Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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^.??^ .v^??V ! aOfarJCTEB WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. 'Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's, and Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established jane, 1868. Aug. 2, 1881.1 SUMTER, S. C TUESDAY, JULY 4, 1882. New Series?Toi. L No; 49. :; SUMTER, S. C. * ">|Pwo Dollars per. anuam---i!i advance. One Square, first insertion ?.$1 00 ~^veryj;ubseOT"^ 50 -f^-'^?Kfete^or'fhree-^nAg,- or longer will bemade at reduced rates. All comm a nieaUoas which subserTe private interests wilibecharged foras advertisements, ji : ftofcomriesand tri an teg of rapect will be 'charged for. . '\ Marriage Dot?cet and notice? of deaths pub lished fce?w [ " vi'* - Yor^ jonworV or contracts: for advertising. ft?grtts Watel&zn?nd Southron, or apply at :isS&qt?$&& & gstben, Business Manager. :? Nice and Soft. Together they sat m the parlor alone, g S-At tjiedusfc of aSabbatiuda^; Her shapely head close to his own, T - ~:?? a tender, loving way. " % Hke4o4?y my bead, dear Will, 'Gainst yoursj" she murmured low . In tones which made bis pulses thrill, And* his face 'with rapture glow. '^Aodia?tbecaupejon love me, dove? - He asked; and then she cooghed. dear. Will, not that, bat love, Because it's nice and soft I" THE SECOND REGIMENT. - A -Cbaptor iu-tbe History of Eenhaw's -t*>^^Wfe?de^Tf)ie' TSmig Furled. ?-Me?. C. Kerriso7uJr.t w VhurUtton Weekly ^A.Vv : H ? ( A^ptai of years, almost a generation. Ig&t&?L, aua^odw ?882. Taking a retrospective view, of the deeds aod acts of-Korshaw's- Brigade and the Second " South Carolina Regiment of infantry, the<memory of its survivors freshens, .'aod incidents almost honed by the lapse af time rise as a panorama 'before ii?fe'Bnn??*;wye;, from the brigade's first " action atthe bombardment, aod taking of FortSumter, though at that time not . as a> brigade proper, to its patriotic and : immediate voianteeirng for Virginiaafter the fai|Ti*fjSumter.In the many fields of baHiay^ntl :Ron, Manassas, yea to tte^n^Eer^?lg never tarnished, and like many of her'sister brigades, from her own and other States of the Coo fed - - eracy her record is clear. Here and ir^were incidents in the brigade's :r out of the general run of the ar ffighting or battles?deeds by sin jiments, acta by single companies, i circumstances required and "which ??rcUjnatences were needed to be accomplished by a. portion of theorgan iaationa.<. - . - i-i TH? SfiO?X? SOUTH CAROLINA EEG DIENT *or^a?zed in the latter part of Novem ber or "the early days of December. jS^e?cttcg.i^"B. Kershaw; olf Gam dea, coloDel : J. D. Blaading of Sum --.ieM?feutenant colonel- and Dix H : Barnes, of 'Lancaster; major. At that ?i<ryr|)c>tod-of the great event scarcely anj^ realized the momentous political jrcsaten^ the-Xutore; Party . feeling. as we all known ran : Jri^?^ the actual parttcipaBta in the blflfedy drama which followed dreamed what was. to come of t iCf -War;' almost famine, and death to many a gallant fellow. The initiatory ^atep'was taken in the life of the Second Regiment in I860, and on the 6th day ofj&pril the nueleus of the future cegi & ment arrived .at Charleston. . A few weeks after the fall of Sumter the call ;*?V&ginia (the dear old Common wealth) stirred the warm blood of the Carolina heart, and the eloquent ap peals of Gen. Bonham and Col. Ker shaw induced four companies of Col. Kershaw'* Regiment to respond, viz : ? Capt. Richardson's of Sumter : Capt. ; Caper's, of Columbia, and Capt. Wal-_ lace's, ot Columbia. The other com panies remained under Lieut. Col Blanding and Maj. Barnes, and after wards were organized into the Ninth Regiment. The four companies under Col. Kershaw, on the eve of their de parture for Virginia, were presented with a beautiful stand of colors by Gov ernor Pickeus. Shortly after their ar rival at Richmond they were joined by six additional companies the Palmetto " Guard, Capt. Cuthbert; the Butler ' Guard, Capt. Hoke ; Brooks Guard, Capt7 Rhett; Secession Guard Capt. Perryman ; Capt. McManns's company - from Lancaster and Capt. Hail's com : p?ny from Kershaw. The necessary complement of the regiment was had aod the vacancies in the.field officers filled by the election of E. P. Jones lieutenant colonel and A. D. Goodwyn major. A few weeks drilling and enjoying the hospitable kindness of Richmond, found the regi - me n t on its way to Manassas Juncti on, '1 Gregg's gallant First Regiment preced ing it by a few days. The regiments were commanded by Gen. Bon h am. His brigade was shortly increased by the arrival of the Third Regiment, Col. Williams, the Seventh, Col. Baeon, and the Eighth, Col. Cash. The bri gade went into camp along Bull Ran and for weeks was engaged in throwing ??|L_earthworks from Boll Run to Fairfax Courthouse, there remaining and fortifying till the advance of the Fed erals. Falling back to Bull Run the realities of a soldier's life began. The _ poetry to a certian and very great ex tent was a matter of the past; the stern reality had unsurped its place. ON MARYLAND HEIGHTS. Following the battle of Bull Run on ' the 18th of June, 1861, came the battle of Manassas on the 21st. The march to the Peninsular and the fight at Wil liamsburg, the Seven Days' fight around Richmond, including Savage Station and concluding the seventh day at Mal vern Hill. Previous to the Seven Days' battles, the term of service hav ing expired, the regiment volunteered for the war. Col. Kershaw being pro moted to brigadier-general, Capt. Ken nedy wag elected colonel, A. D. Good wyn lieutenant-colonel and Frank Gail lard major. Remaining for a while in th?: vieinity of Malvern Hill, the bri gade marched north under Maj. Gen. MeLaws, rejoining the main army, crossing the Potomac near Leesburg, marching to Frederick City through