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The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, July 13, 1887, Image 1

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VOL. III. MANNING. CLARENDON COUNTY, S. C., WEDNESDAY, JULY 13,1887. NO 30.
"wo story bricik mansion, occupied by
3eneld Lee and his family; and at vari
>us points on the grounds are residences
.or the other professors. The other
>rincipal '>uildings are a iarm-house, a
liry, a barn, an engine-house, and the
tables for the stock, each of which is
mntitled to some special description.
F.MIN(O AND ]onTIcrCURi:E.
The College owns 1,762 acres of land,
vhich is divided into cultivated fields,
>astures, orchards and vegetable gar
lens, and ornamentu grounds. There
tre, of the 1,762 acres, about 600 under
Lctual clltivatiou in different crops.
Ehese 1 acres are fividd inLto the
.trmf deprtmecnt al] the Lorticultural
leparrment. The forne.r inciudes the
n:itivation o the usual plantatiou crops,
uch as cern, cotton, peas, etc. The lat
er incndes all the comm.an vegetables
.nI ruls.
In the farm department the student is
amiliarized with the planting, raising
.nd harvesting of the large commercial
rops, the actual care of the cattle on
he farm, the construction and use of
arns, stables, pens, and with the prac
ical use of all the improved agricultural
aschinery now in the Southern States.
n the farm work is included a special
ourse :n dairy husbandry, covering the
Leory of breeding stock, feeding for
ailk, and of making and shipping milk,
ream and butter. This is all reduced
: practice in what is called the creame
y, for the pu-poses of which there are
laintained on the farm 200 head of cat
le, pure bred, grade and native. There
also much attention paid to ensilage,
L~e raising and curing of hay, clover,
te., all of which, it should be borne in
lind, is done by "the boys" themselves.
In the horticultural department there
re gardens in which okra, tomatoes,
abbages, beans, Irish potatoes and
cuits of all kinds are raised.
COURSE OF STUDY.
The course of study prescribed for the
tdents is made up of (1) biology, the
iost important branches of which are
Irtilization and the relation of insects
nd plants; (2) agriculture, including the
rinciples of stock-breeding and feeding,
rainuge, cultivation, curing and mar
eting of crops, improvement of soil and
ianuring; k-) horticulture, fruit and
egetable culture, botany, silk culture,
tc.; (4) chemistry, as applied to the
nalysis of soils, plants, foods, water,
te.; (5) English, course of reading. in
rose and poetry, logic and mental
:ience, with written essays monthly;
J) mathematics, all the elementary
ranches, up to analytical geometry,
alculus and civil engineering.
THE MILITARY BRAxci.
There is also the military organization
f the College, with General Lee at the
ead of the military department, and
econd Lieutenant ff. C. Davis, United
tates Army, as commandant of stu
er ts. The students are all uniformed
i cedet gray and are divided into five
)mpanies. Practically, the discipline
f the College is military, and the rules
ad regulations in this respect are of the
sual military institute order. All the
lasses are taught company and battal
)n drills, dress parade, guard duty, etc.
he senior and junior classes are taught
rget practice and service of the field
iece; in the junior year Upton's tactics
re taught, and in the senior and janior
ear there are lectures given on the
Hience and art of war.
The military equipment of the uade ts
onsists of two 3-inch field pieces, -10
ifles, cartridges, etc., all of which is
arnished by the United States Govern
lent, with the exception of 100 rifles
rnished by the State.
LIFE OF' THE sTUDEN~Ts.
The foregoing sketchi of the work
one at the institution gives only a dry
bstract of the essential details of the
fe of the student. This life is, how
ver, one of great variety and activity.
~he government of the institution is all
f a republic within a republic, and is
ivided sharply between the military
nd agricultural fcatures. In fact these
eatures are quite distinct, and in nowise
onflict with each other, the discipline
-f the one securing discipline in the
>ther.
When the college boy here goes out
ato the field he dofls his military trap
dngs and puts on his old clothes, old
hoes, old hat, ete., just as his father
toes on the homestead f arm in any
ounty in 3Missisaippi. In other words
Le goes out to work and he does not go
n holiday attire.
In the morning, in the class-room or
>n dress parade, he is as gorgeous as you
aight desire. He has a fine uniform
ith pkenty of brass buttons, all of which
L' wears with the self-complacency of
avng paid for them by honest labor
htrough long and dusty in summer or
ret~ and dreary days in winter.
