a French Canadian. Mr. Hohlen always attributed their lucky doscont to un interposition of Divine Pr?? vit lenco. In an ascousion ho made in August, 1875, from Bullington, Iowa, ho was caught in a thunder storm, anti came near being struck by lightning. The OXplUisioi) ot tho air noted OU thc balloon ami drove tho gus from tho neck on to his hoad, ami through tho opel! valve with torrilio velocity. Ho had a thrilling deseont through tho clouds, and on reaching the cai th went crashing 11,rough trees, landing twelve miles from where he ascended, having been driven back by tho storm. The whole trip consumed thrco-quarb rs of an hour. AN AERIAL llllIUAIi Tit UN Ou the Fourth ot* .Inly of the name yoai ho took a party ni seven, including two bridal couples, over Luke Urie from Cleveland. Tho balloon sailed over tho lake to Buffalo, where it struck a b ick current and returned, passing Cleveland, gradually approaching the Canada shore, which it struck at Point au Pele, lt thou crossed a strip of Canada ami 05 miles of Lake St. ('lair, landing ll miles from Port liaron at midnight, having math hst) miles in ld hours. On another Fourth of July ho took live newspaper nun from nulhdo to Quinton, N. J, lie o ru seed tho Alle ghenies ami followed tho Susquehanna as far as Havre de Grace, took a sharp turn and sailed duo east across Delaware into New Jersey, the whole trip taking thirteen hours. rm: W (SE PAMILY, Profossor Charles Wiso, under whoso direction tho "Indopondonco" ?rill bo sent up, ?H the son of tho late Professor John Wise, Sr., who was lost while making an aerial voyage. Ile nuido his Hist ascension thirty-seven years ago, when but 18 years of age, at Shannandale Springs, West Virginia. Ho went np two and one lui'f miles ami staid up threo hours, landing sixty-six milos from tho starting point, to winch place lu- rc turned in an ox cart. Four years latta he mado an ascension from New berry port, Mass., on the oocasion of a civic celebration. The wind won blowing to ward tho ocean anti tho committee tiller ed to pay tho price of tho ascousion rather than take any risks, but after con sulting with bia father ho decided to make the ascension. After going up 1H,IK!0 feet very rapidly and descending still moro rapidly lie struck Plum I shuni '.ar. As there wore no inhabitants and no placo to grapple tho only alternativ? was to jump out of tho car. This ho did, landing safely in the sam I. Tho balloon, lightened of its load, shot into tho air and blow out to sen. Thc next morning it was picked up by u whaler OOO miles away and brought into Provincetown. Tho wholo ascent and doscont occupied one-half hour. Thc sailors on tho whaler, whon thoy saw the balloon floating in the water, tuovght it, waa an immense blubbor ami harpooned it. lt immediately collapsed ami was taken onboard, thoNewberryport papers ol' the previous day being found in tho ear. Tho professor has been over nineo actively engaged a? au aeronaut, and at various limes has mkou up every oiem bor of bis family, having* in thirtydlvo years made over 800 nscens'ious. 1 fis son, John, dr., who will take up the "ludo pendonco" to-day, made Ins il rut ascen sion nt the age of 8, with his grandfather. oAuoirr IN A ?NOW STOHM, One of tho most notable ascensions that hay boon modo was made by bim, antler the direction ol' his father, at Waynesburg, (?reen county, when he v a , outs 11 years old. After wording a half day al in Mating tho balloon, tho sup ply of gas gave tull when the balloon was only huit full, Tue balloon refused to ascend with the boy, when his hither decided to do a thin:; that has never be fore or since boon attempted. Ho cut tho lower hali of tho balloon oil*. While ho was doing this some oilicious specta tor cut tho valve rope two feet beyond tho boy's re aol), und in tho midst of a rainstorm tho I I -J oar old aeronaut wont sailing into space, and beyond the olouds, hatless and contlcss and w ithout a valve cor i. Ho was directed 1>y his father not to go over t w<> mik s, but beidg unable to reach tho valve cord, ho got caught in a heavy snow storm and was driven forty miles in forty minutes-. Lauding where th, ro w ere no means ?d' communient ion, ho was iud 'e. ard from for two days. Tho exoil , ?m u? of Ibo cilizOIIH was SO intenso thal ikey organized o committee to search for and givo him a reception when found. When ho was found tho citizens filled his hut with money. Ho was nearly frozen to death during tho voyage, au I whou ho descended was cov ered with icicles. Since then bo has made 250 ascension!; without IUI accident. TWO ItKMAUKAIthG ASCENSIONS. Tho highest ascension ever made, was on September 5, 1802, by James G bush er, K. li. S. Ile loft tho earth with m nmaut Goggswoll at Wolverhampton, Langland, ht I.