a gap i? the mountains, entered Pleasant Valley. Climbing up Maryland Weight and driving a body of cavalry who were recoDooiteriog, the brigade at length reached the strongly fortified crest of the mountain, driving the enemy away. Upon the rout of the enemy on Mary land Heights, what a grand scene lay before us?green-covered hills and val leys, the silvery Shenand?ah meeting the Potomac, Harper's Ferry nestled below. There was the enemy's line of battle with its bellowing artillery, the brave Jackson, with his gallant com mand earnest m the attack, and oar artillery, drawn by.hand from the base of Maryland HeigifcT- pouring its de structive fire upon the enemy below. The surrender of the enemy followed. Harper's Ferry, with its immense stores, fell into the Confederate hands, suffer ing severely for rations, the command receiving none for two days, while on Maryland Heights. Disappointed the morning after the surrender of Harper's Ferry in not receiving rations; foot sore and starving, marching through the town on the way to Sbarpsburg, pausing daring the proceeding night for only four hours' rest and then the march renewed, passing through Shep berdstown, crossing the bridge and reaching the vicinity of the historic field near daylight. SHARPSBURG. A few minutes' rest. The morning, at first chilly and misty, cleared off .bright and cheery for the approaching storm of battle, Kersbaw's Brigade was 60?n in line, the old Second in her nest, flanked on each side by her brave copa tdbts. The charge made?Sumner's Corps sent reeling back?the brave [Georgians and the unparalleled Missis sippi Brigade of our Division, (Gen. McLaw's well and fully up to their work, the fight ended. The dying and the dead, the oft repeated anguish of the living, brothers, friends, yes, in some instances the father and son, dead on one common field. Just here, one episode, so striking in ita- singularity and carious reminiscence. 'The first sergeant of the Palmetto Guard was missing, with others on the fearful list : after careful search of the field, a few hoars before the change of position, his remains were found, with a smile on his countenance, his head rest ing upon his left arm, as if in sleep. He was dead,. wounded by a shell, las, : we found, in the foot?the spine broken by a grapeshot. We buried him at night by the light of impromptu tor ches a few minutes before the command recrossed the river. The burial of Sir John Moore flashed across our minds ; it was his favorite school-day poem, in early boyhood. The Potomac recrcssed, the command rested from its arduous services at Bruce or Brewer" Town, some ten miles from Winchester. . TREDERICKSBIIRG ? After recuperating for a time the march was'resumed for Fredericksbarg. Going into camp, there was plenty of fatigue and picket duty, and cold, bitter cold nights, then the fight. We can re collect the signal-gun, .startling and clear. The command in position ; brave Barksdale, with his Mississippians, re lieved by line of battle,.after its.-gigan*. tic work tn yesterday's advance of the enemy-Kershaw's Brigade, with others, in charge, of-the historic Stonewall?in front of Fredericksbarg, the Second in ber place. Charge after charge by the enemy?the old story has been told be fore. Why dwell on it ? The efforts of the Federals were of no avail, their gallant persistence broken, as attested by the brave dead of Meagher's Irish Brigade ; their dead in many instances lying within a few yards of the Confed erate line. Winter quarters, irith pick eting along the banks of the river? bine coats and grey jackets in sight of each other on either bank. The winter passes, and in May came the battle of Cbancellorsville. CnAXCELLORSVrLLE. The odds against the Confederates were great, but the genias of Lee and the great Jackson were equal to the emergency. The enemy is attacked in the rear by Jackson, and then forced back in front. In front of the brigade and near the line of the Second Regi ment a battery of Napoleon guns was rushed in advance of the infantry, by order ol Gen. Stuart, who assumed command of the corps after the wound ing of Jackson. The clear, tinkling vibration of the guns is distinctly audi ble to the infantry. A few minutes and the enemy is routed and Hooker is dri?en back in dismay. Changing di rectly to meet Sedgwick, the battle of Salem Church is fought near night, and then the next day Sedwick is driven across the river to his old quarters. Re turning to Fredericksbarg, and resting some weeks, then came the march to Gettysburg. The army in splendid condition ; every soldier confident, in - course of time the scene of that memor able field was reached, arriving about dusk and meeting with many of Ewell's command enthusiastic over the prelimi nary fight, which was to be followed the next day by the grand effort of the entire army. Resting on the eve, every heart beating with hope and determina tion, the" regiment and brigade were ready. Marching aud counter march ing in the vicinity of the Black Horse Tavern, we at last get in position. The Confederate artillery opening along the entire Hue?the boys all ready, hopeful yea, joyous over the prospect of success. THE CHARGE AT GETTYSBURG. As the order to forward is issued to the line, the artillery ceases, a calm comes, only to be banished by the car nage to follow. With rifles at the 'right shoulder shift,' the march common time, the infantry advances in steady column. The storm breaks. Shrieking, crushing, tearing, comes the artillery fire. Grape, cannister, shell and min nies from the Federals heap their de \ struction upon the devoted Confederates. Yet steady, onward, without firing a gun till the charge. Many a brave fel low bit the dust long before the regi ment opened. The bravery and cour* age exhibited were almost superhuman. Color-bearers were shot down one after another. In one instance, which