Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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?HISTE3 COTTOM MILLS DEMOLISHED BY FL Pacolet ami Clifton Facie Swept Away by Raging Rive Charlotte, N. C., June 6.- The h Tains have resulted in an incalen loss to property between here Spartan burg, S. C., along the of the Southern Railway- and j said that a number of lives have lest It is said that fi ve cotton i have been washed away, that t bridges on the Southern Railway lost and two others are badly c aged ; telephone messages state twelve bodies have been found floa in the Pacolet River and ;:he injui " property of various kinds is enorm Early this morning tiding of dist began to reach this city and eaci port indicated great injury to ?piSouthern and. to many industrial terests between Charlotte and S tasburg. Three bridges on the main lin tile Southern have been swept a and all buildings in the vicinity of stills. The bridge over Lawson's Fi on the Pacolet River, near Sparl E|-burg, has gens. It is one span is 142 feet long. The bridge over th? Midddle Tj River is destroyed. It is three sf and is 142 feet long. The bridge over North Tyger Ri -cannot be used. It is damaged, thoi . the full extent of the injury cannot ascertained yet ?Fhe bridge over the Pac< River, six or seven miles this sid( Spartanburg, is said by railway offic: to be very unsafe. It is still stand against the fierce tide, but is ba damaged and is in a very serious c Sedition. The bridge over the Enoree R er, just south of Spartanburg, J "been carried away. Pacolet Mills. No. 1 and No. near Spartanburg, were washed a? this morning, causing a loss whi - President Montgomery, of the co pany, says will aggregate SI, OOO,OOO Twelve bodies were seen floating p the mills on the flood and two perso: names unknown, were drowned at 1 Pacolet Mills. The hotel and Pr byterian Church at Pacolet were a washed away. The river was flooded by the in? saut rains and the first mill, No. was carried away and a short time af t< ward No. 2, while the third plant Sn imminent danger, the river risi apidlry. A big ware house containing 1,C hales of cotton and 1,000 bales of ya was also destroyed and the goods C? ried down stream. It as estim?t Sg, that altogether 3,500 bales of cotti : and 4,000 bales bf cloth were destro -i; A dispatch to the Observer th j afternoon, giving later details of tl losses, says : Pacolet Mills, No. 1 and No. 2 ai part, of Nc 3 are gone. The loss $3op,000. Twenty-five lives are lost The big Clifton Mill at Conver ; were completely obliterated. . THE DISASTER AT CLIFTON. A special from Clifton, S. C., sayi Converse Mill, with 51,000 spindle has entirely gone. Clifton.Mill, wit 57,500, is half washed away. Dext< Mill, with 30,500 is half gon< These belong to the Clifton Manufa< turing Company. Five hundred pe< pie are homeless. It is estimated thi fifty are drowned. Four thousand ai ont of employment There were man thrilling rescues from trees and house* B. S. Johnson lost his wife and a! his children. So did R. A. Finie and J. D. Owens. The following wei drowned : Flee ta Gosia and child Maggie Kirby, Mr. Long and hi wife and Novia Simms. Other name are not obtainable. The river has fallen to eight fee above the normal. Immediate hel is needed. A relief committee is t he organized immediately. The Rev y?. J. Snyder will receive and tun over to. the committee any moneys for warded. Spartanburg, June 7.-Special t< The News and Courier, Spartanburj County is the scene of one of the man: terrific and disastrous floods that hav< occurred in this country since th< lamons Johnstown flood. Indeed snany say the loss of property is fa: snore than that of the Pennsylvania diaster, but that is wild talk, as th? property loss at Johnstown was mon than-ten million dollars and the los; of life more than 2,200. A conserva tive estimate of the damage done ai Clifton, Glendale and Pacclet is full} $3,500,000. From the informatior J that could be obtained the less of lifi ~ will be in the neigborhood of fifty five. At Clifton alone forty-five peo ; pie were swept away by the water be? fore they had time to get out of theil ?b beds. Fully 7,500 operatives will be left without employment, but most oi these unfortuntae people will be look ed after by the mill authorities for tb? r- present Indeed, at Clinton Milk B^-arraEegments have been already made for furnishing houses and food "for th? sufferer. I* THE DAMGAE OF RAILROADS. Tlie amount of damage done to rail? road, telephone and telegraph com w|: panies is enormous. All along the railroads bridges, trestles and tracks Bp have been swept away by the fury of Rthe floods. Spartanburg is entirely shut off from the outside world. Nc trains have left or arrived here today. He bridge just outside of Spartan? burg, on the Charlotte division of the Southern, has been destroyed, and at Shelton's the east end of the iron and Kubrick structure has been torn away by the