The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, March 04, 1884, Image 1

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J?ttablislied April, IS50. R&iig* 2,.. 1881.1 kBe Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at. be thy Country's thy God's, and Truth's." SUMTER, S, C., TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 1884. TBE TKUK SOUTHRON, list?iblisheel June, 1866. New Series-Vol. ill. No. 31. ;v 3^piBRgfers t^r anb?m-?D advance. f|:tHfrl8??3S^bat insertion. .:.$i ao p^Biid^BmiieQt insertion-oO ^^efipiS?fortfcreeiBOttths, or longer will ^~;^3^l50M sobserve private ^^^?BMH^^cfa^rg^l for as ad vertisemen ts. Objjtoaxies and trautes of respect w?? b? ^ptSn?^imices and notices of deaths nuU ^^^^?^S^widC or contracts for advertising tely Pure. ^i||pwder.>?feTer varies. A marvel of jmCTfyetxae^ta, -and wholesomeness. More - acockisrieaj tiran the ordinary kinds, and can arffWsold is csMSetition with the multitude : ?fie^ teit/sfaoTt weight, alum or phosphate Sojd only in earns: - ROYAL B A K IHG rowfrssco., io? w*i:-stM N. Y. 'n mi ? !' ?. i .- _ ? * ....... . Se t?a 2o cents TO THIS . ^?fjt^lfejpt 4% omcs fur a copy of a IWIIP VC ttew norse book which fflHIj C^ireats of ?ll diseases -~ Tm W ~ 'of the horse, and is ; ;^,.1?7?-;:- thoroughly-ilhistra sedj?itfj^ fice engravings, shoo ing the posi ligjffii?saaicd by sick horses better than can ..?i??-c*=?^-.. - - . t^tanght ?n any other ? ff* -' recipes, most of which . . ::._were originated by : ^ ; Js? I *. j tBe author, and never f? before J&tJtLprint. It is pronounced the best bock ?tr p?bfehed for the price, and some ;< y i ''-i i - prominent horsemen ; Ocr* jP^PS ^**E 8A'^ L^E^ PRE^R" . 4^ y x O* redit to books which * . .fa^. i ,.- cost $5 and $10. ~ ? ; ?&?KT& WASTED. .ThJ* vm?t?kfcl? book .will* be presented free :to?rtl sea* subscribers to the Watchman and ^?iftfrfflT'iiTii? pay for one year in ad va ti ce, a?td ?Saoto old so bscribers who pay all arrears and a year in advance. W TKENDAL?S?% ?^rM?^f S?C??ESSrTL REMEDY ever ! Jfrc?wed as it ia certain io its effects andi ?oe? not blister. Read Proof Bel rr. k Frxmjhjc "Spirit of the T?mese Dee. 22, '83. j ft is admitted there U a great advance in veterinary science w rt hin the past decade, yet . nany will scrrcely believe that a spavin cure is possible. Fprtocate indeed, however, is it fat the poor hors** suffering from lameness of lids kind that Kendall's Spavin Cure has bee* discovered, as it is certain in its effects ?ad bas worked wonders in thousands of such esses?, Send, for illustrated catalogue, ?riving positive proof, al.*o for sample copy of Ken? dall's Treatise on the Horse and his Disease? ; both free. Price of the Spavin Cure, $1. Ad? dress' VT. "I*'." J. Kendall Co., Proprietois, Eaosborgh Falls, Yt. Fro* thc "Sj?r? of the Tune*;' Nov. 17, 83. Tba successful treatment of ringbones, sassies, aad, joint lameness has not been prevalent ia the veterinary profession, but vr fad that Dr. Kendall bas discovered a ?atldy for such troubles that is doing noble woTkeverywhere. This remedy is certain in \ its effects, and does not blister, but it has a \ magical effect in-reducing the enlargement r and driving put the lameness, as hundreds of i testi'fion?a?s prove. Price SI. For sale by druggists everywhere, and bv Dr. B. J. Ken? dall Co^ Enosborgh Falls, Vt. XgifPATA^ SPATCT CTOE. ON HUMAN FLESH. NORTHVILLE, DAKOTA, NOV. 20, 1S83. ;DrvB. J Kendall k Co., Dear Sirs :-En stoSeS please find 25 cts. for your book enti fftd^A Treatise on the Horse and hi* Dis? eases.' You may look for more orders in -ft fore if it is as advertised. Your Spavin Core .fcorks wonderful with rheumatism, re? lief is immediate, aod its action permanent. Brery" person ought to have a bottle of it. Have had no occasion to use it on my horses yet,,bot too much can not be said of its re fsarkable effects on bnman fltsh I used that frat np for horses, and its effects weie truly resaarkable. Please send the books as soon aa.f?w?b?fe and oblige. Yours truly. A.B. BROWN. Price $lspef* bottle or 6 bottles for $5. All druggists have it or can get it for you, or it irai be sent to any address on receipt of price by the proprietors. Dr. B. J. Keudall k ?S-, Enoshargb Falls, Vt. SOLD ST ALL DBTTCrGrlSTS. Itt Pr KICKER & CO , ; SUMTER, S. C., DEALERS IN FOBEIGN AND DOMESTIC Liquors, Wines, Tobacco and T ; Cigars. We bare now the tergest and best selected stock of T- arar offered itt Sumter. Pure N. C. CORN WHISKEY and pare N. C. APPLE BRANDY a speciality. Try opr JOHN MCCULLOUGH CIGAR and ? - BLUE JEANS TOBACCO. f^CfttBt i* need of any goods in our line ?r?HjWWiironey by firing as a call. jjfcg; ' REMEMBER THAT WE ^UkBAffTEE SATISFACTION ss to-qaality and price. MIS STREBfj one door North NEVER GIVE UP. Never give ap ! it is wiser and better Always to hope than once to despair ; Throw off trie load-of dottbt'-s cankering fetter, And break* the- dark spell of tyrannical care. Never give up ! or the borden may sink jou. Provide nee bas kind ly mingled the cup; [ And in all trials and troubles bethink'yo?,' The watch of life should be-N?vergive up. Never give up ! there are chances and changes, Helping the hopeful a hundred to one, And amid the chaos, high wisdom arranges Every success-if you'll only help on. Never givp np I for the wisest ii boldest . Knowing tbJat Providence mingles jhe cup, And of all maxims the best as the oldest Is the true watchword of-Never give up. Never give up ! though the grape shot may rattle, And .the full, thunder cloud overybu burst, Stand like a rock, and the storm or the battle Little can barm you, though doing their worst: - ' ;: Never give up !, if adversity passes, Providence bjEts wisely mingled the cup, And the best counsel iu-ftll your distresses : Is'the stout watchword of-Never' give up. BILL A RP. : Talks About Animals in General. Brer rabbit still bolds his otvn in these parts! Hundreds of them have been killed this winter around my farm, bot there seems to be a good stock left, ueither guns nor dogs have made much impression.