Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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GEN. BENJAMIN HARRISON. Interesting Sketch of His IVife and Character by a Southerner. K. H. Richardson in Atlanta Journal. It may be snid of iioujamin Harri hoii that he gave as much to his fainih lame as bo derived from it, if nol more. The campaign joko that he wore "hie grandfather's hat" when he llrst ran for President was evidence either of ignorauco or malice on the part of those who made it. The grand father was a good old Virginia gentle man, who became an accident"' ''res idem, and by tho mercy of (Jod wa? transferred to another sphere of ac tion a month after his inauguration. Itenjamiii Harrison was us much abler innn than his grandfather as the great Napoleon was abler than his nephew, who mesmerized Europe with bis name. Benjamin Harrison ccrtaiuly was one of tho ablest men of the Republican party for fifteen ycats before bis death, and that period lapped over into tho careers of Conkliug, BialUO and Sher man. Ho was as great a lawyer as Conkliug, as good a debater as Biaino and a better all-round political leader than John Sherman ever was. As to hid legal ability, 1 heard Daniel W. Voorbces declare, "If you do not think Bon Harrison is a lawyer, pick out a man to meet him either before n jury or the supreme court of the L idled States. I have tackled him in both places, and have had enough of him." As a debater he proved himself the peer of any iu the Senate, and ho was thero when Ben Hill, Allen G. Th?r man. Matt Carpenter and William M. Evans adorned that body. His Re publican colleagues had sense enough to put him in the lead of their assault upon President Cleveland in 1880, when the Senate demanded Ihe reasons for the removal of Presidential ap pointees. Of course, Cleveland did not comply with the demand, but the incident led to one of the most in teresting and most brilliant debates ever heard in the upper house of Con gress. Harrison closed for tho pros ecution of the then administration. His speech was full of eloquence ami power. lie surpassed Edmunds, he distanced Sherman, he made Hawlcy seem insignificant. That speech made Harrison Presi dent. He went iuto the Republican convention of 1888 with a vote smaller thau of two other candidates, but was the second choice of a majority of both the Blainc and the Sherman men. The cool-beaded men of his patty re garded him as the strongest candidate they could present. He had an im measurable advantage of lilaine in the cleanness of both his public and private life. Ho was never a gusher, but he appealed to the masses far more than Sherman. It is now an open secret that Hie nomination of Harrison in 1888 was an alarm to the Democratic leaders. They realized that the wicked Republicans had put up their most available man. They have a mean habit of doing that. Harrison's election to tho Presi dency Wfts (,uo to the advanced si&nu President'('iGvCliind took on the tariff. I Tho Harrison administration was clean * and strong. When ho left the Presi dency General Harrison returned to the practice of law and has followed it ever I 0 siuce with great success. His practice tl is said to have been one of tho most , lucrative in this country. j \ Geueral Hanison had a highly suc*|c cesslul career as a soldier, entering U tho Union aimy us second lieutenant ( of Indiana volunteers; served through ] the war, receiving the brevet of hi i- g gadicr general January 28,1805. He s was a lighting officer. Ho took n con- \ spicucus part in tho campaign about i Atlanta. Ho always had a turn for L politics, and soon after the war became \ a leader of the Republican party in his t State. 1 He was first brought into national L prominence, by his nomination for n Governor of Indiana in 1870. God* , lovo S. Orth was the oiiginal nominee i of tho Republicans for the otlice that i year, but some objectionable things in j'j his record were brought out and he e withdrew. Harrison was then put L against " Blue Jeans" Williams, and ] was defeated by 7,000 votes. I \ In 1680 he was elected United States , Senator, and soon became one of the I { foremost men in tho Senate. During I , tho six years ho was there no man in < the Scuato took a more active part in I the debates of that body, or was held I ( in higher respect by both sides of the 11 chamber. I, Personally General Harrison was , admired by all who know him. Iiis j, character Wfts abovo reproach and few men had more dovoted friends. In Indianapolis, where he lived almost all of his maturo life, he was honored and beloved by his fellow citizens of all parties. Tbc somewhat general notion that General Harrison was an austere, cold-1 natured mau was far from correct. Ho I possessed groat dignity and despised pretense, and gush But ho was always I approachable and his nature was cor-1 dial. Ho loved socioly and was ono of I tho best table talkers in the country. Ho bad a keen sense of humor, which 1 often displayed itself In a very attrac tive manner. He was, in fact, a very companioi ablo, sympathetic man, who won the affoclion as woil as the con fidence and estooni of those who know him well. Gonorol Harrison bad not been in sympathy with his pnrty, as repre sented by tho present administration. He made no concealment of his con demnation of its policies regarding tho Philippines, Porto Rico and Cuba. On the contrary he condemned thorn in very strong terms in eoveral notable public addresses and review articles. He was a devout Presbyterian and took a frcquout part in the couueils of his church. Ho was" a strong, clean, highmiuded man, who won a pure and lasting famo and loft a name that will loug bo honored. Benjamin Harrison, son of John Scott Harrison, Senator, was born at North Bend, Ohio, August 20, 1833 Passiug through Farmer's college it Cincinnati, he ontercd Miami uoiver eity in 1852, studied law, and in 1854 removed to Indianapolis, Ind., whori he has since resided. In I860 he wa elected reporter of tho State suprenv coutt, and in 1802 entered the Unioi army as second lieutenant of Indian volunteers. After a short service h organized a company of the Seven tieth Indiana regiment, was commis sioned colonel on completion of the regiment, and served through Hie war, receiving the brevet of brigadier gen eral of the volunteers on January 2.'