Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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cwv : v .? , ; The kinc '1 hon A NOVEL OF AMERICAN LI! *?n e v mauric: copyright. j?;c ?nil 1?? CHAPTER XX. CONTINUED. Mr. Vernon did not try to hindei fcim. The whole thiug seemed unreal. and the old man's going had nc significance heyoud its conueetior with that souse of inevitable dooit which impended shapeless, vague auc altogether terrible, somewhere iu the cloud ou Mr. Veruou'8 life. And so, as they went riding dowc through the solemn woods iu the fiue, gray rain that began to fail, Mr. Vernon scarcely spoke or lifted his ga2i: from the ground until they came nc:ti to the bank of Bayou Bienvenu; and. -even then, it was the young man whu broke the silence. They were side by side, a short way in advance of their little troop, aua the rain was blowing in their faces, when a man stepped into the road in iroat of them, not fifty paces distant. Ballauche drew up his horse, at the same time touching Mr. Vernon's arm. "Hold!" ho exclaimed, in a low Toioe, as he reached for his pistol. *iWhom have we here!" The man held up hishaud and made 4 friendly sign, "Oh, it's Peevy," said the lieutenant; "one of our special scouts. The English are not far away, I judge, ?lsc he would not be here. We will ride on and see what he is up to." Mr. Vernon was all attention now; the unggestion of proximity to the British army made hira think at once of his wife and daughter. The house was still two miles further on. "Hew now, Peevy?" called Ballanche, as soon as tiiey came up to .? - L. nn'k.l .1^ ICQ SCOUUI. *> liill vii_> juu aavn this time?" I'eevy salatedawkwardly and gazed off into the w oods us if witlt utmost concern, chewing his quid meantime. '"I hcv' seed some sign o' the enemy down yar a piece,'* lie said. "Some eign? What like? Where?" demauded Ballanche. "They air jist over jar on the m'arsh. I counted nigh outer two Imu dred of 'cm jes\ at daylight this morniu'." "But how far from here?*' "Ez the crow llies, hit air three miles mebbe to whav' thej's as thick ez birds in er pea-tiel'." "Three miles! In what direction?" Pee^y jerked his thumb backward over his shoulder to indicate the point. "And they are inoviug?" "They moved las' night some." "Which way? Up the bayou?" "No, jes* er foolin* eround like. "Some of 'em war down yar ter this yar house below yai\?" "What house?" "My house do you ineau?" Mr. Vernon end the lieutenant spoke yto aether, both of theui leaning forward as if about to throttlo Peevy, whose, dry, withered countenance did not change its expression. "What did ibey do?" stormed forth Mr. Vernon right in the man's face. "Cut up Jack, they did; kinder eleaued out the place, weeming folks an' ail the likes. Lef' nothiu* thar' 'ecptiusr a lot o' seared servants an' er couple o' lame mules." Mr. Vernon did not wait to hear more, but drove his spurs into his horse. The nervous animal rushed away like a bolt from some powerful engiue, tumbling Peevy flat on his back in the road. "Golly mussvl Land o' Canaan! Better jes' ouj'nt a feller's mortal frame an' tangle 'is bone eternally!" cried the surprised scout, scrambling to bis feet and examining his gnu to see if it was injured. "Guess Mary Ann air not hurt?air ye, Mary Ann?" He patted the long, heavy weapon as he spoke to it. "Ef Mary Ann air all right, it don't rnak'no diff'rence 'bout .me." . Lieutenant Ballaucho was, first of all, a good soldier, and although l'oevy's communication had seut horror through his soul he kept his head. The detachment headed by a '<ergeact reached the spot at this moment, and he ordered a halt while he hastily plied the scout with a few more qucstons. "Do you mean the house right ahead on this road, two miles l:uui here?" ho demanded. Feevy was busily wiping somo diri from Mary Aun's barrel ami stock. Without looking up, he answered: "Thel's jes' w'at I said ter ye." The lieutenant raotioued the troop to follow him, and set olT almost as rapidly as Mr. Yeruon had; but the seont took care to keep out of the way this time and stood looking after the riders till they passed out of sight. l'Wni ?]| jrurnnl fnr?]a thuw's If Ctl v* ail the bcatenest 'at I over sect!!" hs exMaimed, ^till rubbing Mary A.mi. /'It' they don't watch out, them r.ii Britishers 'ii twist, tbsr necks for '? ? 