~?Brer rabbit is?oot as timid a creature as he is sup? posed to be. lie is more sly than timid. He comes into my garden and my orchard every night and barks the apple sprouts and he comes at least a quarter of a mile; for there is no hid 1 ing place nearer, and-- the dogs and the boys perambulate the grounds ev eiy day and they haye watched for him at night but still-he comes. Un? cle Remus has elevated the rabbit in? to consequence and I reckon he may. be called the nation's pet, for all the other pets are gone and he alone holds the fort. Brar Wolf has left ns for paris unknown. Uucle Remus has thrown a charm about him, and now half the men you meet have got a rabbit's hind foot in their pocket, but the foot don't seem to bring good luck every time and I never knew why tmtij I talked to Ole Uncle Isham, ! and Ire said 4*Law$y massy, Mas Wil? liam Mern fbaks needn't put der mist I in ebery kind of rabbit's foot dat cum along. Dar aint but one kind of fool dat keep de witchery off and dat is de off hine foot of a buck rabbit dat's bin killed in a grave yard at de ful! of de moon, twixt sundown and dark. Dats it. Dem kine of foot mijrhtv hard to git, but when you do git him, ; he beats everything. Ile beats horse? shoe over de door, and frog under de step, and screech owl's toes in de handle ob de gourd. I neber had any bad luck tweli I loss my rabbit foot dat my young massa kill for me. I loss him duriu ob de war and den my bad luck begin.*7 It is curious how these supersti? tions hang around and cling to peo? ple. People of every land and of ev? ery color, and in all ages that history or tradition tells about. Somehow or other, we cant help being superstitious aud it comes just as natural as relig? ion. The negroes have been juggling with the rabbit and the wolf and the fox ever since there were negroes. Over 2;000 years ago, ^Esop immor? talized himself and the fox and the frog and the owl, and other small an? imals, by making them talk. Small animals seem to be more mysterious and. have more power over the human race than big ones. 1 reckon that is because the big ones have less cun? ning and cant hide so easily, and tin's is very fortunate, for a man couldent conveniently carry an elephant's foot in his pocket. White elephants are set up pretty high in the east because they are so scarce. Even civilized nations have their national pets that they swear by and stamp on their money. England has a lion, but I reckon he is called Johny Bull, be? cause he eats so much beef Russia has a bear and we have got au eagle which is not of much consequence, for he dont do any tit ing worthy of admiration. I would rather have had a horse or a dog, for they have char? acter and are useful. I was reading an old time book about the stories and superstitions of southern India, and I found that venerable nations had the jackall set np above all ani? mals for his mysterious cunning and judgment. A jackall toe nail was worn as a charm just like our folks wear a rabbit's foot. They say the jackall is the best friend of man, and tell a story about a good old man who found a tiger in a cage and the tiger begged the man to let him get out and drink oue time more from the branch, and promised to come right back and go in the cage again. The good old man let him out and the tiger was just going to eat him up and drink af? terwards, when the old man begged him to ask five other animals if it was tight to do so, and so the tiger con? sented and asked the horse, and he said man is roy enemy, he rides me and works me until I get old, and then he turns me out to perish, so eat him up. Next, they came to a camel and he said man overloads me and beats me when I get tired ; so eat him up. The cow said, man takes 103' milk from my calf and when I get (dd, he kills me and eats me, so you ought to eat him. The sheep said, matt shears me of my wool before the win? ter is gone and he cuts my throat with an axe and cooks me and eats me, so go ahead and lick his blood and grind his bones. But the jackall heard thc story and said to the tiger, you and the man must put yourselves where you were when this fu6S began, so tiiat I can make up my judgment. So the man stood by the cage and the tiger got in the cage and the jackall winked at the man and he slammed the door too and the tiger never got either blood or water. And so the Hindoos have set the jackall up just like old Msop set up the fox for smartness. Animals that prowl around and feed at night, are the most suspicious everywhere, and and I reckon it is because we are all afraid of the dark. Napoleon said that all men were cowards in the , and we have great respect for those animals that are not, but prefer : darkness rather than light ; such as owls and bats and frogs and snakes and rabbits ancLfaxes. and such like varmints. YVe have an idea that they are kin to witches and ghosts. Dogs are so near to us and so faithful that we don't attach any superstition to them. Cats are close about too, but a cat is sorter-half and half. Nobody j cares much for a cat and a cat don't j care much for anybody. A cat will be gentle and kind in the house, but that same cat will crouch down and look mean and suspicious when yoii j meet him in the garden or away from thc'house. They are lame at home J and wild abroad. They are smart, .very smart al ut some things and j folks say they have nine lives. We bad a cat once that we didn't like and didn't want to kill, and one night ! when the boys were going coon haut- ! ing away off, they put the