floating debris of the mills above. The loss of the Southern Rail? way cannot be estimated. In addition i?i- to the heavy losses of bridges, trusties and other equipment, the destruction of the cotton, mills in this county means at least two millions to the rail load company. Traffic has been block? ed in every direction, and the railroads are doing all that is possible to put their in lines a running order. Early yesterday morning wrecking trains were sent out from Charlotte and Co? lombia. Hundreds of men have been rushed to the scenes of the wrecks and have been working hard on these lines. From Clinton to Pacolet, along Lawson, Fork and Pacolet River, the effects of the flood can be seen on ev? ery side. Roads are covered with water, trees, telegraph poles and the wreckage of railroad tracks etc. THE WRECK AT CLIFTON MILLS. The wreck at Clinton Mills is the most disastrous in the course of the flood. The handsome new mill erect? ed by Capt. D. E. Converse in 1896 and completed in 1899 by President A. H. Twitchell, is a complete wreck, washed away. This cotton mill was the largest in Spartanburg County, hav? ing a capital stock of $1, OOO,OOO. This mill was the first one on Pacolet Bi ver, and the site is lower than the sur? rounding country. On each side are high cliffs, and the water rose to the amazing height of sixty feet. The mill stood about two hundred yards above the iron trestle of the Southern Railway, now it is a mangled mass of distorted brick, iron and timbers. For hours the mill withstood the on? slaught of the waters, but gradually gave way, piece by piece, large pieces of timber being thrown up into the air for some time threatening the destruc? tion of the trestle at Converse Station. Above the mill site is the remnant of the dam, which furnished power for all three of the Clifton mills. On one side of the dam there is piled up in a confused mass the remains of the pow? er house, huge turbine wheels, water pits and masses of iron. Below this are the remains of Mill No. 3. All that can be seen here is a part of the first floor, the other four stories hav? ing been completely washed away. The 1,728 looms, which were run in this mill, can be seen just above the level of the water. The looms are a complete wreck. Mingled with these broken machines can be seen masses of cotton goods which were in course of manufacture when the great crash came. Below the mill there was a broad road which led up to the enigne room. Hiis is now banked up with the re? mains of a mill where millions of yards of goods are tangled in an inex? tricable mass. On the opposite of the river can be seen a bare hill side. On this spot there were fifteen cottages, occupied by mill operatives. Now, there is only one wrecked house to be seen. These houses are reported to have been swept away bodily and dash? ed to pieces as they reached the cen? tral force of the current. This first great rise of the river was about 5.30 a. m. Many of kthe operatives were getting up to go to work, and these were saved from a horrible death by fleeing to the nearby hills, but many women and children were wash? ed away and drowned before'any alarm ? could be given. Those who were | aroused hung on to any piece of timber they could seize, and in this way many ? were saved. A young man, Mr. Sfirib- j ling, who works in the mill store here, was awakened by water rushing in on his floor. He attempted to es? cape to the nearby country, but w?s unable, on account of the depth of the water. He quickly rushed to the top of the house and cut a hole in the room large enough for him to get his body through. He bravely stuck to his place of holding and did not leave until he saw there was no chance of i the water subsiding. Then he divest- ! ed himself of what clothes he had on, I and began to swim to the nearest bank, which was two hundred yards | away. He.was tumbled and tossed by the raging water, but swam on until he reached a tall oak tree, and, almost fainting, clung on and climbed to safety. This brave man, although half-dead with exhaustion, caught an aged man and woman whom he saw coming down the stream. There the three unfortunates were compelled to remain until 4 o'clock in the after- ? noon. It is impossible to give a complete list of the.dead at this time. Super? intendent Sheay gave out tonight only a partial list, which is as follows : PARTIAL LIST OF TEE DEAD. August Calvert, wife and two chil? dren; Mr. B. S. Johnson and four children, Lucy and Felix Calvert, Joe Hall and S8ven children, Mrs. B. W. Finley, Miss Maggie Kirby, John Owens, Ray Owen, four Owens chil? dren, Gilliland Long, Felicia Gosia, Mr. and Mrs. S wangum. Lower down the river, at Mill No. 1, the waters tore off the northern end of the mill. On this side of the mill the boiler room and new enigne were situated, and there is nothing left. Most of the operatives' homes for this mill are situated on a high embank? ment along the river side and