'fore they know w'at's happened. W'y they mek's more noise 'an er Pennsylvany wagon on er rocky road. Ham! Well, Mary Ann, we'll look eroun' erleetle bit more." He shouldered his rifle after reprinting it and trudged away through the woods. Mr. Vernon urged his horse v>r without one thought of what dangei he might be speeding to. His who!t life was centered in his wife ami daughter. It was for them that r.ll his wealth had been hoarded, ail hb plans laid, all his schemes wrought 3 0F^_ BY ISLAND >jr. H DURING THH WAR OF 1812. I THOMPSON, Zr T.cbcrt Socreri Son*. out. Tor years lie had dealt vrith th< mysterious Pierre Kamoau, not per sonally and directly, but through ar intermediate agent, and iu the mean time had formed a close friendship foi n ^ 1 T wl'AaA rnfd Annrnh'nn? , UUIOUCI XJUIiUg, nuvjo . aoi. ..... in Mexican mines lie bail shared furnishing a large amount of mouej and receiviug good returns upon tin j investments. Lately tins truth hue ! been coming into bis mind, and hi j now kuew tkcr$ was no Colonel Lor ' ing, no Mexican mines anil no invest j meats at all.upon which his receipt? | had ostensibly been based. In fact i ! appeared that Pierre Uamoa i hai i been all this time deceiving him an ' roistering in gaming-houses and othe place * of iniquity at his expense simply paying him interest on th. amounts squandered. Ho now saw t< what his years of illegal operation had brought him, and he reviewer with a sickening at heart the v/hoh dark, hidden life that he hal beet living; but what was ail this to an other thought which since his scvera interviews with old mau Rams hai' siiaped itself to snob proportions, that now it filled the whole vault ol consciousness as with a nebulous horror? Thir Colonel Loring, this mysterious Pierre Ramean, this man ! - l .11 *1.. 1.3 .,< ,i.? ttUUUl ail l IJ U \H?uu VI IUW ov.4?.... v.. | ' knew of and trembled at but- had ' never been able to see, had suddenly J become to him the embodiment 01 ; conscience and retribution. And what was to be the end? Mr. Vernon heard this question echoing about in his lumost heart where hoi kept his wife and daughter shrined? V>*hat was to be the cu 1? Would they ! soon know what he knew? Must his whole past life be unmasked to them? i But they? They were m danger this t Moment! In danger! Ilad not the j scout said tba* they were carried away i ly a British detachment? Me cjuid not realize the situation; nothing came to his mind with distinctness, so blurring was the cloud of his distress, Ballnnche aud his men followed Mr. Vernon as fast as they could ride, but did not overtake him till the plantation wis reached. There they found it just as Pcevy had said. The house was empty and silent. A body of the enemy had been there, both horse and fco^, as they could sec bv the print.-. in the sandy soil all around. Most ol the negroes were hiding in the swamp or in the tail grass of liie salt marsh to tho eastward. 1 Mr. Vernon-leaned from his horse n:irl rail iuto tlie building; but tberc j was nothing to greet liiui savo the sound of his own heavy footfalls. When Lieutenant Ballancho camt up, he too rushed into the house and azcd eagerly around as he hastened :rom room to room. An old negro woman was found hiding in a corner of the kitchen pantry, whither she had rnu on heaving their approach. From her they managed to get a pretty complete account of what had happened. It was, i:i ; substance, the same story as that told by Enos Peevy. The ladies, including little Lizette Lapin^had been carried away by a band of soldiers. The pooi old soul was still so frightened that ! her eyes rolled white and wild, and i she stammered so that she could hardiy | speak. I The rain was still drizzling, blown along by n wiud from Borguo and the marshes. In every direction, gray and ditn, the country stretched out, with not a moving thing in sight save the tossing tree-tops, the waving horsetail grass and the water-fowl beating 'along the shore-lines of bayou and lake. It was a landscape which might 1 have well served the artist of loueliuess. Mr. Vernon aud Lieutenant Bad lanciie went ?