cat in a bag and carried him across a creek on a log and turned him loose about thiee j miles from home, and that cat was j back in the house long before they j got home. I don't like cats for Alex- j ander Stephen's reason, "they don't like me." But I do love a good faith- j fud dog and he loves me, no matter j what 1 do, he is my friend and gives j me welcome and wags a friendly tail, j A stray dog came to our house three years ago and we didn't want him and tried to drive him away, but he beg? ged us to let him stay, and finally we gave him to a wagoner who tied him to his wagon and carried bira thirty miles, and that dog came back the second day and looked so grieved and humble that we let him stay, and he is here yet, and is a good dog and loves the children and can beat all of them catching a chicken when we want one. But I am not taking up for dogs in general, I'm just taking up for my dogs. I'm willing to have a law pass? ed against other people's dogs, but I want mine let alone. Just like we are about our children at school, we | fchink it exactly right for the teacher j to whip every body's children but ours. That is human nature, at least it is woman's nature and that settles ours. BILL A RP. ^ Amy's Valentine. "Jolni," said little Amy, "did you ever send a valentine to anybody ?" . John, the gardener, looked rather sheepish, and dug his spade into the geranium bed. "Well miss," he said, "I have done such things when 1 were a lad. Most lads do, I suppose, miss." "Oh! that sly old John! he knew perfectly well that he had a valentine in his pocket at that moment, a gieat crimson heart, in a lace trimmed cn-1 velope, directed to Susan, the pretty j house maid. But there was ni) need j of saying anything about that to little j miss, he thought. "If you were not so very old, ! John," continued Amy, looking; seri- j ously at him, "I should ask you to i sejtid me one, because my papa is j away, and 1 have no brothers, and I j don't know any lads, as you call them, j But I suppose you are altogether too \ old, aint you, John ?" John straightened his broad shoul- J ders, and looked down rather corni- i cally at Ihn tiny mite at his feet, j "Why, Miss Amy," he said, "what- j ever does make you think I be so very : old ; Your papa is a good bit older ! than I be, miss." "M3' papa!" cried Amy opening' her eyes very wide, "wbjr, John ! you j told meyou were a hundred years old. j Arid I know my papa ish't nearly as ? old as that !" The gardener laughed. "More j shame to me, miss," he said, "for j telling yon what wasn't true. Sure j it's only in fun I was, Miss Amy, ; dear, for I'm not forty years old j'et, | let alone a hundred. But I hear Ma- j ry calling you to your dinner ; so run i up to the house now, missy, and 1 don't think too much of what old John j says to you." Away ran little Amy, and John, left alone with his geraniums, indul- j ged in a quiet but hearty laugh. "To think of that !" he said to him- j self. "A hundred years old ! sure I ! must take care what I say to that j young one. But tire pretty lass shall ! have her valentine, that she shall, and : as pretty a one as I can make !" and ! John dug his spade into the ground i with right good will. (It occurs to me that you children j who live in the North may say here, j "What was he doing to the geranium- i bed in February ?" but when I tell I you that little Amy lives in Virginia, you will not think it so strange.) St. Valentine's Day was bright and sunny, and 4mv was ?P early, flying about the house like a bird, and run? ning every live minutes to the front door , "cause there mvjlU be a valen? tine, mamma !" Presently she spied the postman coming up the gravel walk, and out she danced to meet him. Oh ! such a pile of letters as he took out of his leather bag. "Miss Amy Russell ?" said thc postman. "Oh!" cried Amy. "She's me! I mean me's her ! I mean-oh ! oh ! one, two, three, four, five! Oh, thank you Mr. Postman! You're thc best postman in the whole world !" and in she danced again, to show her treas? ures to maur m a. Gold lace, silver arrows, flaming hearts, oh ! how beau? tiful they were !-but suddenly ting! tingle! dingV* a tremendous peal at the front doot bell. Down went the valentines in mam? ma's lap, and off flew the excited child again. But this time, when she opened tlie door, no sound escaped her lips. lier fellings were too deep for utterance. There on the doorstep lay a valen? tine ; but such a valentine! a large fiat basket entirely filled with white carnations, with a bor? der i>f scarlet geranium; and in thc middle a huge heart of deep red car? nations, with the words "My Valen? tine" written under it in violets. Amy sat down on the doorstep with clasped bands and wide-open eyes and mouth. She rocked herself ! backwards and forwards, uttering little j inarticulate shrieks of delight. ! And John the gardener, peeping I round the corner of the house, cliuc.k , led silently, and squeezed the hand i of Susan the pretty house-maid ; who I happened curiously enough, to be j standing very near him* ' "Hump " said John the gardener, "I haven't forgotten how to make valentines, if I be a hundred years old V-Youth's Companion. A Wonderful Invention. A year ago it would have seemed chimercial to suggest an award for a cotton harvesting machine which would gather the libre from the bolls without injury to the plant. To-day, we are assured, this seeming impossibility is an accomplished fact-not demonstrat? ed by theory alone, but by actual prac? tical tests 'J he Mason Cotton Har? vester, which has been on exhibition at the Industrial Exposition of the Agri? cultural Society of South Carolina in this city during the past week, has picked cotton from the field at all stages of the crop, from the time when only one or two bolls would