(Kl p. m., and at 1.51 was 20,000 feet high, going Up at the rate of 1,000 foot poi* minute, Kc kept Oil as cending until tho ball- on attained an altitude ol 07,000 feet. < llaisher became ?dt? rly unconscious, but Coggswell climbed up the ropes ami pulled the valve rope with his teeth. They de scended at tho rate ol' 2,000 foci per min ute until tho balloon formell a parachute, when it came dow n easily, seven milos from the starting point. The longest and fastest balloon VOVngO was, made on July 1, 1850, by .lohn W ise, s.-., La Mountain and Ohvor 1'. (?ager, of New York. They left St. Louis at 0 p. m., and landed iu Jeffer son county, New York, at 2.35 p. m. the next day, tho distance being 1,100 miles .ts tho bird ilics, and 1,200 milos as tho balloon Hew. MOI N't A 1 N ItOllltKltS. Their Ult,oily Dentis--Traveler* Who Have DlHappearodi Li fut nan) county. Tennessee, before tho war, for soventy-fivo years, a road within three miles of Cookovito, leading from Louisville, Kentucky, through down into Georgia and South Carolina, was known as tho Kentucky stock road, ami was at that limo the principal high way for traders between the two .sections. Hunters, slave dealers and stock mon would drive their negroes, nuiles, etc., down to the southern market, returning with tho money from their sale. Such parti?os woro frequently missing very mysteriously, no trace of thom ever being lound. The road ran through a wild, thinly settled mountain country. Tho stopping' iliacos, or dwellings where a traveler Could get shelter, frequently wi le thirty or forty miles apart, and as recent investigations show, were kept by robber., ami murderers of tho worst de scription, who for years followed this bushiest ol wholesale robbery and mur der. About thirty years ago a until, w ho is nov, it citizen ot Cooke, found a skele ton nt the ontrnilCO to u cave, but no fur ther investigation was ovor made until a couple of years ago, and it was loft for a stranj er to make discoveries that cast in tin shade ail stories of like descrip tion, u lu io th;'w riler linds his terrible characters only in his own brain. A party was organized under tho load ur sb ip ol Mr. b'erd Kincaid to explore the eave a hero the skeleton was found thirty >oai .ugo. Hack on the mountain side about one-half a milo from uno ol the notorious stopping places described, the outrance to thu cave was formed, A hide, something like a well, going straight down thirty live feet, was first pa' sed through, and 11 ten t he cave opcin into large caverns, with a downward course under the mountain. At the bot tom of tho shalt tho part\ found human bones, ami with a little digging in the debris that had accumulated at tim point, unearthed about sixty skeletons of men w ho have booti murdered ami thrown down this hole. Some skulk were found with bulh t holes through them, others being mashed with au axe or instrument of that kind. Old citizens now living in this vicinity say that tho keepers of these dens would koop track of tao tmvolers when they passed through with stock, and on then return they would bo almost certain tt disappear. The robbers were oven sc bold they would take tho clothing anti saddles and horses of their victims am: uso them publicly. They would get i man drunk, if possible, mid, as whiskey was plentiful and the custom of drinking common, it was no haiti matter to do. then in 'heir drunken stupor kill, r il uni throw their biabo? in tho L- ?lo, ant without doubt many men, OS tins fearfu disclosure proves, never returned to theil homes, ami anxious friends Waited nm watched ami wondered why they rc turned not. Not far off, by tho side of tho rout still stands fl house. Tho walls of om room aro stained and spotted with htunai blood. Above, in tho mountains, flbou twenty miles, was still a worse place, i possible, than this. Another case i thore, and would, if investigated, repta ?ho sickening story. Tho people an much excited over this discovery, a lanny descendants of this robbor gani are still living all thr.?ugh Putnam coun ty. Hut "dead men tell no tales,'' am the history of these fearful crimes wil novor bo known. The "Favorito Prescription" of Di Pierce cures "female weakness" an kindred alfections. By druggists. THE DEADLY