may have been the case of many others, the color-bearer, a gallant youthful looking boy, when the order was given rally on the colors, in anticipation of his death, pushed his staff in the ground, and when struck by the death dealing min nie, his colors were there on which bis battalion rallied and dressed. Charge after charge, but impossible. Two cap tured guns were rolled off by two mem bers of the Second, but of no avail, for the devastating fire soon leaves them intact. The very dust around the feet, from the grape and cannister, rises as if from a Sirocco. Pictures of battlefields may be vivid, but what is the reality ? Many a gal lant command swept forward only to destruction. When the pall of night came to close the bloody scene the army though unsuccessful, was not defeated. The heroic spirit, the ' confidence was still unimpaired. One company of the Second South Carolina entered the fight with twenty-three men, at nighty but five remained ; and that is the history of many. After Gettysburg and the recrossing of the Potomac, the command fell back to Culpeper, remaining nearly all sum mer. In 'the fall, under its corps com mander, was ordered to join Bragg's army, participating in the battle of Chickamauga, after which, with the de tached command of Gen. Longstreet in the fight at Kooxviile and Beans' Sta tion ; after tais going into winter quar ters till the movements of Gen. Lee command our return to the mother Army of Northern Virginia. THE FIFTH OF MAT, 1864, . found us pushing rapidly forward to join the main army. The battle of the Wil derness was to come. At sunrise on the 6th we could bear the distant thun dering of artillery. With quick step we pushed forward and just in time. As the head of our column strack the Plankroad, so often spoken of by others, we met Gen. Lee and staff. No time to be lost. The enemy had surprised a position of the line. Wilcox's Division was driven back in less time than it takes to tell it. The Second Begiment gets into position by companies and be gins the hot work by companies as soon as they get to the front. Wbat a sight ! The solid blue line of the enemy flash ed with success ; a battery of guns oi the Confederates keeping them at bay, with no infantry support. The name of that battery should be historic. As the smoke of their guns would cleat away the colors of the near-approach ing column of the enemy were seen. But the scene changes. The old Sec ond gets to work. The entire brigade opens, and short work is made. The enemy break. The fight continues. The Second is detached for a time to fill a gap in a portion of the line, some distance from the brigade. With s steady fire the Federals are broken and the general rout begins. After, the ..battle, we take up the march to Spott sylvania Courthouse, where the enemy was again confronted. The Second was in reserve, but the enemy " extend ing his flanks, required all the infantrj to be put.in line, under the immediate eye of that gallant cavalier, Gen'. Stuart. The Second was placed in posi tion not a minute: too soon. Charge after charge of the enemy was repulsed and here occar-ed a scene worthy oi note. A NOTEWORTHY SCENE. ?^Fho?enemy succe?ded in rushing over a portion of the line protected by James' Battalion of the brigade, bui they were scarcely in when the bayonel was brought to play and they were hurl ed back, the battalion as usual meriting its reputation as one of the best com mands .in the brigade. Gen. Stuarl watched the battle, expressing his ad miration of the action. A few days afterward the brave Stuart died for the cause. The battle continued for sever al days, when Grant, finding it impos sible to b. eak our lines, moved toward the Pamunkey, making a feint at Han over Junction at North Anna Bridge, where four companies of the Second held the bridge successfully. Granl continued moving by his left flank till reaohieg Cold Harbor. The brigade under the gallant Keitt, was sent ou! to feel the enemy, striking him al Beulah Church, strongly entrenched. Here the brave Keitt received his mor tal wound. Finding the enemy-, in force and entrenched, the main army was rejoined and sharp-shooting and skirmishing commenced. AN UNWRITTEN STORY. One story unwritten iu the history ol the Second South Carolina Begiment: A very quiet afternoon at Cold Harbor, the year 1864, the month and day Jane oth. Two regiments in reserve, the Second and Seventh. The Third, Eighth, Fifteenth, Twentieth and James' gallant little battalion on the line. Not a sign of intention that the enemy would attack. We, the regi ments in reserve, bad scarce go! through our scant Confederate dinner, before the roll of infantry fire greeted the ear. A second after, a courier frone Gen. Kershaw reported with orders. Forward the two regiments in reserve (the Second and Seventh) with the order to double-quick and form iu real of a portion of the division works whici had just been surprised and captured bj the enemy. With his usual Scotch in stinct (he will pardon the expression] ! and that cool grit which a series o days of close relationship daring th< war impressed on the writer, Col. Wil liam Wallace of the Second, the scnioi colonel in the command of the two reg iments in reserve, ordered bis men for ward. The second fell into ranks being the first to receive orders, witl instructions to the Seventh to follow ai once. The Second, at quick time reached the place of atttack. To ex plain the position of the ground it it j necessary to Btate that the division ii I line of the works described a right an ! gle, so as to reach tho necessary point I the reserve had to file left on reaching the apex of the angle, and double quick in rear and near the line of Con federate works. So rapid was the mov( of the Second that the Seventh, (as gal lant a regiment as ever fought,) hac not time to reach and form with us. I was