be open out of twelve or twenty bolls on each plant, to the time when the plant was crisp and brown and dead from the frost. This machine has actually done the work without injury to thc growing plants, and has gathered the cotton at the rate of nearly 300 pounds of seed cotton per hour. These are facts, the truth of which many practical planters and others in this State are ready to attest. The Agricultural Society of South Car? olina, at the close of the exhibitiou on Saturday night, unanimously adopted the following resolution relating to the Cotton Harvester: Resolved, That the Agricultural Society of South Carolina is pleassd to note, as one of the most attractive exhi? bits at the Industrial Exhibitiou of 1884, the Mason Cotton Picking Machine. The machine is a triumph of ingenious mechanism, and will, it is boped, prove the magnificent success which the genius of its inventor and the perseverance of its promoters so richly deserve.-News and Courier. A Woman Tells- Her Hus? band About a New Society. 'We're bound to be equal to you men,' said the Mason's wife ; 'we form? ed a secret society of our own last night.' 'Indeed Y said the worshipful master, composedly ; *thnn I hope, my dear, your project will be successful. Is it 2 benevolent society or what ?' 'That's none of your business. It's a secret society, and we have sworn by solemn oath not to divulge anything re? lating to it.' 'Very good, my dear,' observed the worshipful master, returning to his paper; 'Fm sure I do not wish you to violate your oath.' 'It wouldn't matter if you did, I wouldn't. You keep your secret close enough-and to think of that stupid Mrs. Furbelow ! She could recollect neither thc grip nor the sign, lt took us an hour to teach her. When I gave her the sign she would make this way, ha! hal Her stupidity would have been exasperating if it hadn't been ri? diculous, and as for learning the grip, why, she would have it that it was this way-give me your hand a minute there, she would have it that way, while it is this way, and the password ! she couldn't keep it in her mind for two minutes. Over and over again I told her it was 'be just aud fear not,' and she would have it 'swear not at all,' or 'do unto others as you would bc done by.' ha 1 ha ! We almost despaired of getting it through her bead. But wc managed to make her understand at last. Oil, yes, we are going to have a Sourish lng society, and we can be as secret about it as you men can be about yours '-New York Morning Journal. _- ? I-J ? ? I PIM Mystery of Dreams. A man fell asleep as thc clock tolled the first stroke of twelve, lie awaken? ed ere the t we ft h stroke had died away, having iu the interval dreamed that he had committed a crime, was detected after five years, tried and condemned; the shock of finding the halter mound his neck aroused him to consciousness, wl>cu he discovered that all these events had happened ii) an infinitesimal frag me:it of time. Mohamed, wishing to illustrate the wonders of sleep, told how a certain man, being a sheik, found himself, for- his pride, made a poor fisherman ; that he lived as one for six'y years, bringing up a family and work? ing hard, and how, upon waking up I from his loug dream, so short a time i had he been asleep that tiie narro w ; necked gourd bottle, filled with water, i which he knew he overturned as he fell I asleep, had not time to empty itself. I How fast thc soul travels when the body j is asleep ! Often when we awake wo ? shrink from going in the dull routine of j a*sordid existence, regretting the pleas . anter life of dreamland. How is it ; that sometimes when wc go to a strange : place, we fancy that we have seen it bc ; tore? is it possible that when one has j been asleep, the soul has floated away. ; seen the place, and has that memory of j it which so surprises us? In a word. Ini'.v far dual is the life of man, how far i not ? The feature of the celebration of Wash? ington's birthday at New Orleans was the unveiling of the colossal statue of Gen. . Robert E. Lee. This statue is said to be the largest bronze statue ever cast in New York. The figure stands sixteen feet j high on the plinth, and weighs nearly 1 7,000 pounds. It was cast in six sec I rion?, the head alone weighing o<J,i '< pounds, lt represents Gen Lee in an i easy natural position, str.uding erect '? with folded arms, as though overlook? ing thc field of battle. He is dressed I in a full-service uniform, with cavalry boots, aud sword strapped at his side i measures eight feet, from tip to hilt. 1 The stars, according to his wish, arc j placed on the lapel of his coat instead of I on the "ollar. Thc figure was modcl ? bd in New Orleans by Mr. Alexander Doyle, and the work on thc casting was ? begun last June. The entire cost has ! been defrayed by subscriptions in thc ' South. W?at Our Editors Say. Tho Sentinels of the Coast. JV*. Y Sun. The lighthouse service of the United States is a branch of the public adminis? tration in which every citizen can take pride. It is a pleasure to read thc re? port of the Light-house Board. Here is the record of business done as it I should be, with intelligent fidelity, without scandal, aud at a cost which carries in its figures the best possible evidence of economy. The entire amount appropriated for maintaining the service during the last fiscal year was only a little more than two million dollars. For less than has been expended upon a single Ilobeso uian ship, and less than goes sometimes I for a single item of river and harbor ; jobbery, the lights have been kept burn iog brightly along the Atlantic, Gulf,; and Pacific coasts and on the shores of j the hikes and the great rivers, the i buoys have bseu kept in placa to mark j the tortuous channels, the fog bells have been kept ringing in thick