{, I860. He then returned to Indiana polis and resumed the position of supreme court reporter, to which he had been re-elected during his absence in 1804. In 1870 ho was the Republi can candidate for Governor of Indiana, but was defeated by a small plurality, lie was a member of the Mississippi commission in 1870, and in 1880 was 'elected Unilod Btates Senator, taking his seat March 4tb, 1881. He had only one term in the Senate, being defeated for re-election in 1S8<> by David Turpie. In lsss he was the Republican nominee for President and was elected over (irovcr Cleveland, by whom he was defeated four years later. UARRI80N AS A SOLDIER. Moses (5. MoLaln, of Indianapolis, who served under General Harrison during the civil war and was more or 'ess intimately associated with him, pays the following tribute to Ins com mander's war record: "When it came to battle he would never ask or command his men to go where lie was not willing to go himself. In the battle of Rosa'ca lie led the as s lulling columns and was at the front With his men. After the battle it was either General Ward or General HUtter Held who examined: 'Colonel, you have won your stars toduy.' At this battle General Ward was wounded and L'olouel Harrison look charge of the brigade, which lie commanded through ill the succeeding battles to Peachtroo :reek, before Atlanta, where he com manded the division in that b.dlle. "Many times he was seen, when on i long match j to dismount when he saw i weary soldier who seemed to be well ?vorn out, take his gun and order him .o mount the horse and ride while lie ?valked and earned the gun of the lolihcr. As another' evidence of the rreat esteem in which lie has been icld by his old command, I might say hat he was the piesidcnt continuously )f the regimental organization and was e-electe ' as such at our last reunion ast sut...nor. "A little incident showing bis houghtfulnoss after the war occurred vhile he was in the United Sintis Semite. Ho called nxc up one, (lay anil aid ho undeistood that Fred was in lie poorhouse?Fred was a little Cor nau hoy who enlisted in his company mt near Cumberland, hi this county? ind wanted to know if I would not go ml with him Sunday to see him. On Sunday I drove up to the general's lOUse to get him, but before coining ait to the buggy he went back to the ;rape arbor in the hack part of the ard aud gathered a basket of grapes o take with us for Fred. lie as ertained from Fred the cause of his rouble, and in a short lime had him emoved to the soldiers' homo at )ayton, ()." jII/L ARP on Tlflj SSA5?N8. le Rejoices in the Sunshine of Spring and Drops into Poetry. How inspiring is the earliest breath f spring when nature like a blushing mid is putting on her pantalets and ireparing to hang her silken hair. Vhat harmonious feelings spring up in no's bosom and gush forth to all inan ind. A balmy day Tills all the cham bers of the soul with music that is not icard and poetry that is not expressed. Ipring is unlocking the (lowers. I see wect violets peeping from their leafy ictls and jonquils 'ifting their yellow iclls to catch the sunshine. What a cbuko to man is the innocence and icauty of the, (lowers -what a contrast oj cruelly and strife and selfishness, .'he love of (lowers is refining and (raws a man nearer to woman and to leaven, and it is safe to say that what ver a woman loves, a man had better ove, or try to. Flowers, music and nrds are given for our happiness. L'hey are the extras of creation de igned for our special pleasure. Pro vidence would have withheld them if le had not loved us. Or Ho might uivc given us only the howling of the vitals for music and buzzards for birds ind dog-fennel for flowers. The love >f 11 -vcrs is close akin lo the lovo of diilo'ren. Midam deStacl said that music was ,hc only thing upon the earth that we would lind in heaven, for it was com mon to angels and to man, but she lideut know. If there are beautilul tnansiODS and golden streets and gates i)f pearl and treos whose leaves are for the healing of the nations, why not llowe.s? Spencer in Iiis 44 Faerie Queen " says : 44 And is there care in heauenand love in heavenly spiiits for the llowors?" Wads worth says: " It is my faidi thai every (lower that blooms Knjoys the air it breaths." The more uncultured and unrefined a man is the less ho enres for flowers and music aud birds. Cowp r says ho would not number on his list of friends the man who would uselessly tread upon a worm. Shakespeare says the m \n who bns no music in his soul is lit for treason, strategems and spoils, irtomcyeais ago 1 was trying to sell a cottage homo to a rough man who wanted to buy, and I pointed out the beautiful roses that adorned the front yard. He turned away carelessly and said: "I don't care anything about thorn sort of things. If I buy your bouse you uccdent add ary cent for blossoms." The poet says, 44 The humblest flower that blooms gives thought too keep for tears." Hut there aro folks who care no moro for** beau tiful flower than for an ugly weed. " A Primrose by tho river's brim A yel'ow primrose was to him, And It was nothing, moio." The poets In all ages have paid tri buto to tho flowers. Ono of the mosi beautiful poems ever written Its tbt ' 44 Ode to tho flowers," by Horaci Smith. It is among the classics of oh 1 England. * " Your voiceless lips are living preschen > Kach cup a pulpit and eaoh loaf a book, j ? ? ? ? ? * 3 " Floral anoatlet that in dewy splendor . Weep without woe and blush without 8 crime." 