>ut of that desolate boast and remounted their horses. There j was nothiug left for them to do but to j go back to their duty in the army of Jackson. . It was just as thoy passed through 1 the cute of the close that a shot lauj.; : out sharp and short down in the woods beyond the road, j Lieutenant Ballanche was all alton; tiou at once; he ordered his men to fall into line. Another shot, aud then ; a scattering sputter of musketry fol; lowed. A uioiueut later, Euos Peery ! sk.nlke'' " ^ossdraped trees some hundred yard* . away. He was stooping low, trailing his long ritie aud running rapidly ! toward them. I Ballanche understood the situation j at a giauce. aud formed his men in j opeu "order behind the fence that j flanked the road on one side. Peevy soon came up autl stopped behind a tree to ram home a bullet in his gun. They saw him unstop the power horn with his teeth and carefully till the priitiiifg-pau. L'allnuciic rode close to him aud spoke in a lot* tone: ' Whore arc they, Peery?" "Don't ye see 'cm yonder?" "How many?" : "Twenty, inebbe." English uniforms glimmered he1 "? Cx< t lt?* rwetju me ticuft m iut uuw^ivu v*. i bayou. "I plugged o: 10 o' 'em," I'ecvy i added. "an' ef ye'il watch yo'll Fee ' me lliiniaiii auother 'n' pn^ty quick."' ! "Dou't shoot!" ordered the lie.tI tenant. "Couia back here with me. I Let them come ou." i The scout obeyed with bad grace, t for ho deemed it a shame not to shoot .. - t-i.V j. x ,_,j; t when an enemy offereil a fair mark, He walked beside the lieutenant'! horse and kept his keen eyes turned oaclc to sea- Ihe movements of th? scattered lino of redcoats. It was evident to Uullenohe that il his little detachment remained but a few moments longer where it. now was, its way to New Orleans would bo cut o!i'. He ordered Pecvy to mount beliiud him, a thing which the scout was very much opposed to. "I feels better an' safer onter ray feet," he urged, "an* 'en, besides, ??- . r.! i t:\em air aKK-stocsiu^ 101:013 uu ?. ( ketch me, nohow." But the lieutenant made uis order peremptory, and the lean, skinny riilemuu effected the mouut from the fence-top. Iu the shortest possible time the littio hau l was iu motion, going at a brisk paco along the road. But the enemy had seen them, and already the thiu red line over-lapped the way. There was nothing to dp, but to j make a dasu. Mr. Vernon was at the lieutenant's side when the order was given. Down they rode together, Peevy sticking on as beat ho could, grasping the saddle with one hand and swinging Mary Ann free in the ottier. A rattling volley and a chorus of shouts greeted them as they got well under way, and the ballets whistled I about tueir ears. Mr. Yernou'ri horse was the fleetest of all, aud so he at once became their leader. fie dashed upon and almost over a group of three red-coats in the middle of the road. One of them, after firing unsuccessfully at him, seized the horse's bridle and was dragged down for his paius. Baliauche, encumbered with the scout, was cot so successful; Mr. Vernon looked back and saw bim trying to uso bis sword, while his horse was reaiiug and plunging. Wheeling about and drawihg a long heavy kuife, his only weapon besides his holsters, he dashed to the young oflicer's rescue. "Punch 'is ctarual eye out:" Feevy was screeching "Whack 'im on the nose! .Tag 'im inter the ribs!" One of the English, a stalwart fel-: low, who was unaware of Mr. Vernon's i approach, turned just in time to have J jiis neck almost severed by a slash of j that terrible Southern knife. And just then the rest of the little detachment reached the spot and all broke through together without the loss of ! a man. "Golly, mussy!" cried Peevy, "this yar's uo decent way o' lightiu'! I can't do nothin' wi* Mary Ann an' 10'.* on ter this yar kickin' an' callyvortiu' annymil at the same time! Blame sieh eternal foolishness! Le' 's ! go back an' try 'em over ag'iu a-stau'- : in' outer the solid yarth." T?nt Lieutenant Jisllancbc gave no heed to his grnmbliug. He kuow that Jackson's army was taoviug and that j his place was iu the van. His mil- : itary experience told him thut the j | Engli ,h detachment through which ! they had brokeu was a party of recon- j naisnuee and that the enemy's ! army was moving up the bayou iu force. "To oUn't shoot ofTn a boss nohow," Peevey continued to snarl. "How kiu ye squint through the sights ou er gnn bar'l, when the an-. nyuiil air a hi'kiu' yo up an' er drap-! pin' yer down an' er jigglin' ye ever j so which way, I'd like ter know?i There's jes' not cr bit o' sense in tho j whole business! Ef I'd er been outo j my legs, 'stid cr ilammixin' eronud 1 on this yar eternal annymil, I'd a got j orbout four o' them air fellers shore os Mary Ann hedn't er st.apped!" Wkivn OrlpnMS. I >u,; - , Jackson