weather, the j sirens shrieking, the whistles a whist- j ling, and the hoarse horns bellowing. j - For the guidance and warning of j navigators, thc Government maintains 755 light-houses and beacons on the i sea and lake coasts, besides 972 beacons i on the Western rivers. There are 29 i t lightships anchored or moored at spots ? ? where it is impossible to lay thc founda- I tious for brick or iron towers. The i most exposed of all these lightships is that which rides at anchor over the j Davis New South Shoals, twenty-seven j miles from the coast of Nantucket, j There the currents are so strong and j the seas so enormous in stormy weather that rho vessel ts sometimes driven off i her station. Guee during the year a ' heavy gale swept her all thc way to j Block island. The Trinity Shoal light- j ship, west of thc mouth of the Missis- ! sippi Ptivor, broke from her moorings j in the storm of last September, and cruised for two days in the Gulf hoforesbe could be worked back to the post of duty, i The perils and hardships of the service ! are at their greatest aboard these light-: ships, which arc tossed and pummelled i mercilessly by the waves in heavy ? weather, and expo.-cd to danger from j ice. and collision. It is a singular fact, that these floating beacons are not in frequently run down by other vessels. ; The Handkerchief lightship, in Vine- \ yard Sound was run into and somewhat j damaged twice within twelve months. I in one instance the colliding schooner j was sunk. Besides thc lighthouses and lightships, j the Board maintains 352 unlighted bea- . cons for day use, 66 steam or hot-air ; fog signals of different sorts, 33 auto matic whistling buoys, 23 bell buoys. ; and about 3,500 silent buoys of the j varieties known as nun, can, and spar, j Many of these channel guides have to be taken up when winter sets in and ; ! replaced in the spring, and they all re- j quire constant inspection and frequent attention. This work, together with : thc distribution of ?upplies to the light- j houses and lightships, is performed by : a busy little fleet of steam tenders. They \ coutiuually patrol the;Atlantic and Gulf \ coast from West Quoddy light, which ; throws some of its beams across into ! the Province of New Brunswick, to thc : Brazos Santiago and thc point Isabel lights, which illuminate a corner of the republic of Mexico. They run up and down the Pacific coast from San Diego to Cape Flattery, and they are every? where on the great lakes, and on thc Ohio, Mississippi, and Missouri rivers. There are thirty of these tenders, in? cluding the boats engaged in the work of construction and repair. The service employs altogether about 2,600 men. of whom nearly 2,000 are light, keepers. The operations of the service arc con? ducted in fifteen districts, each in charge of an officer of 'he navy as inspector and an army officer as engineer. Thc First district, includes the .Maine and New Hampshire coasts, thc second reaches around Cape Cod to the Con? necticut boundary, the Third to Squan Inlet, New Jersey, including the Hud? son Uiver aud Lake Champlain, the Fourth to the Virginia coast, and so on to thc Eighth, which extends to the Mexican boundary. The Tenth and Eleventh districts cover thc lake region, Twelfth and Thirteenth are on the Paci? fic coast, while the Fourteenth is in the Ohio Uiver, and Fifteenth the Missis? sippi ami the Missouri. Thc light? houses, lightships, and beacons arc dis? tributed as follows : Atlantic const and Lake Champlain. 463 Gulf of Mexico. 70 Great Lakes. 193 Pacific coast. 55 The Great rivers. 972 Total.1,753 Every lighthouse district has one or more manufacturing and supply sta? tions. The most important of these es? tablishments ison Staten Islaud. There is a complete laboratory for testing oils, a workshop for making and repairing lamps, and an electric department where experiments are in progress to deter? mine the practicability of employing elec? tricity instead of oil in tho lighthouses. Lard oil is going out of usc as an illu? minant. .Mineral oil has taken its place in all but a few lights of thc first order, and even in these tho Board is substituting the mini ral oil as fast as the necessary changes in the apparatus can oe effected. No money spent by tho Government is better invested than that which keeps I thc beacons burning on the coasts and ! river banks. Congressional Nominations. Aileen Recorder. in view of thc fact that sharp con? tests will bc made in more than ouo 1 Congressional District for the Demo I eratic; nomination, would it not bc a j wisc move to abolish thc farcical little I Congressional nominating conventions and let thc candidates get their certifi? cates of nomination from thc rank and j file of thc Democracy voting by clubs in thc usual manner ? It seems to us that although there is much trouble and hard labor involved in a canvass of this j kind, yet it is by long odds the fairest method that can be devised, leaving uo room for complaint by defeated candi? dates. The Presidential nominating conven? tion meets in Chicago on the 8th of July, 1 j consequently the State Democratic Con I vention should convene about the first or second week ot June. At this conven ? tion the merits of this or some similar ! plan can be discussed and the primary j system for Congressional nominations ; adopted iu time for the approaching ; campaign. If it should not be deemed I advisable to adopt the primary system, ! then by all means let the present dele? gation to these conventions be doubled. J If the nominations are made with the : present insignificant numbers and some I strong man is left out, we prophesy a j rebellion that will cause much dcmorali j zation and trouble. i _ Williamsburg Tuilier. j The man to be placed in Cocgress I man Mackey's place (if thc