a momentous period, requiring judgment, decision and dash. Tb< Second formed on an elevation, aboul two hundred yards from the captured works, held by two regiments of tb( enemy, Forty-eighth and One Hundred and Twelfth New York. Pausing onlj for a moment *c get the regiment t( I front and into line, the order froa the colonel came : 'Fix bayonets, charge !' With the familiar Confeder ate yell, forward dashed the regiment. (without underrating numbers,) only one hundred and twenty rifles strong, driving the enemy pell-mell out of the works and re-establishing the line, cap turing the colors of the Forty-eighth New York. a singular spectacle. ' This is an episode in the past of the brigade, a matter of a few minutes. Between the captur? made by the enemy and the retaking of the works occupied scarce fifteen minutes. A delay of as many minutes more would bave given the enemy time to reinforce, and then the result to Lee's army might have been doubtful. Before the Second ar rived on the field a singular spectacle was presented. The enemy were in the works, flanked right and left by the Confederate troops, both standing firm awaiting results, neither daring tojmove, both passive, hoping for reinforcements. In afterthought this daring act of pluck and necessity was plain?at all hazards to make the charge was necessary. From report of the enemy, the inten tion was to make an effort to capture a portion of our line and if successful to reinforce. The question was simply time with both sides. The same was apprecia ted, and hence the charge of the 'Forlorn Hope.' When the disparity of numbers, one small Confederate regiment against two full Union regiments, is considered, surely the affair has a place on record. The action may not be ooparalled, but for dash, gallantry and successful result will challenge the admiration. To write a connected story of any brigade requires leisure and memory. History must do that. But in . the lit tle moments of life and oftentimes in the night a recollection of past scenes and comrades, who now sleep the sleep of the brave, makes the pulse mount high and the pen quicken. The Sec ond was a participant in all the shifting scenes of Cold Harbor, followed by Pe tersburg, and then, after a time, sent to the Yalley, under Early, participating in the victories and defeats of his army including that brigade fight at Charles? town, Virginia, while on picket, and the brigade fight a few days previous to the Cedar Run fight, when the gallant Gen. Connor was disabled for life, also Berry ville and numbers of other minor affairs. In January, 1865, the brigade was ordered to Sooth Carolina to resist the advance of Sherman, tak ing part in the varions skirmishes till the evacuation of Charleston ; then into North Carolina; present at the fight at Averysboro', and closiog its record at the field of Beotonville. At Smith ville the twentieth Regiment con solidated with the Second, the Second retaining its name and colors. Its offi cers were William Wallace, colonel; J. D. Graham, lieutenant-colonel, and G. Leapheart major. : ^ It has been the endeavor to. conS?nse as much as possible in this article, leav ing, to other and abler pens to go more into detail, for each company in the command had an interesting and daring experience. The names of the wound ed and dead are omitted, for it is impossible to remember many who fell, and to omit one would be unintentional injustice. Their'deeds can only be re cited by a comrade from their imme diate company. Also the many gal lant personal acts of the commanders of the Second. Gen. Eershaw, Gen. Ken nedy and Col. Wallace; the death of Lieut.-Col. Frank Gaillard, at the Wil dreness, while cheering on his men ; and the nnselfish and gallant d?votion of the brigade Adjutant-General, C. R. Holmes, (an officer orginally appointed from the Second South Carolina,) and the acts of the Palmetto Guard. Fidits et audax. The finale had come. Johostou had surrendered, and around the camp fire were seated men who pos sibly met for the last time. The con versation was dreary and disconnected? home thoughts mingled with the past? a hard future was before us. The news of the assassination of Lincoln added an other weight to the oppressed feeling. in a day or two the good-bye was said?the flag furled-?and the Second Regiment passed away. From the Wilmington Star. A Correction. Editor Star:?Among the Southern Items published in this morning's issue of your valuable paper, I find the fol lowing lines : 'President Porcher, of the South Carolina Historical Society, claims that Whitney did not invent the cotton gin after all. He has found a latter-patent granted by Gen. Washington to Hog den Holmes of, Georgia, for a si miliar device which he produced in 1796.' Believing that no mao is infallible, not even a President of a Historical Society, and that justice should be done, even at the expense of an officer who is presumed to be well informed on the topics he treats of, I submit tbat Mr. Porcher is mistaken in his inference, and does injustice thereby to the mem ory of the great inventor. Because he has found a letter-patent for a similar device in 1796, he asserts that 'Whit ney did not invent the cotton gin.' But Whitney's 'saw gin' bad been in vented prior to that year I On page 113 of the work published at Hartford, Coon., in 1872, and entitled 'One Hundred Years' Progress of the United States,' one of the ablest writers of the South, Prof. C, F. McCay, records the fact that Whitney's 'patent was issued in 1703,' or three years prior to the one discovered by Mr. Porcher ! From the same writer we learn that while Holmes was probably engaged in invent ing the cotton gin, Whitney carried on several vexatious law suits against many parties that had infringed his patent right. M. N. Delson. June 22, 1882. We have examined one authority at hand and find McCay is correct. Zell's Cyclopedia says it was in 1793.?Edi tor Star. Poor whisky makes rich divorce lawyers.?