was massing most of bis i available forces at a point some miles j down tbe river, anil all was cxcitemeut! ia tlic street. Mr. Vernou n.ct Fairfax ou a corner of li'tyal Street, and without a moment's liesitaiiou told him the terrible news of the fato that had befallen Mrs. Vernou, Paulino aud Mademoiselle de Sezanues. It was like a blow in the face to the young man; he actually staggerld back as if hard hit. "Cone! Taken away! Pauline in; the hands of those brutal soldiers!" | he faltered forth, gazing half doubt-[ ingly, half wildly at Mr. Vernon. "It j can't bo true! It isn't so, is it? Oh, sir, yon are not ia earnest!" lint lie knew by the old man's look that it was all true. "l'es, they arc gone?gone," said Mr. Vernon, "and the English army lies between us aud them!" Fairfax was as pale as if dead, and his dry lips would not move whon he tried to speak. In that moment of intense concentration of feeling he reviewed every happy hour that he had x -it Tk ? i: 1 .AAMur..i ever spsni wuu x ?uiiuc uuu twuicu every sweet word that she had ever spoken to hiui. It seemed us if by some sudden movement she had pat9ed from him jnst now. away to the farthest bounds of tho world. "Vernon," be cried, giving way for i brief spa^e to a burst of grief boyish in its iutonsity, "what can be done?" Mr. Vevnou looked at him very rtiinly and said: "There ;s lighting to b? done." "Dut what ? what will become? wlmt will 'hose brutes do.in the mean* > ?..? Afp Vavnnn lilll'J;viu ion nuic, . . v , that they are not there, hidden sarno. - here?or" "Calm y arself, ' said the old man, interrupting hi* passionate, almost in coherent words. "It is as I say. T;,ere i?i no hopo but in fighting." Fairfax felt a chill like death creeping throughout hi:: body, numbing and daziaff bim. There was nothing to say. i 1 groaned as one does whc is no: conscious of anything but ai unbcarablo agony of soul. (to uk continued.) ?.Ioro than 20,000 Parisians carrj their living as fortuuc-tellera, . oil. . ttr IN AID OF LEVEES A Letter From President Roosevelt is Read THE CONVENTION AT NEW ORLEANS One of the ftost Important Gatherings Ever Held la the Valley of the Mississippi. New Orleans. Special.?Resolved to appeal to the Federal government for adequate aid to levee both banks of the Mississippi river and to maintain such levees at maximum grade, thereby making possible the reclamation and protection of the alluvial lands and improving navigation, the largest and most influential levee convention held in the valley convened here Tuesday, when President Chas. Scott called 1 the Inter-State Mississippi River Improvement and Levee Association to order. The occasion was otherwise a not able one, by the direct announcement i by the President of the United States I of his sympathy with the movement which the convention proposes tp inaugurate. Th~ delegates represented eight or ten States of the Mississippi and Ohio valleys and included Governors, Senators, Members of Congress. high railroad officials and representatives of commercial exchanges and levee boards. In calling the convention to order President Scott defended the levee system and urged the constitutionality, the expedience and the commercial and military necessity of government charge of the river. Mayor Capedeville and Governor Heard made addresses of welcome. Chas. Scott was made permanent chairman of the convention, and John W. Bryant, of Louisiana, and W. A. Everman, of Mississippi. secretaries, and a committee on resolutions composed of two delegates from each State representing the ten-at-large were provided for. Before the convention took a recess, Chairman Parker, of the committee on arrangements, read a letter from President Roosevelt which aroused much enthusiasm. The President wrote: "My dear Mr. Parke!