1 Mrs. Hemana says: ' " The flowers whisper tho all fostering lov e That clothed them Into beauty." Longfellow says: "They teach us by poreuasivc reasons How akin thcv aro to human things. * ? ? ? ? ? " I 'm ill m i of our coming resurrection, Emblems of the bright and bolter land." But Mrs. lleinans siugs tho mos fascinating songs to flowers?when sin tires of O.ber subjects she cakes a res on flowers: " Bring llowers?fresh llawers fortiie bride to wear, They were born to blush In her shining hair. * ? ? * ? ? ' tiring flowers?pale Mowers o'er the biei to shed, A crown for the brow of the early dead. * * ? ? * ? " Bring flowers to the shrine where we kneel In prayer, They are nature's offering?their place i6 there. * * # * # ? " Bring Mowers to tho captive's longcly cell. Thcv have talcs of the joyous woods to tell. Shakespeare had a great heart for flowers, and he knew I hem like a botanist. There is not a common or familiar one that he does not bring to pleasant uso in some of his plays. How pathetically ho laments the death of Imogen : " With fairest Mowers i'll sweelen thy Bad grave. Thou shalt not lack the tlowors that's like thy face, I'ale primrose?nor the a/.ur'd harebell like thy veins?nor the leaf of eglan tine that outswectcned not thy breath." There was a long time ago a ballad about two lovers for whom two tlowers were nutned, Margaret and Sweet Wil liam. We have margarets among the tlowers now, aud sweet Wilhams are very common. What became of the lovers is quaintly told in the old-time verses: "Margaret was buried in the lower | chancel, And William in the higher; Out of htr breast there sprang a rose bush, And our of his a briar. "They grow till they grew to the church top, And then they could grow no higher: And mere they tied a true lovers' knot Which made all people admire.1 As stern and solemn as was Moses, the lawgiver, lie was not unmindful of tho Deputy of flowers, for when ho planned the lirst sa..etuary that was set up in the wilderness he directed that his cunning workmen should orna ment the golden candlesticks with carvings of flowers?open Mowers. When Solomon desigued bis magnifi cent temple the molten hi ass was orna mented with representations of flowers, and so was tho cedar eaived with figures of open tlowers. Th>> Bible makes mention Ol llowers, but not by name, except the lily and the rose. " I an. the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley." " Consider the lilies how they grow. They toil not?neith er do they spin; but Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like ono of these." I notice in a late New York paper that the culture and sale of llowers has largely"incfit?&iL. i? that city; that forty years ago tho sitiO 'ailt?UlrtGw tO only sixty thousaud dollars n year, and that for the year just passed the sale of roses alone was nearly six millions, and that it was uot uncommon for a millionaire to spend ten thousand dol lars for llowers tor a single entertain ment. This is a good sign, and may help to save Sodom?I mean Gotham ?from destruction. I wiab that all our public schools would encourage the pupils to b'udy llowers. There is a little simple botany that even a child can understand, and it will tell them why the kingly bouse of the Plantage nets took its name from a llowcr?the Scotch broom (planta genesfha) with which Henry II had himself scourged for a heinous crime. And why the geranium means a cranes-hill and eglantine a needle and nasturtium a noso twister, etc. The origin of the names of llowers is a funny hook to me. These school boys and girls keep mo pretty busy nnswciing their ques tions and doing their perplexing sums, and most of them inclose stamps in thoir letters. I will conclude this let ter by giving them a sum: A man sold n sow and pigs for eigh teen dollars. Ho received as much for ninu-tcuths of a pig as he did for one-tenth of tho sow. How many pigs did sho have." Bill Ari Farmers and Fertilizers.?Just I now farmers aro hauling out their for tilizers, Tho majority of them will buy manipulated goods ready for dis tribution. Tho ordinary kind contains 8 percent phosporic acid, 2 percent am monia, 2 per cent. poln9h. That is known as 8, 2, 2. The NovemberI prico of such fertilizers is 820 to $23, according to tho varying por cent of ingredients. If ono has I tho cotton seed meal ho can mix his 1 i own fertilizer, and make it a little I cheaper than tho above. Thoro is a | general impression however that the Ammonia from cotton seed meal is notl n8 good for oorn aud cotton as that which is made from animal matter. So if you buy tho flnishod goods get that whoso source of ammonia is from blood, tankage, flsb scrap and the like. But if you have tho cotton seed moal uso that and do your own mixing. 