TORNADO. LOSSKS IN TIIK UNITE!) STATUS ESTI MATED AT g:too,ooo,ooo. Tornado-Centering HegloiiH-Froquoncy of CyvlonoH In tho Mississippi Valley-- ISSI u "i i M Torntulo Noni'. Tho torriblo destruction ol lift- and property hy tornadoes ?it this BOOSOI] caiiHCH nmch fear in several States, lie cent investigations hy Lieutenant .lohn P. Finlay, signal service, United States anny, reveal to some extent tho dttUgor ill eaeh region, which will do ranch to allay unnecessary alarm in tho Euste.ru Suites. At f!?e same time other regions bolero thought to bo comparatively sato aro fourni to bo moro dangerous th in had been supposed. The lir.st striking u su!' of tho exami nation of Lieutenant Finlay's map, show ing tho geographical distribution of tor nadoes from 1882 to l^i'i inclusive ia that they uniformly avoid extended mountain rangos. Tho Hooky Moun tains present so insurmountable a bain er that tho country lying west ol thia groat rango is almost ontiroly freo from tin; loug, violent tornado tracts seen in Kansas and Missouri. lt ia known thal storm centers which form west of ?In Kooky .Mountains aro imperfectly de veloped, and are not persistent or vio lent in their course until the Mississi] pi valley is reached. Tornadoes form ?it nu average distance of Kio mile ; southeast of the main storm conter, as shown in forty-one cases oited by Professor H. A. [luzon, of tho signal sorvicc. lt follows that tho cold air from tho foot of tho Kooky Mountains, coming in tho wake ot ami eastward moving storm manifest ing unusually low barometer, causes sharp contrasts of temperature in Kansas and Missouri, and these contrasts, some timos as much as fifty degrees, result in .nial tornado frequency in northwestern .Missouri and northern Kansas. lt is further shown by tho distribution of tornado tracts that the average of severi ty aud destraotiou steadily lessens aa thc storm centers move eastward from thc Mississippi valley. This waning of tor nado powor ia gradual, but the dnngei does not entirely cease as tho Atlantic coast is approached. Tho coast lines of tho Gulf of Moxico and of tho Atlantic] ocean aro nearly free from tornado? a, because gieat contrasts accompanying storm centers cannot dovclop, owing to tho equalizing effect of the ocean teni' peral 11 i o and moisture. IN rm: MISSISSIPPI VALLEY, Ot the total number of tornadoes re ported nearly one half occur in the Mis sissippi valley, which i; the region < | greatest violence. Tho lapsi ol time must make this even more marked, be cause the records ol tho (?astern Stal cover a much longer period, w hile tho number of tornadoes is less. Tho region of greatest frequency is ?dong tho north ; and west boundary lines of .Missouri, i i- I creasing toward tho point of intersection. ! Then comes northwestern Georgia ex tonding into Alabama. A very solid and Compact region ol' tornado development IS in southern Michigan, tending toward the lower part, of Lake Michigan. b\ r t distance ol' about Jon miles square, this region noarly t ipi?is that of Kansas in frequoney, though it has not nun thi n one-tenth its extent, and its average B0 VCrity IS far less. In thc Kastel n State-, tho most remarkable region noxt to western New York, is in tho Connecticut river valley, which seems to bo persist ently followed by tornadoes through Connecticut and Massachusetts into New Hampshire Tho open country hero favors tho development of a small torna do with a tract about a mile or halt' a milo long, and from two hundred to live hundred feet in width. Western Con necticut aud Massachusetts favor tho accumulation of warm air from thc southwest, which moves steadily north ward, while Pennsylvania, Virginia and western Delaware romain cool, this causing sharp contrasts of temperature lu southeastern Pennsylvania the la nd of tho Delawaro river there is a group of tornadoes centering near Trenton, N. J. Southeast of Lakes lirio and Ontario thora is :dso a lively region, which is an extension due to tho still high contrasts of temperature common in tho Missis sippi valley ami southeastern .Michigan. In northeastern Mississippi th. re is n very marked extension of tho Georgia ami Alabama region, though not quite equaling it in frequency, LOHMES ol' LIFE AM? IMtOPEllTY. Tho value of pro porty reported to tho signal service as destroyed in JO? years years was about $28,000,(H)0. Lieutenant Finlay estimates thia to ho about ono tenth tho actual value, making the total losses about 8300,OOO,(HR). Tho number of deaths reported