Republicans of the district will allow a Democratic paper to make a suggestion) is Rev. Bruce Williams of Georgetown. We have known him from boyhood, we may say, and know no ill of him. He has been Senator for many years, aod is a gentlemanly colored man of character and ability. His constituents bave ever placed the utmost confidence in him, aod we have yet to learn that it has ever been in any one instance misplaced. The Overflows. Winnsboro y exes and Herald. The overSow of the Ohio and its tri? butaries is spreading ruin, starvation and desolation throughout the river valleys of the West, and the inquiry as to what must be dorje for the sufferers is | looming up as a grave problem for solution by thc government itself. These overflows are now recurring at toe spring-tide of every year, ?ud season after season they prove still more fear? ful and destructive of life and property. They are properly attributable to the rapid melting of the snows upon the mountain peaks, where the sources of these great rivers are found. The dense, dark forests heretofore covering the mountain summits of the Blue Ridge and Alleghany have been, by money-grasping men, t-ut down and carried away to the lumber markets of the country, and thus the great store? houses of river food are in this way thrown open-thc sun unimpeded by the rich foilage of the forest, penetrates, warms up and meits the mountains of snow that would have remained pent up until thc hot sun of the summer could in due time feed the dry streams and queneh the thirst of the valleys, in view of the overflows then and the causes above assigned, it would be well and proper for the different State gov? ernments to buy up the mountain tops and sec to it that thc forests upon them remain untouched in future by the axe of tho woodman. This mach is due the country at large, and it is especially duo thc dwellers upon the banks of these streams. The National govern? ment has very properly voted funds for thc relief of sufferers of this kind on more than one occasion, but it is fair to conclude that the money thus expended would in a short time be sufficient for the purchase of a remedy, so to speak. Bayonets in Politics. Chronicle and Constitutionalist. At a dinner party given during the past week Senator-elect Blackburn, of Kentucky, told the following interesting story, which ho says was told by Gen. Garfield at a social gathering at which : Alexander II. Stephens and other I prominent Democrats were present. The stirring events of thc closing days j of the session of 187G-77 were the 1 topics of conversation, and some of thc party were commenting, on the narrow escape of the country from a bloody ? struggle, lt was agreed by all that if i it had not been for the great self-con? trol of the members of both parties, and : the real patriotism of the Democrats, a ; civil war would certainly have broken j out. General Garfield here came in j with a high compliment for thc Demo? crats. He said that perhaps none of them really knew how great the danger ! was at that time. Ile added that he thought he had been thc weans of breaking up a foolish programme which some Republicans had actually arranged, : and which, if carried out, would cer ! taiuly have resulted iu a bloody out? break. 'Now,' said General Garfield, j 'as wc arc talking among ourselves as ' gentlemen, aud not as politicians, I have no hesitation in telling you what 1 the programme was.' Instantly there ; was the mostprofouud attention. Gen. ! Garfield continued, after a moment's I pause, iu which he lighted a fresh cigar, , to say that there was nearly a panic among thc Republican leaders during the days immediately preceding the passage of thc Electoral Commission bill. It was believed by some that thc I filibusters would bc able to defeat the ! count and leave thc country, on thc 4t.h of March, without an Executive. Late on thc last day of thc debate Gar? field was sum moued to an important conference of thc Republican leaders. Garfield did not say who were present, or where it was held, but from what followed it was inferred that the Presi? dent and his Cabinet, and the General of thc Army were there. Garfield said he arrived very late. The conference has just concluded its work. Upon his asking what subject had been discussed and what conclusion reached, he was told that those present believed the filibusters in the House had thc power to defeat the count unless ex? traordinary measures were employed. It has been agreed, therefore, to march tiilO men from the arsenal at 3 o'clock thc next morning to thc Capitol, and station them in tho basement of the House, ready to be marched up into thc House lobby and upon the floor itself, if necessary when thc House met. Thc filibusters were then to be notified by au order from the President that persis? tent, filibustering in thc face of the situ? ation would be treated as an act of re? bellion, and the objecting members would be arrested and carried out. Garfield said that he denounced this programme aud opposed it to the extent of his ability. He said such an act would arouse the country to a pitch of madness, and that blood would flow in the streets of every city in the country. His objections were not listened to until he said that if this resolution was per? sisted in he should go to the telegraph office and denounce the whole thing to the country. John Brown. j As some of the Northern people are j still worshipping John Brown's j memory,.wc publish the following let? ter from one who knew the old sinner before he became a martyr. The letter is taken from the North American Re dew. Editor Review ;-lam a subscriber j for the Review, aud have just read in the November number the article en? titled 'John Brown of Osawatomie.' I cannot wait to read anything else-T