2,000 pounds acid phosphate, 14 per cent. 1,000 pounds cotton seed meal. 1,000 pounds km mi. Mix these thoroughly and you will have 7 1 2, 2, 3, an excellent all-round fertilizer. Tho cost per ton, cotton seed meal counted at 823 a ton cash, will bo 817 25 to $17.75 a ton. Tho farmers will have the trouble of mix ing and resacking.?Spartan. At Russell Springs, Logan County. Kansas, tho young peoplo made ar rangemonts to hold n dance on Wash ington's birthday, engaged a hall ant issued a hundred (r moro invitations At tbe timo a revival was in progrosi and boforo it was over tho ownor o the hall was converted and decided i was wrong to let his property for danc pu: poses, and informed tho young poc plo thoy would not bo allowed to uso ll OABTOnXA. ROSSER'S ESTIMATE OF I,F,F, Strategy ot the Great Confederatt Lender Who Defeated Grant. (Jen. Thomas L. Rosser, of "Rugby,' Alberniurie Co., Vu., has boon engaged in writing and publishing a suites ol papers on the war between the States, and his concluding article is as fol lows : " The wisdom of General Lee's in vasion of Pennsylvania in 1803 has often been questioned by military men as well as statesmen, hut when you remember that at that time Grant held General Pemberton by tho throat at Vicksburg, and the*, hope of the ulti mate success ot the Southern Confed eracy was faint and dickering, you will agree that the situution enlled for desperate action. " General Lee had gained au easy victory over General Hooker at (-hau cellorsville in early May, and having a low estimate of his military ability, lie felt that a victory over him north of the Potomac was not beyond the bound of reasonable hope, or even probability, and the prospect was too templing to bo disregarded. Lee had lost his lieulenanl, Stone wall Jackson, and while Longstrect was with him, neither Ewell nor Hill, who hud recently been promoted from major to lieutenant-general, bad ever commanded a corps in a battle, and while Lee must have felt some anxiety, if not misgivings conceruing them, he had eonlidence in his superb army and resolved to take the move, not as Na poleon marched on Moscow in 1812, but as Scipio (AlricaiiU'j) went to Car Ihagc in 201 IL C, in order to loose the hold on Virginia of the invading army, and at the same timo strike a blow which would awaken an echo to be heard in Europe aud through diplomacy, end the war in favor of the Soulhern Confederacy. General Lee planned to give battle as near the range of South Mountain as he could, so that in thecveut of dis aster, as was the case, he could drop back through the narrow mountain passes in which he could resist the enemy and avert pursuit. Had General Lee declined battle on I the 2d of July at Gettysburg, as (Jen- I eral Longstrect claims he advised him, i and Meade had been forced by a Hank move of Lee, back on Washington, and a battle fought aud Lee defeated , near Washington, his army would doubtless have, been destoyed before he could have reached a safe refuge in ' the mountains or recrossed the Poto mac at the nearest ford, which was west of the mountain. Therefore, Lee acted wisely iu lighting where he did, 1 find the only mistakes be made were 1 laclieal, no: strategic, as shown in my J previous letter. - Had General Lee died at Gettysburg, < lie would not have ranked in lnsloiy t ;is a great general. His victories over i McClellan, Pope, Burusidonnd II oker i would have been ascribed to the genius i uf Stonewall Jackson, who participated io gloriously in all of them, for we all t remember that in the winter of 1801-2 l General Lee did not acquit himself t with credit in his campaign against i Rosccrans in West Vii?inia, and the t failure at Gettysburg with the danger- t ous halt at Falling Water and Williams- 1 port, waiting for a freshet to run out i of the Potomac so that he might pass Iiis army over it, occasioned very un- t favorable comment from many of our \ highest ollicers. ,k General Lee was doubtless a great i general, but his great military talent t lid not shine out fully in all its radi- i iint splendor until ho met General t U. S. Grant in the Wilderness in the spring of 1804. General Lee had merely playod with ] McClehan, Pope, Burnside and Hooker ?taking great liberty with them and violating every maxim of war in his campaigns against them?such, for iu- i ?dance, as going off after Pope and < leaving McClellan mid Iiis line army on i the James within ia day's march of I Richmond, and in leaving Hooker in t June, 18GI1, with an army double his i own in number at Fredoricksburg, and i marching around him to Culpcpcr? i liberties which poor Hood mistook for I strategy, and in trying to imitate them | left the road open to Sherman, which ho accepted, and inarch upon Atlanta and the sea, while lie, poor fellow, was i defeated at Franklin, Tenn., and had to bo relieved of his command by Gen eral Joe Johnston. Lee does not appear to have gotten strictly down to business until he was confrouled by Grant, in the Wilderness in the spring of 18(54. General Grant wafc greatly surprised when General Lee permitted him, un molested, to cross the Rapidnn on the 4th of May, 18C4, with an nrmy of 154,000 men aud a train of 4,000 wa gone, Seeing nothing of Leo or his army, Grant believed that he hud tied, ami all he bad to do was to pursue, over haul and destroy him. Ho little under stood his great adversary. Leo was thoroughly informed as to every move Grant made, and when Grant begun, on the morning of tho 5th of May, to uncoil his great army, which lay in many folds around Germania Ford, and serpent-like, extend its liery and bristling head through the dark jungles of tho Wilderness, Leo, who was hold ing his little army of 60,000 men massed and well in hand on his ilank, fell upon him with the fury of a cyclone, boating him at every point', and compelling him Iq recall Ins advanced corps and to pre pare and light (ho two-daya' battles of the Wildornoss in which General Lee and his httlo army most signally tri umphed. General Grant now saw that in the game of skillful manoouvcring be was not a match for General Leo, and feel ing that he could not drivo him out of bis path, ho begun a sories of tho moBt ' remarkable tact leal evolutions over em ployed on a battlellold. [ Grant's nrmy was so much larger than Lee's that bo could easily cover ! Leo's entire front, which ho did, but - fearing Leo's superiority in general t ship, he entrenched himself with as much caro and caution as if ho were tho defensive, instead of tho