was 3,1(15, and tho injured 5,010, These figures aro doubtless milch be low tho actual damage, booauso tornado reports include the main fach' only. Tho transmission of nows is partly obstruct ed, and isolated regions escape report. The comparison of a number of torna does, with the amount of forest land by States, according to tho United St ali's census, indicates that these storms are not appreciably influenced by tho pres ence or absence of forests. Tornadoes aro caused by tho persistent movement and accumulation of air masses on an immense scale. Forests and other local features of landscape luwo little eft'oot. Tho signal service reported '2MO torna* docs for 1880, 180 for 1886, 200 for 1884, 101 for IHKl, and from that time back to 1870 tho number diminishes to 0, This does not repr ?ont a chango in the actual number, but only indicates additional facilities for observation, duo to the steadily increasing interest taken by the j press and people, as well as to tho or ganization of a large stall' of voluntary tornado reporters in 188-1, under tho su pervision of I lieutenant Finlay. In 18N5 the unrulier of reporters hnd increased to 1,500 and in 1880 to 2,600. This large working force sent in an immenso mass of very valuable information, duo to the good will of tho people. Those reports aro used in estimating avcrges which will servo aa foundations upon whioh the work can and will be carried forward for centuries. By this moans tho dnngor for given regions will bo so woll known that tornado insurance premiums can bo esti mated justly, and in that mannor muoh expenditure snvod. Therein every roa j Men to believe tluit il tho tornado records ' were curried forward for several hundred years au astonishing regularity would ho discovered, i'la' statistics already .show groat advance in thia direction. 18S7 A MILD TORNADO YEAH, 'liie number of tornadoes reported from January I to June ll, l?H7, is 128. In 18.SC, for the sann: period, there we re 210, whieh BLOWS that taken yoorly there aro groat fluctuations. Tho figures so j fur indicate 1888 is a very much milder ! tomado year than l88o. lu .Inly the Eastern States i>.":i>' to contribute their proportion ni addition to those still due in the \V es torn States. The most im portant deductions from the signal ser vie.' statistics is that thoro is no evidence ! of variation in the number of tornadoes, > hut oulj ?in apparent increase caused l>y j better reportorial and press facilities, i lt \> ?ii?il require a vast lapse of limo j to di moustrnto tho theory that tho cut ting awa . of forests affects tho number , and deadly violence of tornadoes. Thoy I may bo considered u (lxod characteristic of tho United States, Uko the geological formation of tho mountain ranges, und tho average number may bo considered as little subject to cilOUgO. They sci m ! OU inevitable result of the movement of \ immense masses of air over comparative I ly lovel plains and on the boundaries bu j tween tho temperate and torrid 7.0ms. ?Tornadoes occur in India and .hipan, i and pints of Europe where lund surfaces aro free from extended mountain rang? ... lt would bo a valuable contribution to science if tho tornadoes that occur i:i india and Japan were classified and re ' cordod. This mi;;lit lend to the. further advancement of tho science ol tornado prediction in tho United Suites, which at ! present awaits the action of Congress to carry it to a high degree of perfection, saving many li\es and much valuable property. AN OFFICIAL FISH STOKV. HOM Captain I oe; loni Wau Killed P>j 11 Sword-!' foll. (From tim v>. indiliinton Stitrj July 2 ) A bulletin of tho United States L'ish Commission jus! ii ned gives tho follow ing account, as described in 11 letter lo Professor Baird, of tb . lolling of a niau by a sword-fish : " Tue scliooiu t- l'on ;- is n small vessel of about,twelve tous, owned ?iud com manded hy Franklin i>. Langston!, of Luuosvillc, Mass., with a crow of throe men, engaged in the general fisheries Oil the Coast of .'