they were not damaged to any great extent. Mill No. 2 was also attacked by the flood. One-third of this property has been completely washed away. Near this mill were situated the cotton ? warehouses for all three of the mills. I There were 1,7,94 bales of cotton in j these four warehouses, and they were washed from their foundations intact, the weight of the cotton holding the houses together. HOW THE COTTON WAS SAVED. Five hundred bales of this cotton has been picked up by gangs sent out by the company. This cotton was washed up on the river banks. One lot of 250 bales was found on the plantation cf Mr. D. H. Sloan. The warehouses for the manufactured goods were fortunately situated high up on the banks of the river, and the thousands of bales of cotton goods were saved from being washed away. MILL CABINS WASHED AWAY. The operatives of this mill lived in a village about a quarter of a mile be? low the factory. These houses were all on the river street, which runs along the bank of the river. With one tremendous sweep the entire vil? lage of twenty-five houses was taken down the stream. There are hundreds of operatives here who have lost all of what little property that they had and are now homeless. They are without any means or homes, and have been taken in temporarily by families who were more fortunate. Already the cry for bread can be heard on every side. The people of Spartanburg have al? ready raised a good-sized relief fund, over $3,500, being subscribed, and food and clothing is being sent in from all sides. STORY ?S TOLD IN CHARLOTTE. Charlotte, N. C., June 7.-Today's developments in the devastated mill settlements at Pacolet and Clifton, on the Pacolet River, in South Carolina, do not lessen the horrors of the situa? tion there, although it is believed that the loss of life will not exceed fifty people. The destruction of prop? erty by the flood was far reaching, and even yet a number of mill points, where it is feared damage lias been done, cannot be heard from on ac? count of the prostration of telephone and telegraph wires. The town of Union, S. C., is today totally isolat? ed. The Lockhart Mills, located be low Pacoletj for whose safety fears had been expressed, is but slightly damaged. At 8 o'clock this morning a 200-foot section of the Southern Railway bridge over Broad River, be? tween Spartanburg and Columbia, gave way stopping traffic between those points. The Southern's bridges at Lawson's Fork, Middle Tyger and Enoree River are gone, and several bridges that still stand are unsafe. Following is a summary of the damage to cotton mills : Pacolet No. 1 and Pacolet No. 2, totally destroyed ; Pacolet No. 3, bad? ly damaged. These mills operated 60,000 spindles and 2,200 looms. Clif? ton, No 3 Mill, at Converse, 51,000 spindles, totally destroyed Dexter Mills, 30,500 spindles, half destroyed. Clifton Mills, 27,500 spindles, half destroyed. Glendale Mills, badly damaged. Pacolet warehouse, totally destroy? ed; 3,500 bales of cotton and 4,000 bales of yarn swept down stream. At Pacolet a Presbyterian Church, hotel and a number of mill cottages were entirely effaced. The pnperty dam? age is in the neighborhood of half a million dollars. The mayor of Charoltte today issued an official call for relief, and the ex? ecutive board of the American Cotton Spinners' Association will meet to? morrow to raise funds. About $500 has already been raised here by pri? vate subscription. The flood was due to a mighty cloudburst along the headwaters of the Pacolet River, in Polk County, this State. The crest of the flood, when it reached Pacolet, was sixty feet high. The mills were located along the banks of the stream in a deep valley, high hills rising on either side, and caught the full force of the flood. Mill men conversant with the situation say that the destroyed properties will be rebuilt on the former sites, and will probably be in partial or complete op? eration again within twelve months. The Glendale Mill probably will be in shape to resume work within sixty days. The Loss in Pickens County. Easly, June 7.-Pickens County^is suffering from the most disastrous flood in the history of the county. The rich bottom lands along the banks of Twelve Mile, Esatatoe and Keowee rivers are now almost wastes of sand and mud. Though some portions can be replanted, the grater part must be abandoned, for this year at least. A conservative estimate puts the damage to these lands at about one hundred thousand dollars. To replace the bridges which have been destroyed will cost the county nearly ten thousand dollars. The steel bridge, which .spans the Keowee at Old Pickens, is a com? plete wreck. Two spans, measuring 120 feet, have been torn from their support andjdeposited a hundred yards below. Floods in Greenville County. Greenville, June 7.