-: Permit me, j through you. to express my very great | interest in the work of the Inter-State levee convention. Exactly as I have taken a keen interest in irrigation fn the arid regions, so I feel that the movement for thoroughly protecting the Mississippi low lands by levees is one of importance to the whole country, no less than to the people immediately adjoining the great river. I wish all success to your convention and shall follow Its prscbedings with close attention. "Sincerely vours. (Sig.) THEODORE ROOSEVELT. When the letter had been read. Murray F. Smith, of Vieksburg. offered the following resolution which was unanimously adopted: "Resolved: That the thanks bf the people of the Mississippi valley are hereby tendered to President Roosevelt. through this convention, for his manly and patriotic letter, endorsing the improvement of the channel of the Mississippi r,iver and the protection of the vast area of alluvial and fertile territory along its banks from devastation by floods: thereby conserving and facilitatingg the vast and ' ? A growing lmer-oiaie cumuicrue ancau; transacted through the medium of great railroad systems behind the ievees." "It is requested that these resolutions be wired to the President." The convention took a recess until Thursday. At the opening of the night session Judge N. C. Blanchard. of Louisiana, spoke, urging government control of the levees. Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson. following Judge Blanchard. was welcomed with great cordiality. He said the question of government control of the levees was a new one to him. It interested him deeply and the people of the lover valley had his deepest sympathy in pushing it. The Secretary spoke for the new policy the government had adopted, a matter of irrigation in the West. He urged the imperative necessity of forest preservation and of dam construction for the dual purposes of adding agriculture and reducing the volume of water poured through the great river. Congressman J. E. Ransdell, followed Secretary Wilson. A Recomrmndation. Washington. Special.?The annual report or Surgeon General Rixey to the Secretary of the Navy recommends the reconstruction of the hospital building at Pensacola, Fla. The remodelling and enlargement of the hospital at Norfolk is urged. Admiral Rixey recommends the ccnstrurtion of two hospital ships to cost $1,630,000 each, saying that, although the first to use them, this country has fallen behind other nations in floating hosivtal equipment .si.-...a fiio QnsniKh u-ar Rpfprrine to epidemics of infectious diseases, during tbe year, it is recommended that provisions be made whereby recruits may kept for a period of three weeks before being permitted to join the/ naval force. Chass City Burned. Richmond, Special?A disastrous fl.e occurred at Chase City Tuesday morning. What remained from a former fire of the older part of the town wss practically swept away. The losers are Ft. n. Roberts ? Sons. Hughes ? Davis. Tisdale's estate. C. S. Watson, Tom Gee, Mrs. E. P. Berry, Mrs. E. V. Coleman. Mrs. S. J. Haggie. Pruden & Hutcheson, Ogburn & Brother ? Gregoty. The total I0S3 is placed at 524,000. The insurance Is $!.0,C00. * ' BECHTEL TRAGEDY. The Mother's Story Believed to Be Invention. POSSIBLE RESULT OF FAMILY ROW. Police Find Blood Stains on Walls of Her Brother's Room and Also His Bloody Overalls. Allentown, Pa., Special.?With David Weisenberg under $500 bail, supplied by Congressman Kline, and with Thos. Bechtel, her brother, and and Alfred Eckstein, her accredite lover, locked up in a police station cell, the Allentown police are resting in their work on the Mabel H. Bechtel murder case of Tuesday morning, until Coroner Sthierer's jury meets tomorrow evening. The mystery is still practically unsolved, except that indications point to a family row in which Eckstein may have figured, as he admits he was at Miss Bechtel's home on Monday evening for an hour and a half. Because Mrs. Bechtel had said her daughter left for a driyo on Monday at 9 a. m., efforts were made to trace the girl's movements away from home. Rumors that she was at a road house near this city were found to be groundless and the police do not believe the girl was away from home at all on Monday. Her brothers. Thomas, John and Chas. say they did not see her on that day and so also says her sister Martha. Martha usually slept with her widowed mother ,'n the second floor, rear room. Thomas occupied the middle room and John and Charles the front room. In the latter the police today, on thorough search, found blood stains on the carpet and on the wall paper, and it looked as if vigorous efforts had been made to wipe them out. Thomas' bloocfy overalls were found this afternoon in a neighbor's yard. In a drawer of a closet in the third story was found part of Charles' hatchet, such as sla ters use in slate roof, being his trade. | The remainder of the tools were found in another drawer. The break in the handle looks new and fresh. The police this afternoon put