[Chronicle Herald. Now tell ue what good whisky does. ?Williamsport Banner. Well, with the other ingredients, it makes ex cellent milk punch. It also causes bad headaches, creates a demand for Seltzer water and makes America ashamed of its Congressmen.? [Chronicle Herald, ARP'S APHORISMS. [Southern Cultivator and Dixie Farmer.] A merchant or a lawyer or any out sider who never farmed aDy has got an idea that farming is a mighty simple and easy innocent sort of business. They think that there's nothing to do but to plow and hoe and gather in the crop, and there's no worry or complica tion about it, except, you can't get a rain every time you want it, and the crop is short in consequence. I had pretty much that sort of a notion my self, but, I know better now. I've been farming for five years and I like it bet ter and better, I like the freedom of it, its latitude and longitude and its varie ty, but there is a power of little worries and not a few big ones that a man has to encounter and provide for that these outsiders never dreamed of. When a man is . running hired labor it takes about half his time to watch 'cm and keep'em from wasting things and los ing things and doing things wrong. I went down in the field yesterday and stumbled on the monkey wrench in the grass by the turn row and it had been there for a month and I bad hunted for it all over the premises and nobody j could tell any thing about it but now the darkeys 'members takin' it down dar to screw up the taps on the cultiva tor y not long ago I found the hatchet in the bushes where one of the boys bad cut poles to lay off by. I can pick up scooters and dull plows all about the farm, in the corners of the panels and on the stumps where they put'em when they change 'em. My log chain is missing now and the little crow bar and one of the hammers, for sometimes I have to leave home for a few days, and although these niggers and my yearlin' boys do their level best to sur prise me with doin' a power of work while I am gone, they don't notice lit tle things, they loBe at the bung hole while stopping np the spigot, or vice varoy, as the saying is. They bore the auger bit against a nail, or dull the saw in the same way and let the old cow get into the orchard, or the hogs into the ta ter patch. I've got good workin' boys and right industrious dar keys, but it takes a man with a head on and his eyes arel! open to keep up with 'em and watch out for little things? little damages that aggravate a man and keep him in a fret, that is, if he is but human and can't help fretting when things go wrong. A nabor bor rowed my brace and bit and the bit came back with one corner off. another one borrowed my cross cut saw and it came back awful dull and will cost me a new file. They don't like it if 1 don't lend tbem my mower to cut their clover, though they never have cleaned np the. rocksjn it, ? darkey will work a mule ?0??????ta^ft9_h..9urs with ^e ham es out of the collar and u%%tf see it, and he thinks it mighty hard if^yoa. w.onlt lend him a mule to ride to aseetin' of a. Sunday. But I won't do that. They beg me out of a heap of things but they shant ride my stock of Sundays,' for I hate to do it myself, and when a dar key gets on a mulo and out of sight be is like a beggar on horseback, he'll ride him and run him as long as he can stand up. I like the darkeys, I do, but I havn't got much hope of 'em ever being anything but the same old care less, contented, thoughtless creatures they always was. If we don't own 'cm as we used to we bave got to act like we do, for there is no other way to get along with 'em. I've got one who. took a notion he would lay up half of his wages in spite of himself and he told me to put it in the contract that I wasn't to pay him but five dollars a month and keep the other half till the end of the year. And now he tries to beg me out of the other five at the end of every month, but I won't pay it, and he goes off satisfied. They all want guardians just like orphan children. We board two of 'em and they eat more than my whole family, aod they want coffee and buttermilk, and meat and syrup, all at the same time, and it looks like we can't get enough for 'em, but they can go off on a frolic and do with out vittleg for two days and a half, and keep fat. Nabor Freeman came home the other day and found his nigger ten ants right smart behind with their crops, and that they had all been off to a three days meeting and an excursion besides, and so he got mad and hauled up Bob, and says he : 'Bob what in tbe dickins are you all goic' to so much meetin' for ? What is the matter, is the devil after you with a sharp stick, and a bug on the end of it V Well now, mas Ed, says Bob : 'I'll tell you how it is, we niggers have been seein' for a long time dat you white folks done got dis world and Gen. Grant nor nobody aiot a gwine to giv' us nig gers any of it, and so we is gwine to meetin' and prayin' and fixin' up to take d? next world as soon as we can git dar, that's all,' aod Bob stretched his mouth and showed his pearly teeth, and laughed loud at his own wit. Na bor Freeman says, he couldn't abuse him after that. Me and Mrs. Arp both talked right seriously to our darkeys about being vaccinated for the small pox, and told 'em I could do it from the children's arms and not cost 'em a cent, but old Tom, the Patriarch of the family, is very superstitious, and bas got some suspicion that tbe devil has something to do with it, and he shakes his head, and says, he 'don't know nuf fin about it, and if de Lord gwine to giv' 'em de small pox, dat a man can't keep it away, and if de Lord don't want 'em to have it, it won't come, it all de pends on de Lord anyhow.' It's right smart better to run a farm with a limited amount of