-As a result of the heavy rains Greenville County has been damaged to the amount of $15,000 in the destruction of bridges. Every bridge on Middle Saluda, Brushy Creek and Enoree River has been destroyed. With the exception of two, all bridges on North Saluda have been wrecked. The Southern Railway trestle over Enoree River has been washed a way. The trestle over North Tyger is in such condition that trains cannot pass over it. Passenger train No. 36 has been detained at Greer's, between the two trestles men? tioned, since early yesterday morning. Trains coming south have reached Greenville from Charlotte over the Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta Kailroad via Columbia. Because of the unsafe condition of the Seneca trestle, trains from Atlanta have reached Greenville today over the Blue Ridge Road via Belton. Train Dis? patcher Mooday said this afternoon that he hoped to have all trains run? ning from Greenville to Atlanta on schedule time by tomorrow morning. Northbound trains will continue to go via Columbia for several days. The estimated damage to property and machinery at Arlington Cotton Mill is $5,000. The new Appalachee Mills and dam nearby escaped injury. No damge was done the several mills in Greenville. The high water of Reedy River covered the ware room of the Huguenot Mill No. 1, but the quick work of the operatives prevent? ed serious damage. The Newry Mill Safe. Seneca, June 7.-This mill will be running in three days. All reports as to damage are exaggerated. The buildings and dam are intact. Campbell Courtenay, Vice President. A ,CR1ATMIL*L1??OTERTY. Pacolet One of the Biggest and Most Successful Plants in the South. The Pacolet mills make up one of the largest cotton manufacturing plants in South Carolina and the South. There are four mills, altogether, in the property, three at Pacolet in Spar? tanburg county, and one at New Hol? land, Ga., wnich was very seriously wrecked in the tornado that swept over Gainesville and the surrounding coun? try on Monday. The capital stock of the company is nearly $1,000,000 and the enterprise has been uniformly sucessful since its establishment, twenty years ago. The three mills in South Carolina are upon the Pacolet river, which furnishes the power for their opera? tion, and has been the source of the destruction wrought last night by the swollen torrent poured through the broken dam. The total equipment of the three mills was 57,200 spindles and 2,202 looms, and they consumed 30, 000 bales of cotton annually, manufac? turing brown sheetings and drills. The three mills in South Carolina ?re: Mill No. 1, was built in 1882, with 12,000, spindles and 382 looms. In 1S88, Pacolet N. 2, was built, and, in 1894, Pacolet No. 3 was added. Apparently, it was the dam at the lat? est built mill which burst, and let loose the flood upon tbe other mills. The mills were built, under the direction of the late John R. Mont? gomery, who was regarded as one of tho ablest mill men in the United States. Mr. Montgomery was killed by falling from construction work at Pacolet No. 4 at New Holland, about a year ago, and was succeeded in the presi? dency of the mills by his son, Victor M. Montgomery, j. THE CLIFTON MILLS. The Clifton Mills are situated on the Pacolet river, located about seven or eight miles north of Pacolet. The Clifton Manufacturing Company was organized by the late Dexter E. Con? verse, in 1880 and capitalized at $200, 000. The erection of the mill was completed in 1881 and started opera? tion with 7,000 spindles and 144 looms. In'January, the same year, the capital stock was increased to $500,000 and the equipment increased to 17,000 spindles and 464 looms. Again in 1884 the spindles were increased to 21,000 and later to 23,072 spindles and 797 looms. The status of the mill when it was washed away. In 1889 Clifton Mill No. 2, was built, starting operation *with 21,512 spindles and 720 looms. Several years ago it was increased to 27,776 spindles and 861 looms. This mill was built at a cost of S700,000. There is con? siderable Charleston money invested in the Clifton Mills as well as in the mills at Pacolet.-Spartanburg Spe? cial, June 6. Break of Big Mississippi Levee. Louisiana, Mo, Jane 5.-The Sny levee broke just below this city today and the Mississippi is now falling at the rate of six inches per hour on ac? count of the break. The Sny is the most important levee on the north end of the river and is seventy miles long. In some places it is twenty eight feet high and eighty feet across at the base. It encloses a fertile farm? ing section from three to seven miles wide, containing more than 100,000 acres. There are several towns within the district, the population of which is probably 10,000. Many of them re? main and loss of life is certain. The district has not been overflowed since 1888 and the damage will run into the millions. The break occurred at a point used by the railroad as a road? bed. It was unexpected until just be? fore the break occurred. When seen a rush was made to repair it, but forty yards went out and a torrent poured through. UP