offensive . leader. Holding a continuous en " trenched line all along Lee's front and pressing with a constant strain at every point, ho hoped to bo ablo U ? slip Ins reserves from the rear and ox tend thorn to Leo's right so as to go in between him and Richmond and cu I biru olY from his supplies. Rut as he pursued this "earth-worm-like" move ment of extending his head, and drarv. lug up his tail, Lee kept pace with him, and wherever the head of his army ap peared, Lee was there to strike it. Thus Grant edged ?long, and fought all the way to Cold Harbor, where on the 1st of,Inno, he found himself at a point whence ho would either have to force Lee's lines, or give, up the cry of " ()u to Richmond " which had been the re frain of the Army of the 1'otomac for the past thirty days. At Cold Harbor, Leo occupied tho position which McClellan held on the '27th of Juno, 1802, and Grant tho po sition whichJ.ee held at the same tune, and from which he attacked and drove McClellur.. Here Grant made many unsuccessful assaults OU Lee, and tin ally despairing of success gave up the job and entrenched in Leo's front. To leave Cold Harbor with Lee in possession ot it was to turn away from Richmond; to persist in assaulting Lee was human butchery without compen satory punishment of Lee therefore he gave up the assault, ordered up siege trains and took up McClollan's methods of zig-zag approaches as his only hope of dislodging Lee and his little half starved and half-clad army. But he was so far from his base of navigable water that he soon gave the siege up. Grant, in his Memoirs, page '270, Vol, II, says: "I have alwajs re gretted that the assatdt at Cold Har bor was made." His losses here were so very heavy is the reason of his 11 regret, DO doubt. Graut had been out-gencralcd by Lee at every turn, and leaving Cold Harbor he resumed Ins " crab dike " t side movement, which enabled him to j reach Petersburg, where, be found Lee i confronting him as usual, and where t no was compelled to resort to the zig- ,n zag method of approach and mining, i with the hope of making a breach in \ Lee's lines, but failing, enily in the spring of 1800 he resinned his " crab- |c like, earth-worm " movement by the llank, and picssed on to Five Porks, where ho succeeded in breaking the I i last line over which Lee could gather 11 supplies for his army, and thus by de stroying the kitchen hi starved the [Treat and immortal army which with i ill his mighty host he could not whip, o Thomas L. Hosskh. b TWO HISTORIC DOCUMENTS. e it n |y ii Wade Hampton's Eloqent Reply n to Sherman's Infamous Detter. v a The following correspondence be- c Aveen General Sherman, the modern i, Duke of Alva, and General Wade b Hampton, should he of interest to the i] ,nung men, not only of the South, but s< >f the North as well. It shows some- ? lung of the lirim and desperate deter- ,^ lunation of the Confederate soldiers f( o protect the honor of Southern ladies iven at the risk of war to the death. The incident to which allusion is I nade by General Hampton in this cor- tj 'espondence was an outrage committed q it Feastevville by a lieutenant in Slier- f, nan's army, who was soon afterward y diot for it. He killed the father of he house and the outrage which fol owed left Ike boautiful daughter a I h vhitc-haired imbecile, tl It is because of OUlr?gGS like, this hat Southern men cannot uudorstutu! vhy sonic Northern people greet ?Southern guests with the air, " March ng Through Georgia." They seem to (J hink it appropriate. They would not c f they knew what inhuman deeds it re- p sails: Headquarters in the Field, Fob. 24th, ISO.-). Lieutenant General Wade Hampton, Commanding Calvary Forces Con federate States Army, General: It is officially reported toI me lluil our foraging parties are niur lered after capture and labeled "Leuth Lo all foragers." One instance of lieutenant and seven men near Ches lervillo, and another of twenty " near t ravine eighty rods from the main road," about three miles from Feast- I ^ erville. I have ordered a similar mini | c ber of prisoners in our hands to be dis posed of in like manner, 1 hold about 1,000 prisoners, captured in various ways, und can stand it as long us you, j Knd would suggest that you give notice t to the people at huge that every lifo taken by them simply results In the death of ono of your Confederates. Of L a course, you cannot question my right to "forago on the country." It is a war right as old ns history. The manner of I exercising it varies with circumstances, j) and if the civil authorities will supply my requisitions I will forbid all fonig- "( ing. But I can find no civil atliorltios j w ho can respond to my calls for lorage ( or provisions; therefore, I must collect directly of tho people. I have no | ] doubt this is the occasion of much misbehavior on the part of our men; but 1 cannot permit an enemy to judge or punish with wholesale murder. Per sonally, I regret the bitter feelings en gendered by this war, hut they were' to be expected, and I simply allege that those \\ ho struck the tlrsJ, Wow] and made war inevitable, ought not in fairness to reproach us for the natural consequences. I merely assert our war right to forage and my resolve to j protect my foragers to the extent of I life for lifo. 1 am, with respect, your obedient I servant. W. T. Siikkman, [Major General United Stales Army. To this bombastic fulmination Gen ;ral Hampton returned tho following answer: Headquarters in tho Field, Feb. 20,! 