the entire Bechtel family, except the mother, under thorough examination. All deny any knowledge of how Mabel came to her death or who placed her body in the alley-way under the home on Tuesday morning. The mother was not called because of her hysterical condition. Eckstein was Miss Bechtel's accepted lever, though she also received attentions from Weisenberg. Eckstein and the girl were to have been married or. November 22, but the date was recentl} postponed until Christmas. They had frequent quarrels over Weisenberg's attentions. Eckstein being jealous of him. He had expressed threats to several persons that he would kill both. It is said he occasionally beat Miss Bechtel severely. The Bechtel family sided with Eckstein. Weisenberg was not allowed to enter the Bechtel home. Police Sergeant Knauss returned to Allentown from New York today with Weisenberg. The latter gave a detailed statement of his movements since Sunday which are corroborated fully. He had not seen the girl since Sunday evening, when he met her by appointment on one street corner when she had .111st leit n-rKsifiu m. uc corner. The police incline to the belief that the girt was not away from home on Monday; that a family row occurred over the girl's supposed duplicity to Eckstein, and her attachment for Weisenberg; that a blow was struck in anger which may have been more severe than was intended, and that the mother's story is ?n Invention. Two Records Broken. Memphis, Special.?The eight-day meeting of the Memphis Trotting .Association was brought to a fitting closeWednesday with the breaking of two additional world's trotting records. Lou Dillon. Mr. Billings' champion trotter, driven by her owner, went a mile to wagon in two minutes flat, cutting a second and three-quarters from the previous record made by herself, and The Monk and Equity, driven by Mr. Billings, their owner, lowered the world's trotting record of 2:09 for a mile to pole to 2:08. New* Notes. The run on the St. Louis banks is said tp be over. Twelve sticks of dynamite, done up in two packages, with fuses attached all ready to light, were found concealed in the lavatory of the inter-urban depot in Seattle, Wash. There were enough of the explosive to have blown up all the buildings within a radius of blocks and to damage property for a distance of ten blocks from the depot. Wm. Farr, of Tennessee, who was lfidicted in Nashville, was arrested in Washington yesterday by the postofflcc inspectors, on a warrant charging him with using the mails for fraudulent purposes. The search of the police for the murderer of Sagatel Sagouni. president of the Armenian Revolutionary Society in I.ondcn. who was shot and killed by an unknown assassin in the suburb of Xr.nhrad. late Monday evening, has been futile up to noon Wednesday. Charged with having been members of a hand of white cappers, which is uo\-n Tv'uT>r>p!l npcroe3 2nd aiiv^ru tu no.? v. i> f i' o burned negroes' houses in Pike county, six white men have been arrested at Lindwood, by United States authorities. Four people were killed in a wreck at Bessemer City, N. C., Wednesday. * Jura Eitiiis. J ? fllnor Events of the Week tall 2 Brief Form. jx / , j ?a?csskissibanaaaunanMnnl J S. C. LIVE STOCK ASSOCIATION. | $ Columbia, Special?The South Care- Vj Una Live Stock Association met inthf -1 rooms of the Chamber of Commerce J last week. There was a slight misamderstanding regarding the date and I place of meeting, which resulted fa a smaller attendance than was expected, though there was a represeatative attendance and much enthasiasm was displayed by all preseat A nntnhlo f pa hire nf the mpptlnr WXX ' - the presence of Mr. L. Studebaker, a noted breeder of Hereford cattle, at .-<$ Bluffton, Ind. His presence and tb? talk he made were of great interest, especially his methods used in breeding cattle that have sold as high as ft] $10,000, the latter figures being the price obtained for his famous Hereford bull, "The Dale." - ' /.LlM After some preliminary clerical work had received attention, Presi- J, dent John G. Mobley, of Winnsbom, called the meeting to order, and the nr nutes of the meeting held at Otaason College during the farmer^ Institute last August, were read and a*- *4 proved. Apropos of the resoleUgfete passed at that meeting. Mr. W. P. Harris, of Ripley, ortered a resolution, consolidating the Live Stock A?sociation and the Dairyman's Aseeciation into one organization, to he known as the South Carolina .live Stock Association. The constltatkm " % adopted at the August meeting wy A , J read and adopted for the general Association, and a set of by-laws were . 