COUNTRY COT OFF. The C. N. & L. R. R. Bridge Across Congaree at Columbia Swept Away Spartanburg and in fact a large part of the upper section of South Carolina is utterly cut off from communication by rail with the rest cf the country. The Southern Railway bridges be? tween Spartanburg and Charlotte, between Spartanburg and Columbia and between Spartanburg and Atlanta are either swept away or so badly dam? aged as to be impassable. A section of track near Tryon, between Spartan? burg and Asheville has been washed away and there are numerous wash? outs on all the roads leading to Spar? tanburg. The only line of communic? ation open to the up country from Co? lumbia yesterday was the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens, R. R., operat? ed by the Atlantic Coast Line. The Southern, the Seaboard and the At? lantic Coast Line trains to the up country were all using that road, which, as it follows a high ridge was not seriously uamaged by the high waters. But the C. L. & N., had one wreck link-the big bridge across the river at Columbia. All of Sunday there were fears that the bridge would be swept away when the crest of the flood struck it. The worst fears were realized at 6 o'clcok this morning when the flood struck the bridge with full force. Three spans of the big bridge were swept away and down into the river with a roar and crash. Thus the last link connecting the flood de vasted Piedmont was broken and it may be days before rail communication can be restored. THE MISSISSIPPI FLOOQ. St. Louis in Danger-200 People at Black Walnut in Peril. St. Louis, Mo., June 7.-Like a mill race the swollen Mississippi is surging past St. Louis with a stage of 34.9 feet tonight, making a rise of one and one-half feet in the last six hours. The Government forecast is that the rise will continue until mid? night and then for the next two days the stage will creep up slowly, pro? bably reach 38 feet and begin to recede. No word was received today from the 200 people imprisoned on a low land at Black Walnut, twenty-five miles northwest from St. Louis, and in peril of their lives from the rising waters of the Missouri River. Word was received last night that a rescue must be effected immediately or they probably would be swept . away by morning. The river has spread out around the island with a swift cur? rent and, although every effort has been made.to reach them, nothing was accomplished today and there has been no means of communicating with them. Aside from loss of life if such a cat? astrophe should occur, the property loss will be very heavy as the entire valley is under water and homes have been wased away, farms depleted and stock drowned. Marseilles, June 7.-A terrible ship- j ping disaster ocurred a little distance from this port at noon today, when two passenger steamers, the Insulaire and the Liban, both belonging to the Fraissenet Steamship Company, of Marseilles, collided. The Liban sank and over one hundred of her pas? sengers and crew perished. Brunswick, Ga., June 6.-News has been received in this city of an election held in New York by the directors of the Brunswick and Birmingham rail? road, in which Banker Fairbairn of New York was elected president and E. H. Mason of this city, vice presi? dent. Frank A. Umsted, the steel plant man, who recently acquired con? siderable stock in the road, it is un? derstood, is no longer connected with the road in any way. A Good Excuse. "Owing to a lack of funds Mr. King has postponed his marriage until after pay day. We hope to see him happily married real soon as he seems very anxious to have it pulled off. "-Lum? ber correspondent of Darlington News. AN APPEAL FOR AID issued From Columbia by the Gov emor of the State IN BEHALF OF THE OPERATIVES Who are the Victims of the Great Cotton Mill Disaster. Columbia, June 6.-Telegrams re? ceived here tonight show that the dis? aster was much greater at Clifton than at Pacolet, in view of the fact that it is estimated that fifty lives were lost. So far as the monetary loss is concern? ed it may be somewhat less : still it was immense. One large mill was totally destroyed and of the others all are more or less damaged. The appalling feature at Clifton, however was the loss of life caused by the destruction of the operatives' dwellings-being washed away. Besides the dead there are 500 men, women and children homeless and at least 4,000 people are out of employment. ? Some of the facts are told in the following telegrams received by the Governor tonight : Governor D. C. Heyward, Execu? tive Mansion : As eye-witnesss of the destruction and suffering in the Clif? ton Mill districts we appeal tb you for immediate relief. A relief com? mittee will be organized : S. McM A. Pittman, Baptist minister; R. A. Snblett, evangelist; J. D. Bailey, minister; C. A. Parks, N. Pe*it, J. H. Williams, magistrate; Dr. Gunter Walker Bates Brown. The following appeal was also receiv? ed: Over 500 people homeless; 