1805. Major Coneral W. T. Sherman, United States Army. General: Your communication of I tho 24th instant reached me today.' In it you statu that it has been Officially reported that youi foraging parties are j?? murdered after capture. You go on to say that you have "ordered a similar number of prisoners in our bands to bo j disposed of in like manner," that is to say, you have ordered a number of i Confederate soldiers to bo "murdered." You characterize your order in proper terms, for tho public voico, even in I your own country, whero it seldom dares to cxprcaa itself in viudicution of LI truth, honor, or justico will surely jagrco with you in pronouncing you guilty of murder if your order ia Icarrlod out. Boforo dismissing this portion of your lotter, I bog to nssurc you that for every soldier of mini "murdered" by you, I shall have ex ecutcd at OUCU two of yours, giving n all cases preforODCO to any officers will may he in my hands. In reference to the statement you make regarding the death of youi foragers, I have only to say that I know nothing about it; that no orders given b}' me authorize the killing of prisoners after capture, aud that 1 do not believe my men killed any of yours, except under circumstances in which it was perfectly legitimate and proper that they should kill them. It is a [part of the system of the thieves, whom you designate as your foragt is, to lire the dwellings of those citizens whom they have robbed. To cheek this inhuman system, which is justly execrated by every civilized nation, I have directed my men to shoot down all of your men who are caught burning houses. This order shall remain in force as long as you disgrace the pro-, fession of arms by allowing your men to destroy private dwellings. You say that I cannot of course qutsliou your right to forage on the country??? it is a right as old as ins lory." I do not, sir, question this light. Mut there is a right older even than this, and one more inalienable? the right that every man has to defend his home and to protect those who are dependent upon him; and from my heart, I wish that every old man and boy in my coun'.iy who can lire, a gun would shoot down as he would a wild beast, the men who are desolating their and, burning their homes and insult ng iheir women. You are particular in di lining and 'burning " war rights." May 1 ask if ,'ou enumerate among these the right o lire upon a defenceless city without lotice; to burn that city to the ground ifter it had been surrendered by the ?habitants, who claimed, though in rain, that protection which is always iccorded in civilized warfare to non- , combatants* to lire the dwelling houses ' if citizens after robbing them*, audio j lerpotrate even darker crimes than ] hese ?crimes too black to be men- i ioned. 1 You have permitted, it" yon have not , rdered the, commission of these of- t ences against humanity and the rules < f war; you tired on the city of Colum- I da without a word of warning; after j Is surrender by the mayor, who de landed protection to private property, i oil laid the whole city in ashes, leav- , ag amidst its nuns thousands of old t ten and helpless women and children, 1 idio aie likely to perish of starvation | nd exposure. Your line of march t an be traced by the lurid light of Urning houses, t ml in more than one ( OUsehold there is now an agony worse linn that of death. The Indian i salpcd his victim regardless of age or ex, but with all his barbarity ho al ays respected the persons of his male captives. Your soldiers, more I ivage than the Indian, insult those 1 diose natural protectors are absent. ' In conclusion, I have only lo request 1 tiat whenever you have any of my ' icn "murdeied" or "disposed of," 1 jr the terms appear synonymous With I on, you will let nie hear of it, that I my know what action to take iu the 1 miter. In the meantime I shall hold 1 (ty-six of your men as hostages for * nose you have ordered lo be executed. 1 I am yours, clc, \\ a di Hampton, Lioutcuant-Genoral. f In the face of this threat of retalia- 1 ion it is safe to say that Sherman re- 1 onsidered his ill-advised proposition 0 "murder" his defenceless prison* rs. IEROIC SERGEANT JASPER Iis Gallant Conduct at Port Moul trie and Ills Death at Savan nah. Mr. George Armistcud Lenken /rites to the Baltimore Hun as follows: Two events associated with Sulli ?an's [slail.l render that locality histo ical. On September 1854, when lie ocean was apparently calm, a dull ontinuou8 sound indicated a coming toriU, and on the next day the tempest a -ie, sweeping away the collages and ubmcrgiug the entire island, except ?'oil Mollltric. where (itjO people spent ho weary night until the morning eveillo announced the retreat of the \l lau tic wave and tho prospect of ipeedy succor. Many years have mssed, but the impression of that oc aision is indelible. On June 28, 177<'?, Tort Moullrio, milt ol palmetto logs, was attacked by i British licet, and in the midst of the autle Sorgt. William Jasper dls inguished himself by recovering the lag which had fallen on the beach and aus in danger of capture Alone he leaped from the rumpui is^ud iu the light of tho whole licet replaced it on Lhu bastion amid the cheers which welcomed his return. On tho next day ^GOV. Rutlodgc rc Watded Jasper for his valor by pie Bcnling him with his own handsome, small sword, thanking him in the name of his country. lie also offered him a lieutenant's commission, but our hero, who could neither read nor write, modestly refused it, saying: " 1 am not lit 10 keep officers' company; I am but-a, sergeant." Subsequently engaged in successful partisan warfare, Jasper was mortally wounded on October !?, 1770? during an assault on Savannah, under the following circumstances, described by tho historian: "The colors of the Second South Carolina Regiment, which hat been presented by Mrs. Elliott just after the battle of Fort Moullrio, were borne by Lieut. Bush, supported by Sorgt, Jasper, under the inspiring leadership of Col. Lumens, and planted on the slope of the Spring hill redoubt. At the sound of 'retreat' Jasper, already sorely wounded while trying to place on the parapet the ling which had been shot down, received his death wound. He, however, seized tho colors from tho triumphant enemy and bore ihem from the, bloody field." Major (lorry, who was witlt the ser geant, relates tho following conversa tion ! " I have got my furlough, and (pointing to his sword) Ibis sword win presented to mo by Gov. Rutludge foi OA8TOIIIA. Two hundred bushels of po i tatoes remove eighty pounds ' ?v?, of "actual "Potash from the soil. Unless this quantity \. is returned to the soil, '.. the following crop will ; .. materially decrease. - ? ' . f*gTl ?"'V?' Wi! have books lollinu ?l>otit v " Comuos.il ion, iim- ami value ?I '.i'i't'?. KW-'*' lertili/ers lor various crops. Vv?V^. 