stock and bave no separate carriage horses, and every once in a while the girls say, that they are just obleeged to pay a visit to a na bor, or go to town after some little dry goods, and so I bav? to stop a plow for that, (if it is possible,) and I always strain a point to make it possible, and then again some of our kin write usa note to meet them at the depot, and we have to go after'em and take 'em back again, crop or no crop, and on tbe bold a poor man has to farm sorter on the strain and it takes a smart man to do it and make it a success, don't it. But after all it's the best business I know of, and the happiest. BILL ARP. 4 bald head is a fly's paradise How Silk is; Reeled in France. I -. To ike Editors Scientific American : I was glad to see in tbe Scientific American of March 4 a correction of an exaggerated estimate of the profits of silk culture, which had been copied from another paper into one of the num bers for February. The figures given in the article published in the number of March 4 are in general correct, and it seems to me, arc qnite encouraging enongh to induce people who are so sit uated as to carry on sericulture to ad vantage to enter into it. Those who ate best informed on the subject feel thai: the time has arrived j when this industry may properly be in troduced into th? United States and that with proper management it may be made a very Important matter. A hopeful sign of the progress being made is that there seems to be in the discus sions and reports published about silk raising an absence of anything like speculative feeling, and a desire to ob tain and disseminate reliable and ex act information. X hope, therefore, that you will ki adly permit me to call attention to an important branch of the subjecct, concerning which the article in the number of your paper referred to is-not very clear, nor sufficiently ac curate. I mean reeling. The statement that 'skillful reeling doubles the value of the cocoons' has. as I find by correspondence,been made use of at home io a manner calculated to give rise to false impressions, and in some cases to excite hopes which are sure to be dissar,pointed when brought to a practical tes s. It is true that silk may be reeled by tbe raisers of the cocoons io their homes with very simple apparatus, and at times when the reelers have no other profitable work to do, but it is no less true that these people might also em ploy such time in spinning, weaving cloth for their household use, in mak ing their own boots and shoes, or io carrying on any of those industries which were formerly domestic matters, but which because of a better organiza tion of manufacture, it is at present infinitely more economical to prosecute in large establishments especially organ ized for the work and supplied with proper machinery and appliances. It requires very mncb less skill to weave cloth or to make shoes than to reel silk properly, and I think that a woman of average intelligence and ad dress would find a spinning wheel or a hand loom a much better investment than, a silk reel, even were she provi ded with cocoons. Every one is aware that the spinning wheel and domestic loom have disap peared, and I presume that a proposal to return to their use as a means of em ploying the unoccupied time of Ameri can women of tbe middle rural classes would be looked upon as simply fantas tic and absurd. Tha^the/iSca ofrecYfng s?lVI?jTtiTe raisers ofihe cocoons is not regarded at home in the saune light is simply be cause of want of irifttavvstion^ In Europe large and well or^o.jzed filatures for silk have displaced domes-" tic reeling to at least as great an ex tent as cotton, woolen, and linen facto ries have superseded the domestic pro duction of cloth. Tbe following figures concerning silk reeling may be relied upon as accu rate, and I trust will be found of ser vice in showing with some degree of clearness what are itbc facts in the case. At present quotations a pouud of yellow French cocoons, (dry) is worth $1.20 in tbe markets of Marseilles and Milan. To produce a pound of raw silk requir es on average 3 6-10 pounds of such cocoons, thus making the cost of the raw material for a pound of silk ?4.32. There is also produced in reeling a by-product called 'frison,' coming from the silk upon the cocoons, which is not transformed into thread. This is I worth about seventy cents for each pound of silk -produced. Deducting this amount.from tbe total cost of co coons, there remains $3 62 as the cost of the silk in the cocoons which is to be transformed into a pound of raw silk. The value of the pound of raw silk, when produced, depends very largely upon the skill of the reeler, and tbe more or less favorable -circumstances under which tbe reeling is performed. Badly reeled silk, produced from good cocoons, is worth at present about 40 francs a kilo, or, say a little less than $3-40 a pound, somewhat less, in fact, than the market price of the cocoons necessary to produce it. On tbe contrary, silk produced by tbe best filatures, and exceptionally well reeled, sells for fromi 68 to 70 francs a kilo ; say, on an average of present prices, $6 a pound. In ooint of fact, it has become impossible tor women to gain anything by reeling at home. Those of tbe country women whose ne cessities compel them to become reelers, and who possess the requisite skill, are obliged to become employees in large filatures. These establishments are usually in country districts, and the workwomen, besides working from twelve to fourteen hours a day, often walk long distances to and from the filature. As a recom pense for a long day's labor, for the skill which it has required years of practice to obtain, and for a labor which requires unremitting attention, a cramp ed and never changing position, confine ment in an atmosphere impregnated with steam and acrid vapors, and the constant