3 also adopted. A resolution was passei .J requesting all live stock organization* that will accept this constitution ant by-laws to become members of this ^ Association. The object is not to At- ' , <| stroy the identity of these organize- r\3 tions, but to form one strong central ' jj association witn several sections, representing the special branches^ at the live stock industry of the Stato. % The officers elected for the ensuing year are: President. John O. MoMer* of Winnsboro; first vice president, '% W. P. Harris, ot Ripley; second. Dr. Jos. H. Burgiss, of Clemson College; third. Dr. T. J. Kinard. of Ninety-Six; rj fourth. Augustine T. Smythe,' of * m Charleston; fifth. R. M. Peguee, of Cheraw; secretary-treaserurer, Dr. O. . E. Nesom, of Clemson College. A resolution was adopted to boil the next annual meeting at Clemson A College during the Farmers' Institute next year. The president first yice president and secretary were elected as a special committee to confer vtth the Clemson officials in arranging for the meeting. The executive committee was authorized to publish the constitution ft and by-laws, with a roll of the members, in pamphlet form. The question jg of holding a meeting of the Assoeta* ' . jM tion at Columbia in February, at tho J /-? Ka Co I? A eoAoiof inn moofa -ere m UUiC kuu 1'cui no owiawvu uivvw?t w?m? # 'NT"# discussed, but no definite action was taken. It may be safely said that Beutk Carolina now has a strong and acttvw live stock organization, that is den- ^ tined to become a power and press forward many questions and problems that concern our stock indnntsy in all of its phases, and will exert a great influence in the upbuilding of the breeding industry so long neglected. . . Palmetto Briefs. The Laurens Milling and Brekerage company, of Laurenfe. with a capi- ; tal of $10,000 has just received, it* charter, the incorporators of the torn ' jv being Mr. J. S. Machen, president and | secretary, and Mr. H. J. Martin vien Dresident and treasurer. Mr. Sidney May, who lives ? the old Satterwhite place In No. 6 Tmrn- 'A ship ,in Newberry county, sustained a heavy loss by fire on Friday night. His barn and btables, containing a wagon and buggy and a quantity of rough food were totally destroyed, and two mules and a horse were burned to death. The fire was discovered about 9 o'clock Friday night and was 1 put out. About an hour later the ftre started again and burned up the property completely. It Is believed to have been of incendiary origin. Quite a heavy hail storm passed over a narrow atrip of country from. Yorkville to Tirzah last Friday afternoon, doing more or less damage to open cotton along it3 path. Among the ' : sufferers were Messrs. M. L. Thomasson, J. W. Love and Abe Hope. V* , I Thomasson estimates bis loss is about one bale of cotton beaten into the ground until salvage was out of the question. The losses of the others were probably not quite so heavy. ' V* Tuesday morning in Bennettsville, $ Heury Patrick, white, a carpenter, 35 years old, shot his wife with a shotgun while she was lying in bed. She was about 23 years old. She lingered a short time only. Patrick was immediately jailed. It is said he was drink- > ing when he fired the fatal shot. Great indignation is felt at Bennettsville over the affair. The claim of the heirs of Willie Corrie, engineer of Florence, who was killed in North Carolina, has been settled with the A. C. L. R. R. Co., and the heirs have been paid $7,000. This is the largest award against the railroad in that section and reflects credit upon the attorneys for their claimants, who were Messrs Bryan & Bryan of Charleston and W. F. Clayton of Florence. Mr. David Johnson, of the Point neighborhood of York county, uad a valuable mule killed Friday evening by lightning. A negro who was ploughing the mule went to unhitch, beaeat ha near by tree when the rain 0 came on. Lightning first struck the tree and was then attracted from its deadly course to the body of the mule * which was instantly killed. Strange to say, the negro who was at that moment unhitching, was not also struck. Ho. however, sustained a serious v shock from which he has not yet recovered sufficiently to walk.