5v':*^-, They ure sent free. '^^H^-At;KinlAN KAI I WORKS, V^t^jr^ New York. ^^^^^^ my services in defeuding Fort Moul trio. Givo it to niy falber and tell htm I have worn it with honor. It ho should weep, loll him Iiis son died with the hope Of a hotter life. Tell Mrs. Elliott 1 died supporting the colors of my regiment." There is some Uncertainty as to Jas per's burial. Perhaps it might bo said of him, as of Corunna's Victor (once an cnoigu) : Not a ilium was heard or a funeral note As his corpse to the ramparts we I hurried; Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot O'er the grave when; our hero was buried. On February 22, 1888, there was a double commemoration in Savanunb. The streets wore thronged with res idents and visitors from the country, residents were inarching to inspiring music, the platform was occupied by I tionorcd guests and olllcials, an olo lUOllt oration was given to listening crowds by Gov. John B. Cordon, the veil was removed and there stood in bold relief the statue of .Jasper uplift ing the fallen colors. After, such an occasion C?o, the muse of history, might exclaim: " 11 laspor could not read or write he ccr ainly has 4 made his mark' in the beautiful monument in Savannah's ?ark and in (he seven counties which gladly perpetuate his name." ZENSUS OF COTTON GINNING. \ New Method to Obtain the Statis tics ot the Cotton Crop. Various efforts have been made to I lerfccl agencies for securing early and I rustworthy information as to the man Uly of cotton annually grown in he fjuitcd States, with a view to re lucing to a minimum the lluctuutions ncidotlt to an industry so greatly do tendcut upon supply and demand. Statistics of Ibis crop Uicd in com norcial (-enters have to do with the iOttOU as marketed during each year mding August 31, and are gathered /ery largely through repotts of trans-1 lortation lines touching the cotton Iclds. So long as it was safe to ns lUme that practically the whole of the mil on crop reached its market through .hose common carriers, their reports constituted a fairly trustworthy basis for estimates of tho commercial crop, but, as much cOttOQ now goes directly from the fields to Hie mills without passing through the, hands of transpor tation companies, this means of gather ing cotton statistics is annually becom ing more and more unsatisfactory. All returns are made in commercial bales, which is an unsatisfactory unit of mens inc. During the past century ihcl a crage weight of the commercial bale more than doubled. In some sections] the cotton bale now means the square I package averaging in weight 4081 pounds. In other regions it means a bale of 100 pounds, while in still othci localities is found the round hale aver aging ?J?'.l pounds. None of the means) hitherto employed has reported the j number and weight of these divers kinds of commercial bales. The rela tive number of square and round bales I is changing and with Uns the average weight of lh? ordinary unit, tho com mercial bale, is being modified. Hence, the importance of substituting a fixed I unit like a pound for a variable unit of I measure like a bale, thus enabling the country to know the actual quantity of cotton produced. Behoving that the reports of cotton ginners, showing tho number and aver ago weight of the hales passing through their bunds during a given year, would afford trustworthy statistics, the United Stales Census Ollice has by correspon dence- -nnd through the enumerators obtained from each ginning establish ment of Urn1 Country a report of the quantity of cotton handled of the ciop of 1800. Tlic attempt to obtain the statistics of'the cotton crop through this ngCUCV has been so successful,and the method promises to develop statistics so much more complete and satisfactory than thoso heretofore adopted that the Di rector of the Census has decided to undertake an annual census of tho cot ton crop through the direct cooperation of the ginners. Tho success of this annual cotton crop report must depend altogether upon the promptness and accuracy With which reports are received. As the information solicited is very largely for the benefit of the COjbton ginners and cotton growers, it is believed that the ginners will cordially respond to (ho eft'oits of the Census Office 10 ren der this service to the South and to nil those interested in its great staple. The Consul) Ollico is now undertak ing to obtain the facts regarding tin cotton crop of 1000, through blankl mailed to the cotton dinners. TllCSi inquiries Should bo promptly and no. curately answered and returned a once in the franked envelope, whicl I requires DO postage. Cinners will DO fail to seo that tho success of this in [ quiry will redound greatly to thei benefit, and they should be prompt t report to tho Bureau the names am addresses of new ginning establish moats, as well as nny changes In th ? management of old ones. " SLAVERY BY CONTRACT." Senator John I/. McLaurln Inter viewed on the Anderson