dipping of the hands in scald ing water to an extent which often pro duces special diseases, they receive very poor pay. In France the average pay of a reel cr is from twenty to twenty-eight cents a day, according to the locality aud the degree of skill which she may possess. An Italy women are paid from twelve cents (for basseuses) to nineteeu cents a day for the best rcclcrs. It must be understood that for this pit tance the women arc obliged to feed themselves and provide for all their wants. Even while paying these frightfully low wages, a filature can only be made profitable by the exercise of constant supervision and care, and the uniform production of a really good article. Tbe reason is that it requires so much work to reel so little silk. Up to within a very short time it has been considered quite impossible to re gulate the reeling mechanically, aod although the details of the filature have been much improved, euough so as to render competition by the old fashioned hand reels out of tbe question, the prin ciple has always remained the same, and it is still necessary for a skillful woman to watch the unreeling of near ly 1,500 miles of cocoon filament for each pound of silk obtained. This, as has become well established is the reason why silk culture and reel ing have never been successful in America, and every one possessed of the least humanity must hope that tbe day is far distant when it will be possi ble to compel any one in bur country to do so much work for so little pay. I do not claim tbe merit of any origi nality or remarkable insight in this matter. Zhe facts above stated are thoroughly well koowp and familiar to all who have properly investigated the matter. As has become well known,the ques tion of raising silk in our country is re duced to a question of the possible in j vention of machinery for transforming I the raw material (cocoons) into a mer [ chantable and useful pre j net (rawsilk,) and attention bas often been called to the analogy of the case to that of cotton raising at the time of the invention of the cotton gin. I am greatly in hopes that the auto matic silk reel of Mr. Serrellis destined to solve thr? important question for us, as the Whitney cotton gin solved the question of cotton raising. Tbe automatic reel is just now creat ing a great deal of excitement even in Southern France and Italy, countries which are possessed of very cheap and skillful labor, aod much afflicted by the spirit of routine. Should it prove as successful as it bids fair to do, there will be no question of tbe success of silk raising in America, but unless either it or some similiar invention can be made to answer, silk culture in America must be abandoned or so or ganized as to permit of the exportation of cocoons. I Lave had much pleasure in aiding to arrange for tbe sending to America of some of tbese machines as an experi ment, and am sure that were tho im portance of tbe affair' properly under stood, everybody would share my anxi ety as to the result. Please pardon this demand upon your attention. I am sure that the spirit which has always been manifested in your yaper will cause you to agree with me in the feeling that every means should be taken to present clearly all matters relating to a new industry in our country which must be undertaken by people too little organized, too scat tered, and too remote to collect the in formation for themselves. F. C. Peixotto. Lyons, France, April 25, 1882. Mark Twain and the Lady x Passenger. Mark Twain says : I got into the cars and took a seat in juxtaposition to a female. That female's face was J a perfect insurance company?it in sured, her against ever getting mar ried to any?-6\#^^ut a blind man. Her mouth lookedT??th^-Srack in a dried lemom and there was nfcvjQiore expression in her face than there is in' a cup of cold cu3tard. She appeared as though, she had been through one famine and had get about two-thirds through another. She was old enough to be great grandmother to Mary that bad the Jittle lamb. She was chew ing pnze popcorn, and carried a yel low rose, while a bandbox and a cot ton umbre"a nestled sweetly by her side. I couldn't guess whether she was on a mission of charity or going West to 6tart a sawmill. I was full of curiosity to hear her speak, so I said : "Tho exigencies of the times re quire great circumspection in a per* son who is travelling." ' Says she, "What?" Says I, "The orb of day shines resplendent in the vault above." She hitched around uneasy-like ; then she raised her umbrella and said, "I don't want any of your sass?get out !" And I got out. The Parrot Wondered, Two sailors went with a tame parrot to a show in Tokio, where a Japanese was giving an exhibition of a sleight-of hand, interspersed with acrobatic feats. At tbe eud of each trick the sailors would say: 'Now, isn't that clever! Wonder what he'll do next ?' With each act of tbe performance their astonishment increased, and they kept muttering : 'Wonder what he'll do next ?' The parrot heard this exclamation so often that he picked it up off band, as it were. Presently the Japanese undertook to keep in the air a number of bamboo sticks ignited at both ends, but having his attention distracted by a movement in the audience, he allowed one of the sticks to drop. Unfortunately it fell upon a heap of firecrackers, bombs, etc., which exploded, blew out the walls, blew off the roof, scattered tbe audience in all directions, and sent the parrot, minus its tail-feathers and one eye, about 400 yards. As the bird came down with a flop, it shrieked : 'Wasn't that clever ! Won der what he'll do next V Scene?A small lawn on Seneca street. Time?Noon. Personages? A parrot sunning itself on a perch be side its opened cage-door : and a strange dog wandering upon the lawn. The parrot speaks first, 'Siek ! sick ! sick him !' Tbe dog with ears and tail erect looks about for something upon which to charge ; he espies the parrot, and an exciting scene ensues. From out the confused mass of dog-hair and parrot feathers come the shrill cry, 'Get out ! D?n you, get out !' Dog breaks for the street. Parrot after look ing at herself from head to foot, gravely exclaims : 'Polly, you talk too much V ?Cleveland Yoke. 