.il: ."leon-ot'. \ (.'ll Monday moilun/, August Captain Lnugsford sailed inotl homo i 1 pursuit of sword tish. Abo ut ll o'clock in tho morning, when eight niles northeast from Halibut Point, in Ipswich Bay, n llsh waa BCOU. The captain, with one. maa, taking a dory, gav? ohase, and soon harpooned tho fish, thvow lng over a buoy with ti lino attached to tu< burp ?on, after which tho llsh was loft and they return to tho vessel for dinner. About au hour later tho captaiu, with one man, again took his dory and went oui to M curr thc tish. Picking up tho buoy, Captain Langsford took hold of tia- line, pulling his boat toward tho sword llsh, whieh was quito largo and not badly wounded. Tho line waa taut ns tho boat slowly neared tho tish, which tho Captain intended to lance and tims'?.ni ii. When near tito llsh, but too far away to roach it with thc lance, it quickly turned and rushed at and iiiniei- tho boat, thrusting its sword its sword up through Ibo bottom of the boat twenty-three inches. As tho fish turned and rushed toward the bout tho lino was siuldculy slacked, causing tho Captain to fall over 011 bis back; and while he was in ti..; act of ris ne tho sword earn - piercing through tho boat and into his ho?ly. At this time another swordfish was ill.sight near by, and the Captain, excited and anxious to secure both, raised himself up, uot knowing that ho was wouuded. Seeing tho sword, ho seized it, exclaiming, 'We ve got him, an way 1' Ho lay in tho bottom of tho dory, holding fast to tho sword until hi.-, vessel came alohgsid< , v. bile tho fish, be ing under the boat, could not bo roach ed. Soon the Captain said, '1 think I am hurt, and unite badly." When tho vessel arrived he went on board, took .1 few stops, nud foll, never rising again. Tho boat and tish were soon hoisted on board, when thc -word was chopped oil to froo tho bout, and tho llsh was killed on the de ck ol tho vessel. Tho tish weighed 215 pounds aftor ita head und tad were cul ott'and thc viscera removed; when alive it weighed something over .'IOU pounds. Captain If. Igsford sur vived tho injury about three (lays, living on Thursday, August 12 of peritonitis. 'file sword hus helli deposited lu tllC United States National Museum." ?Uoriiioiiri ul Wol li. Cu un.is ros, S. c., .July (>. Serious tronblo is feared on the banks of the Savannah Uiver near Align bi, (la. Tho Hov. David Deriou aud Elders Spencer and .Murray, Mormon missionaries, Uavi been preaching in that locality for sonic time. Thcv luivo eouvortcdebon! twen ty-five familles of the. more ignorant whites. Tho doctrine expounded is 1 hut all who do not adopt tl?*' f??itb oi Mor* mon ism ?ml go to Utah before 1803 will be i lest roy ed by hu; thal no marriages are in accordance with tho laws of (?od except those sanctioned by the Mormon Church and that no woman can attain to absolute porfcotion in tho futuro unless married in this life. Notice to leave the locality has been served on the mission aries by tho more responsible citizens, but they have refused to comply. The missionaries are backed up hy their con vert?, ami declare that they will resist any attempt of tho regulators to drive them from the country. Nit ii<-nii> ('ontumpllonl Many a CO80 supposed to he radical lum disease is really one of liver complaint aiai Indigestion, bul, unless that diseased livoi Cnn ho restored to healthy action, it will BO clog thc lungs with corrupting ma'tot as to tiring on their Speedy decay, and th'n Indeed we have consumption, which ls Scrofula of the lungs, hi Its worst form. Nothing can lie more happily calculated to nip this danger in the bud than is Dr. Pierce's "Golden Medical Discovery.'' Hy druggist. -A deacon of Seymour, Ind., has boon oxpollod from tho church for de claring his belief that tho world it 1.000, (MM) years old and that it is likely to stand for another million before tho I judgment day comes. T. A. EDISON, THE WIZAlil). TULLING Alton r ll IS KXl'KHIMENXS IN Sl'lJM A KINK SIGNALING. I ii? Captains of VCMHCIS Soveil Milus Apart t:?oi Tnik with Euoli Other-Iu Phllauel pitiii iiuylug Electrical Apparatus for 11 lu Laboratory. A sinooth-faccd, thick-set, youthful looking man, attired in u gray suit and accompanied by two handsome youug women, stopped briskly up to tho doak ol the Continental Hotel oilice and regis tered in a plain round back-hand, "Thomas A. Edison, Orango, N.J." It was the wizard of elecrieily. The young woiuon were his wife and sister-in-law. I lc appeared to be enjoying tho best of health, and said tho stories about his hoing at tlio point of death whilo in florida were without foundation. Ile saiil he had como to Philadelphia to purchase electrical apparatus for his new laboratory at Elewelleu, N. J. TWO .MlI.I.IONS IN KXl'Rl.IMKNTS. The laboratory, thc erection of which has jiisl begun, will, when finished, bo as large as tho University of Pennsyl vania buildings and will be devoted on* tiroly to experimenting. Tho machine ry will be of the largest una moat im proved