Matter. Washington Tost. A uumber of. prominent citizens of South Carol!, a have been interviewed mi the matter of the stockade labor ex posures in Audersoti County. Senator rillmau, Congressman Latimer and others have given their views, aud there has been no defense of the con dition of affairs, although being rnmil inr with tho local situation, these gen tlemen have been able to show that no such condition exists as a system ami that its operation was con lined to An derson County. A representative of The Post bad a talk with Senator John L. McLnuriu, <>t South Carolina, yesterday morning, and while the SonntOI in nowise de fends the. Anderson County outrages, he offered some new suggestions, which are most interesting in Unit con nection : %t In the Ii ist place,'' said the Sena tor, '? the Philadelphia Nor li Ameri can has unwittingly done the. colored ? ?I. i- n gn ai injustice it) its rcprcscuta lions tli.it as a rnco its members in South Carolina urn willing to ? con. 'ruei' themselves into practical shivery, -r to submit to such a thing under the duress of u few men in one of the forty-live counties in South Carolina. As a matter of tact, the trilling, va grant, criminal class of negroes who dcttso themselves out ' arc very poor representatives of tho self-respecting, industrious and thrifty negroes in South Carolina and throughout tlin South, ?lust think what kind of men they are who would, either voluntarily or under otio-inau durccs, deliberately sign a contract agreeing to be worked with convicts, or without convicts, under guard, and Stipulate thai their em ployers are to lock them up at night. No Western or Northern mini knows, even remotely, what ibis class of ne groes are. ??The uegrocs|Xorth and West, are, as a i nie, hotel waiters, bin hers, drivers ; this is absolutely true of the great majority of negroes in the South, ?roth in the towns aud in tho country. We in the cotton State have, however, a class of utterly worthless,degraded, thieving negro boys who run away from their deserving parents sind re latives on the farms and go into the towns and cities, where they bung around and soon become not only va grants, but criminals. The police soon find them out, and after a. trial before a justice of the peace or a mayor, they are sentenced to a term in jail. As strange us it may seem, they frequent ly greet such a sentence, with intense gratification, as it relieves them, for a time, from their usual uncomfortable midnight sleeping places on cotton platforms, in dry goods boxes, otlice hallways, etc., and gives them shelter, a cot and two or three meals a day, none of which they would work for. It is from their condition and from this class of the colored race in the cotton State that the. abuses in Anderson County have arisen. Men with large farms to manage, in sonic instances, will go on bond for one of these boys, get him out of jail, and wv?rk him on his faun under contract. Even that plan, by no means defensible, if the labor contract is like those iu Ander son county, is not so hard in vie* of the class of the race (not the race) it involves, il kind treatment and justice were meted out to the theretofore va grant criminal, " Is it any wonder, however, that the class of negro I have described would agree to work with convicts, under guard, and consent to be locked up at night? " How manifestly unjust to the colored race in the South and in the nation it is to class this low element of the race with negroes of the .Unison Lyons and Hooker Washington type. This low element does not represent the characteristics, the hopes, or the possibilities of the race as it is known ' and appreciated in the South. It is not a race question. It may as well be said thai because thousands of I Ihinamcn are du ty, low, offensive, and ignorant, Minister Wt cannot be a gentleman, Or that tho dago anar chists of Patterson, N. J., are. as prop er representatives ol the Italian nice as Ambassador Fava, Or that the Pennsylvania soldiers, who, on in auguration day, committed so many outrageous and disgraceful acts in Washington, are the proper repre sentatives of the while people of Pennsylvania. No, indeed. Only Southern people, including respectable colored men and women, appreciate that there tire classes among the colored race, as well as among the while race, be they Americans, Ger mans, French, Indiana, Japanese, or Chinese. I "One oilier thing which occurs to mo," continued tho Senator, "is i he, fact thai it is not appreciated outside of the South how absolutely depen dent the cotton planter Is up mi the ignorant, unorganized colored laborer. Where labor is organized the rules, requirements, character, and esprit du corps of the membership itself pro tects those who hire labor and such a thing as guarding labMrors or locking them up to keep them from running away or from setting your gin, stable, or boilSO On lire is unheard of and un necessary. Hut the irresponsible, ignorant. and unorganized negro help requires, at least in n measure, a strong ami restraining hand. " As the better element of negroes increase, in their influenco over the. lower class Of their race, and a great responsibility rests upon them, and as tho Northern and Western people be come more genuinely familiar with the conditions which actually exist in the South, the situation will becomo better ind better, and the colored race, m >ro responsible and useful iu exercising its citizenship." CJA.BTOTIIA.. Bean the j) ^9 Kind You Have Always Bought x nick SPftlNut ?et- OB* OLOTHR9 Will ho gtvon free to anyone who will hell only oil packets Heeds for us at 5c. each No money required in advance. Write- us a postal spying you aceept thin Offer, and we will mail tho Heeds to you at ones, r. j. kino CO., Seedsmen. Richmond, Va.