4,000 thrown out of employment. Many need immediate help. Estimate of fifty drowned. May appeal to State for help. Will organize a relief com? mittee and see all money properly ap? plied. The Rev. W. J. Snyder, Methodist minister. The Governor promptly called into consultation other State officers and it was decided to issue at once an ap? peal to the people for aid. It was issued tonight and is as follows: "To the People of South Carolina : An awful calamity has befallen the people of Clifton and Pacolet, where? by not only has a fearful loss of life occurred, fifty people having been drowned and 500 men, women and chil? dren beenjrendered homeless and 4,000 thrown out of employment at Clifton. While no loss of life occurred at Pacolet, nearly as many will be out of employment, and at least there will be great suffering there also. Such a catastrophe, coming with such sudden? ness and without warning, places these people today without means and with? out shelter. Local aid is not sufficient to overcome the great devastation and suffering and great hardships. Even death may result unless prompt aid is extended. Representative citizens being at these places and who are familiar with the circumstances have informed me that asssistance is urgent and requested me to call upon the | people of the State to come to the res? cue, in order that further and more serious suffering may be prevented. I feel that it is only necessary to l6t the true condition be known in order that the generous hearts of the people of the State may be touched to a quick response. The people have never fail? ed in accordance with our ability; however small it may'be, but above all let it be prompt. "Mr. T. H. Gibbes, of the Columbia Bank, has kindjy consented to receive all moneys that may be contributed, and whatever may be sent him will be promptly dispatched to the aid of the sufferers. "D. C. Hey ward, Governor." The following contributions were immediately pledged by the State offi? cers: Governor Hey ward, ?50; At? torney General Gunter, $25 ; Secretary of State Gantt, $25; Comptroller General Jones, $5 ; Treasurer Jennings, $5. Gen. Frost is not in the city. Monday morning the Governor will appoint a committee of citizens of Spartan burg to take in charge the distribution of the relief fund. P. M. B. FLOOD LOSSES IN KANSAS. Estimated at $12,300,000, to This Must be Added $5,000,000 for Loss to Crops. Kansas City, June 7.-Kansas has suffered as a result of the recent floods more than any other State. No exact figures of the loss sustained can be given, but those who have an intimate knowledge of the sections submerged and the extent and force of the floods have been making estimates and their conclusions may be considered fairly reliable. The damage done in -the principal cities and towns is estimated as follows : North Topeka, $250,000: Lawrence, $50,000: Saline, $200,000; Manhattan, $150,000: Wamego, $15,000; St. Marv's, $40,000: Blue Rapids, $20,0C0 : Clay Centre, $30,000; Enterprise, $30,000; Concordia, $35,00; Junction City, $100,000: Solomon, $50,000: Abilene, $250,000: Ellsworth, $25,000: Linds borg, $100,000; Hutchinson, $100,000: Minneapolis, $100,000: Emporia, $65, 000 ; Florence, $50,000 ; Lincoon Centre, $50,000: Atchison, $150,000; Burling? ton, $50,000: Beloit, $300,000: Argen? tine, $2,000*000; Kansas Citv, Kan, and suburbs, $8,000,000. Total, $12, 390,000. No account has been taken of the smaller towns, although nearly two hundred of these were affected by the floods. The very lowest estimate of the loss done to crops is $5, (XX),(XX). Mr. John C. Wieters, head of the well-known wholesale grocery estab? lishment at Nos. 178, ISO and ?S2 East Bay street, and one of the oldest and most prominent business men in the city, died suddenly at St. Francis Xavier's Infirmary yesterday afternoon at 4 o'clock.-Charleston Post, 5th. Wanted. Men and ladies to work for a reliable house. Steady employment. Gc od pay. Enclose stamp. Call or address, Soathern Manager, 15 Warren street, Sumter, S. C. May 20-4t. i RUSSIA EXPLAINS MASSACRES. Official Report of Kishinef Massa? cres Received-Reference to Lynching Outrages. .New York, Jane 5.-The Christian Herald, in response to a cablegram sent to the Czar, asking for an official report of the ocurrences at Kishineff, has received a reply from the director of the Russian police department. The reply says : "The strained relations existing be? tween the Russians and Jews of Bes sarabia^ were made worse by the fact of finding in an outlying village a murdered Christian boy. The murder was attributed by the population to the Jewish ritual habits. Official denials of the ritual murder were not given credit by the peasants, who at? tributed other murders of Christians in the town of Kieff and Kishineff. likewise to the Jews. "On Easter Day, in the market place of Kishineff, the workers, while holiday-making, saw the Jewish proprietor of a carousing machine