patterns, the cauciono shop alono lng 200 feet long. Mr. Jv.iibOD, in speaking of theo's of experimenting, .said lie had . xp 'oded owr $2,000,000 in oxporimculio j, but as it was strictly in tho lino of his business he had found it money well invented In fpeuking of bis Florida trip be .mid he was so well pleased with tho climate that he had fleeted a permanent laboratory on tho banks of tlic Caloosakatchi ; river, where bc will continue his expeiiments every winter. Ile has erected a number of eleetric-light plants in several Florida towns, but lie has not devoted much time to plants. SIUNAMN'i I'NDKK W.VTIiU. One of his most interesting experi ments was in submarine signaling, by which messages can be transmitted from ship to ship by means of steam whistles operated by keys in the same manner us telegraphic instruments. All his expe riments have so far been confined to tho waters of Oaloosahatohio, where lie has succeeded in convoying intelligible mes sages a distance of one mile. Tho prin ciple on which he will endeavo; to per fect bis experiment is the re aarkiiblo facility afforded by water for transmit ting sound. Divers in the ocean have heard tho swish of a steamer's wheels li fteen mile? away and Mr. Edison t'ninks he can transmit his message from ship to ship a distance of at least seven miles. What be purposes doing after he baa perfected apparatus is to have the large ocean stcamcre equipped with the i.tcam whis tles and transmitters. Under th", water* lino of oaoh steamer will be a souuder, connected with the captaiu'a cabin by a thin thransmitting wire running through a tube. Winn the captain of ono vessel wants to signal another he will sit down to his key-hoard, turn thc steam on hi? whistle, manipulate the keys aud sond thc message out into the waves that break against the sounder. This sound will pass unbroken from wave to wave with remarluible velocity until it runs up against the sounder of some vessel or Vi ssel;, which may happen to be within reach of the volume of sound. As soon as the wave containing tho sound strikes the sounder on the hull of tho VOSSOl or vessels within reach, tho message will run over the electrical wiro to the captaiu's cabin, where it will ring an electrical bell. Au attendant will then take down the message ns it comos from the water, by means of telegraphic koys, as comfortably and correctly as though he were sitting in ono of Jay ( lould's Western Union Telegraph ollicoa rccoiving news about one of Jay Gould's big deals. CASSINI: rr ALONO, After tin message has been received the captain can swing Iiis VOSSOl around, ind continue the message through aoven milos of water, in the same direction, until it strikes another steamer, when tin operation may be repeated until tho whole breadth of thc ocean has been orossod. lt will also be useful as a means of signaling by a vessel in distress. .Mr. l?dison soomod confident that hi? i xporiinonts would meet with suooess, but regrets that ho cannot scud ibo mes sage by electricity, instead ol' a steamer whistle, Pianos mu? Organo All of thc best muk?s. $25 cash and balance November l, att-potoash prices ona Piano, $10 ooah Bud bilanoo No vember 1, at spot oasli prices on au Organ, Delivered, freight froo, at your malest depot. i dteen dn_y.-> lost trial ami froight both ways il not satisfactory. Write for circulars. N. W. ' HUMP, * Columbia, 8. C. Albion, in Erie county, l'a., has a curiosity in the shape of a clock which stands soven feet high, oporutod by chains and great weights, tho dial boar ing old Roman ligures, with the entire works made of boxwood and bearings of pure ivory, lt is a pectfet tinie-koopor and upward of HM) years old 1 ionisa county, Va., is excited over the ullogod fact that after a white, hand kerchief, which had been folded four thick and laid ovor tho faoo of a doad woman, had boon removed, there woro four distinct pictures of tho woman, about, tho sizo of a '25 cent piece, plainly pr int? ul on tho clot h. {Spirits of camphor had been applied to tho faoo before tho faco before the handkerchief wa? laid on it. lt is said that in Portland, Maino, thoro is a man with a fais?, nos?, a glass oyo, but three fingors and ono thumb, ono oar, fabio tooth, falso hair and a cork leg. For all this ho is tho liveliest tuan in Portland. Ho walks ton miles evory day, rain or shino. Ho has had three wives, and survives thom all, and has ' cf in ed five cha??os to get married again, so ho says, since ho buried hi? last wifo, abont a year ago.