'Do you play croquet ?' 'No, I don't play croquet, but my Sister May, who is very gay, plays croquet every fiue day, in a most charming way, and is quite au fait/ raise tue rapers. Why don't rou take the papers? They're the life of my delight Except about election time, And then I read for spite. Subscribe I yon cannot lose a cent, Why should you be afraid? For each penny thus speot is money lent At iaterest four-fold paid. ^ Go, then, and take the papers ; And pay to-day, nor pay delay, And my word heard, it is inferred You'll lite until you're gray* About Love. Mr. Factandfancy had noticed : That the boy who is most afraid of the girls is the first to be corraled into matrimony. That the little boys prefer boys to - girls That they toon change, never to g? back to theii early love. That the little girls love the girls best. That tbey don't get over their prefc erence as soon as the boys do?some of them never. ?~~ That the women love the men because they love everything tbey have to take care of. That men love women because they can't help it. That the wife loves bet husband so well that she has no thoughts for other men. That the husband so loves his wife that he loves aH-women for her sake. That the married man is apt to think himself all-killing among the fair sex simply because ife has found one woman fool enough to marry him. " " That homily husbands are the best. They never forget the compliment paid them by their wives io accepting them. That homely wives are tbe truest*. They know how to make the mosl-of what they have. That the man who marries late io lite does well. That the man who marries young does better. That the man who never marries is to be pitied. That the woman who marries doer well. N That the woman who does not marry does better nine times cut of ten.? Boston Transcript. Folks to Keep Away From. 'Dar am sartin folkses I want to keep away from,' began the old man as the/ - voices of the club died away on the last strains of 'Sarah Jane's Baby.' X mean that class of people who groan-? ober de wickedness of de world, an' who have heartaches anvsorrows^ to" nj&Uc aroun' de kentry at do reg'lar twfcct rates. Dax am de oie man Tanner. Ho ^ fc/eTober tb~seb^ue now an' den, but he can't sot still case -somebody stole his dog, or hit him wid a brick-baT,~?r?; beat him out of seventy-five cents. lie fully believes dat de world am g wine to smash at de rate of fifteen miles an hour, an' it would eanemost kill him to lose his old wallet an' find a man honest . 'miff to return it. 'De Widder Plomscll comes ober to borry some butter for supper, an' she raps down on a cha'r an' heaves a sigh ag^Dlrgs^sa barn doah an* goes dis am a^ioTan^unTteim^ll^^ din? to her tell all men am als all women extravagant, an' all chill'en just ready to come down wid de measles. Tears run down her cheeks as she tells how she has to .work an' plan while everybody else has money to frow intct Lake Erie, an' she wipes her nose on her apron as she asserts dat dis wicked world can't stan' more dan fo* weeks longer. 'Deacon Stripes draps in to eat pop* corn wid me of a Friday ebenin' an' he hardly gits out from under his hat befo' be begins to tell what his first wife died of; how bis second run away; how his third broke her leg by fallin' off a fence au' cost him $28 14 fo' doctor's bill, an' befo' he gits frew you couldn't make him believe but what de bull world was dead agin him. He predicts a-late spring, a hot summer, poor ?rops," high prices, a bloody war, an' goes home feel in' dat he am stoppin' on earth only to accomodate somebody. 'I bave no sorrow ob my own. I've been robbed, but that was kase I left a winder up. I've been swindled, but dat was kase I thought fo' queens would beat fo' aces. I've bought lottery tick ets which didn't draw ; I've bio sick unto death, an' I've bin shot in de back wid a hoir brick-yard, but I do not sor row an' I do not ask for sympathy. De world am plenty good 'nuff far de class ob people livin' in it. Honeet men am uot lonesome fur company, an' honest women am sartin to be appreciated. De janitor will now open fo* winders an' we will proceed to bizness.' 'Well, brethren,' said a Maine minis* ter to some of his fellow-evangelats, *I never was guilty of laughing in the pnt pit but once. Some years ago I had in my congregation an old man wbo uni versally went to sleep in church and snored loudly throughout the entire service. One Sabbath morning, glanc ing in his direction, I saw him as usual, with his head back enjoying a nap, and right above him, in the gallery, a young man was rolling a large quid of tobacco around in bis mouth. As I looked he took it out and pressing it into a ball poised it carefully over tbe open mouth below. I became so interested in the proceeding that I forgot to continue *hc sermon, but stood watching the young man. With a wicked smile he took careful aim and dropped it squarely into the old man's mouth. With a gulp-lp ly the sleeper started up and with face red as a beet rushed from the house. The people no doubt were horrified, but' I could not have kept from laugh' ing if a sword had bung over my bead ready to fall. Tbe old man did not come back for several Sabbaths, and when he did he changed his seat and remained wide awake.' Now, my boy, take those eggs, to the store, and if you can't get a quar ter a dozen, bring tbcm back.' The boy went as directed, and came back, ^ saying : 'Father, it takes me to makj trade. They all tried to forty cents, but I scrcwj twenty-five,'? Quiz.