strike a Christian woman, who fell to the ground, letting go her infant baby. This incident was the immedi? ate cause of an outburst. The workers began breaking windows and pulling down Jewish stores as a sign of pre? test. The police, who always leave much to be desired in provincial towns, failed to make efficacious in? tervention, many thousands of the mass of onlookers and holiday-makers, approving the riot and hindering the policemen's actions. After demonstrators came plunder? ers, the outbreak lasting from 5 in the afternoon to 10 in the evening, and leaving nine Jewish bodies on the place. Night brought the distur? bances to an end. On the next day there were further encounters and the Christian was killed. "This," says the report, "called forth the popular passion in all its abject force ; the Russian peas? ants were driven to frenzy and excited by race and religious hatred, and un? der the influence of alcohol, being worse than the Americans who lynch negroes." The report concludes by saying that in consequence of the official investi? gation, "the Governor, the chief of police and some other officials were dis? missed outright, many hundreds of rioters are in prison and hard work in the Siberian mines awaiting them. The minister of the interior has issued a circular to Governors all over Rus? sia, authorizing them to make imme? diate use of firearms in cases of Anti Jewish disturbances. The Russian Government is the first to disapprove of such horrid acts of violence, but it cannot, in compliance with the re? quests of a radical and revolutionary press, give the Jews new rights cf citizenship, as this would be sure to drive the Russian population to new excesses against the Jews, who are hated by the peasants with such ex? traordinary force. ' ' FAMINE IN CHM. Hong Kong, June 5.-The estimate of Governor Wong, of Kwangsi Pro? vince that over one million natives are starving in the territory in his juris? diction is pronounced here to be ap? proximately correct. The distress in certain districts is most acute. Chil? dren and women are freely offered for sale. The rice harvest promises well, but it will not be available for from four to six weeks. Extensive relief operations will be difficult without foreign supervision, which will be hard to obtain in Kwangsi. Assistance has been sent to that province from Hong and Canton, but the funds available are becoming exhausted. The Hong Kong committee will welcome subscriptions. The newly appointed viceroy of Canton, Tsui Cbauh Sues, is hastening his journey to his post, be? cause of the serious conditions in Kwangsi. The poopulation of Kwangsi is large? ly argicultural. The paper which Editor Watson, of the Greenwood Index is to read at the next meeting of theState Press Associa? tion, on "The Daily Paper in a Small City," will doubtless be mighty inter? esting. We would like to know hovr much worry and vexation it cost him in order lo place himelf in a position to read such a paper.-Anderson Mail. The Editor of The Index will answer this by recalling an answer well made by Col. James T. Bacon, of Edgefield. He was travelling as a delegate to the National Editorial Association during the Buffalo exposition, and when ask? ed by his sister, as he emerged from his berth, how he passed the night, he answered, "Nobody but God will ever know what a night I spent. "-Green? wood Index. _ ITT ? ? tm- - New York, June 5.-Unless rain comes soon to replenish the reservoirs which supply New York city with water, there will be grave danger cf a water famine. Since'the beginning of May the storage reservoir has been drawn on at a tremendous rate and now Col. Monroe, commissioner of water, gas and electricity, has issued a warn? ing in the form of a request that citizens be as sparing as possible in their use of the fluid until the drought shall have been broken. Paul Smith, N. Y., June 5.-In the last twenty-four hours forest fires are reported to have crossed Setgis moun? tain, in the direction of the camps on upper Stegis lake, and to have eaten their way through the private park of William Rockefeller. Rocke? feller has sent out calls for men. and fifty fire fighters where secured in Malone to reinforce these who have been fighting the flames in the park for several da\s. -BO ~m>+m wm i ? The Johnstown Flood. In view of the recent floods in Kan? sas and this State, the following facts in regard to the Johnstown, Pa, dis? aster, taken from Appleton's American Encyclopaedia, will be of interest : "Amountof propertvsweptwav mere than 810,000,000. "After the most thorough possible official sifting the loss of life in the Conemough Valley is set down as 2,2S0. Probably exact figures will never be reached, as many reported drowned are supposed to have left Johnstown immediately after the flood, without any after report of their condition or whereabouts. It is claimed that not far from 5,000 bodies were actually re? covered and buried." SMESBBsB