must thank you-I want to thank the Rev. David N. Utter. Please give me his address on a card and I will thank jou again. I knew the old scoundrel (Brown) loDg before the war; long be? fore Kansas was known ; loog before abolition had many advocates. He tried to blow up his mother-in-law with powder; he was guilty of every mean? ness. Ileiuvolved his father nt ene time in ruin, and everybody else he had any? thing to do with. I refer to Simon Per? kins, of Akron, O When his farm was sold at the sheriff's sale in Hudson, he took two or three of his largest boys into the house and barricaded it, laid in a stock of guns and ammunition, and when the d?y of sale came defied the sheriff and bis posse ; the guns were pointed out of every window and the sheriff return? ed, but sold the place and gave posses? sion then as far as he could. The pur? chaser occupied what he could of the property till at length Bown and his first original 'Northern army' found it was no use to resist further. This was one of the first of his 'higher law' methods. His swindling operations in Frank? lin, Portage county, Ohio, would make another chapter. The last time 1 saw him was at Brookway V Hotel, in Cleve? land, where he had a large gnng of Mis? souri horses selling them. Brookway told me they were stolen, and I heard the question put to Brown himself, and he did not deny it. I saw him tn Aurora laying in am? munition, which he said was for Kan? sas, and said further he was going there to fight. If New England can't find better material to make heroes of than John Brown, she had better go without them. Yours, N. EGGLESTON. A New Use for Uniforms. Tho Kev. Edward Everett Hale, a .well koown and somewhat eccentric clergyman of New England, suggests a novel expedient intended to check the evil of intemperance. He wants a law passed compelling all the rum-sellers in Boston to wear a uniform by which their avocation may be known. Of course, no such law will ever bc passed ; but if selling liquor be a respectable calling, why should the barkeepers object to the adoption of a dress that would indicate to the world whox they are and what they do for a living ? Railroad conductors and employees, let? ter-carriers, policemen, military men and others wear raiment peculiar to the calling in which they are engaged, and their standing is not in any way affect? ed by it. Perhaps it is because a bar? keeper in uuiform would not be wei corned into the best society of Beacon Hill that the suggestion of Mr. Hale has raised a storm of 'indignation' among the Sullivans and McGlorys of the Hub.-News and Courier. _- mil- ?????- -^mm~ Railroad Tickets. A new kind of railroad ticket has been brought into use by some of the leading roads of the North and there is a fair prospect that it will be generally adopted, as the system works well and has received thc endorsement of passen? gers. agents and travellers. The sys? tem is best explained by taking the Grand Trunk road as an example. That road prints a book of tickets con? taining, 1,000 or 500 or 50 tickets on a page, each ticket good for one mile. These tickets are smaller than postage stamps, P.ven ty on a sheet, nod perfor? ated. You can buy two, twenty or a thousaud of them at a fixed rate and the company is bound to accept, one of them for every mile you travel on that road. You are not required to tell the ticket seiler where you intend to go but secure tickets for one hundred miles, or a thousand miles, or twenty miles, or two miles. 3*ust as you may desires and give the conductor enough of the squares to carry you to your destination. There is uo such thing as lay-over tickets or trouble in getting tickets changed, or loss on through tickets not used, and the road is duly protected from scalpers. --??r>- - ??> --im There will be a tremendous crash at Hell Gate next autumn i' Congress votes the half-million dollars for the improvements which Gen. Newton wants. The work, which was but little more than begun by the blasting of Ballet's Point reef in 1876, has been at a staudstill since last April for lack of money. The tunneling of Middle reef was almost finished then, and it would be easy to get it ready for blast? ing by autumn. The enormous amount of 224,WOO pounds of explosive would then be let off, which is close upon four times thc quantity whose ex? plosion in 1STG caused the gravest fears j of disturbance all about New York. Thc Halletts Point blast was, however, hardly heard in New York City, and was uot felt at all. No greater distur? bance is expected from the larger dis? charge, though if the reef should ex? tend underground in thc direction of the city there might bc some rattling of windows and cracking of plaster. Two years more would be required to remove thc shattered debris, and that would end the wreck; for Gen. Newton says j almost no improvement would be need? ed. Thc importance of this work to New York is very great, for if Gen. Newton is correct, it would make it pos- j sible for even European steamers to enter and leave the city through the Sound. This would not only shorten thc voyage somewhat, but would make the ocean traffic less dependent upon thc tides. Now the largest vessels are unable to cross the bar on Sandy Hook except at high water and, as has been frequently stated, the trouble has been steadily increased until lately because I of thc reckless dumping of garbage i into the bay. - - .??? -^mm^-r The stride of the great trotting horses j varies from seventeen to twenty-two feet, j [For the Watchman and Southron.] BERKELEY ITEMS. j In my Inst article, I promised to tell ! your readers something about the lands 1 and timber of ISerkeley. I can only give some general idea of lands, as I have no analysis nor any means of making one. But farmers will know what I mean, when I tell tbem that all the uplands are backed with red clay ! subsoil. Instead of turning op yellow j dirt, as is the case in many portions of i Sumter, it is red clay. The top soil is black, with an occasional streak oflimeor isiuglass. There is just enough sand in the top soil to keep the lands from being stiff. I do not believe any better grain laud can be found in our State. Wheat, oats, and corn do well. Almost any land here, properly cultivated, will make'from I2| to 15 bushels of corn to the acre, xvithout manure. Some of my n?ighbors made last year an average of 19 bushels ; one man did this on a field of 30 acres and be told me, him? self, that he had never put a pound of manure of any kind on tbe laud, and be had been plauting it for several years. Let me ask the farmers of Sumter Co. if that isn't good enough. This land h not boggy river swamp land. It is high and dry, and has a natural drain? age. Almost all the land bordering on the Santee is rolling, and in many places the farmers cultivated- to the batiks of the river before the war. Now this land, which is the best, has grown up in short leaf pine and is only waiting for some good farmer to come and take it in. Some of the farmers plant tho black seed cotton, and it does wei). Oue of my neighbors, who has been living here all his life, told me to-day that he could select fifty acres of land on the place adjoining mine that would produce 35 bales of cotton without ma? nure of any kind ; and I believe any two acres on my place will produce a 500 weight bale of cotton if properly cultivated. Thc land has never been manured and so we cannot tell what it would produce under a high state of cultivation. Now ? have said enough about the productiveness of the soil and yet the best has not been told. The lands spoken of above border on the Santee river and extend out from the river a distunce of three or four miles. Stretching West and South, there is a large strip of woodland-pine timber, and in this, there is the finest grazing for cattle, sheep and hogs that can be found any? where. The grass grows from 6 inches to 2 feet high, and very thick. Cows live and keep in good order in these woods all the winter. Generally tbe winters are so mild that there is uo ne? cessity for shelter for cows. Almost every farmer here has a small herd of cattle; and some of them have a few sheep, and nothing is more profitable. Near thc river, the cane grows very thick and furnishes fine pasturage. So ; one need not feed his cows at all and they will stay in good order all the time. It would be a very great injustice to force these people to abide by the stock law, because in this section, about which I have just spoken, much of tbe land is i:ot good for anything but grazing, and cannot be surpassed for that. The swamp on the other side of the river and the little on this side fur? nishes plenty of food for hogs, as I will show your readers when I come to speak more definitely of stock. Now when I como to say something of the price of these lands, somebody will say at once, why so cheap if so fine? The explanation is as simple as the question. Large plantations con? taining from twelve to fifteen hundred acres of land, as I have said in a pre? vious article, were left after the warr. The fences all rotted down or were burned. The land was mortgaged to get supplies and money to support the land-owners. Very soon these places, many of them, passed into the hands of factors in Charleston, who were willing to sell for a small sum to any one who would cash the mortgage. Poor men, who have been the support of thc coun? try since the war could not raise even a dollar per acre for such large tracts of land, and the factors did not care to cut up thc land in small tracts, and as long as the owner of the land had any claim at all on it, he would not cut it. So it was impossible to sell these large nlaces at almost any price. The finest land in this county can be bought for g-4i- and ?5 per acre, and some that baa no fencing on it at all can be bought from 3*2 to ?2.V The pasture lauds sell for almost uothing-much of this would produce well. They call it ..Pine Land" here. What shall I say of the timber? Mr. Editor, I wish you could come here and ride or walk through a piece of timber land near where I iive. it is long leaf yellow piue. The trees are not large but they are long and straight. Much of it has been worked by turpentine men and that injures it some. J5ut it would make as pretty lumber as any timber in the South The swamp is filled with oaks which are splendid for staves. That business has uever been pushed here at all and so thc timber has never been picked. I would do in? justice to thc country if t did not call special attention to thc cypress. Just I thc finest shingle timber in thc world, j and there is not a mill on the Santee river (in l>erkeley) that I can hear of. Indeed there is almost any kind of tim? ber of tho very best grade, that one would desire. There is an cxcelleut oneuinc for a saw mill, and shingle machine combined. 1 have said enough for this time. In my next I will tell you something of the stock and the people of this section. FINCH. Henry Ward Beecher proposes to go to Europe on a lecturing tour in the spring or early summer. It is more than twenty years since he was in England, when he deliverdi many sth> ring addresses upon the war. _.... - 11 --- A negro by the name of Frank Jami? son stabbed and killed another negro by thc name of Suber near Goldvillc, Laurens County, on thc night of the 22d. It seems that Subcr had eloped with Jamison's daughter and married her. When Jamison next saw Saber be attacked bim with a knife and killed bim almost instantly. Jamison bas fled and is still?at large. He is report? ed as a large, black negro.