In the afternoon you may meet him at
ome place, any place, on the farm and
on will not know him. He wears a
iouch hat, very honesi aeld clothes and
very honest old face. M1aybe he is
eeding turnips or digging potatoes, or
-on wili meet him out on some of the
~reen pastures driving the cows, or if
ou peep into the cow stables you see
iinm playing the milk maid. You will
nect him at any given point over all the
>road acres of the farm, aid in ninety
ine cases out of a hundred he is doing
omething that will help him to pay his
~xpenses at the College. And this he
loes in a fashion that deserves a special
hapter.
At night, after an afternoon's work, he
~oes home to study and in the morning
iC appears again a mlilitary chrysalis as
paudy and as happy as on the day:, before.
eLoSI: OF Ti2l sCssION.
Just now the College is about to close
or the present year. The conamence
nent exercises for 1587 were opened yes
erday -at 11 a. mn., at which time Dr.
T. 31. Greer, of Erskine College, South
2arolina, prcehed a sermon and again
.ast night at E.30 o'clock, These exer
ises are a great eveat in the immediate
.oealty, ind in fact are necessarily look
~d upona with great muierest all o- r the
State, dhere beinag representative , oung
aen here from almost every county in
M1ississipp~i and from several other
:tates. The students in attendance
a~umber 27i3.
Writes Mrs. Eliza Ann Smith, of Ter
millIion, Erie county, Ohio, to tell the
adies every where that nothing surpasses
Dr. Harter's Iron Tonie for all irregu.
larities. "It cured me when the physi
cian andallothe remdie faied -
TilE MISSISSIPPI COLiLD1.
ITS OltlGIN, ITS PR ESETT E I1 P.M ENT
AND ITS WORK.
Au Observer's Account of Gen. S. D. IA
Farmer's Cvulege--The Clas-1oom and
the Farm.
(From the News and Courier.)
AGRICULTURAL A-N MECIANICAL COL
LEGE OF MissiluTi, July 4.-Referring
to a number of notes taken in amid
summer tour of four of the most imp ort
ant Southern States, I do not know that t
I could select a more interesting subject
-Han the Agricultural and Mech-aical
College of Mississipp. This me:: be
stated without discounting, in any .ise,
the many places, institutions and t-ngs
of note along the lines of railways v. hich
connect Charleston with the pecularly c
favored land in which the institution
named is situated. t
THE COLLEGE.
To begin with, however, the term
"Agricultural and Mechanical Colh ;;e," t
as applied to this College, is a misrom.er. i
The mechanical department has not yet
been provided for, but may be real.ized t
at any time when the institution ; so r
far favored by the Legislature of Missis- 1
sippi. The College is, therefore, rac. -
tically an agricultural institution witn1 its
bandmaidens of the mechanical arts in
eiectancy.
hatever this institution may be it
has caused a great stir in social, agrical
tural and political circles ever since its a
establishment, seven years ago. 11 was e
cradled in opposition, strc ..ut not f
fatal; it has traveled over a rough road
and still survives; and it has lived edown
a certain class of opponents and is still s
doing battle against some formidable r
foes. As between the enemies of the f
College and its friends the lines are ery a
sharply drawn; and even the comiara- V
tive stranger, who runs, may read. d
THE ISSUES STATED.
Broadly stated, the question is ona. of 1
utility: Does it pay the taxpayer to: up- v
port the College; and, granting the ob- 0
jects of the Coilege to be fully ca: :ied -
out, do the results warrant the State in e
continuing its appropriations? The ais- V
tory of the College up to the prccnt -
time carries with it the solution ot e'-rv (
one of these problems. Something of
this history is, therefore, essential to a C
clear conception of the interesting -itu
ation.
From what can be learned from the ,
various published reports, the College .
owes its origin to the Act of the Gene"ral j
Government, passed in 1862, to encour
age the establishment of industrial col- o
leges in the States. This Act, amyng o
other things, provided for the "en ow- a
ment, support and maintenance in cach u
State of at least one college where the
leading object shall be, without excld- I
ing other scientific and classical studies, I
and including military tactics, to teach t
such branches of learning as are related
to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in
such manner as the Legislatures of the
States may respectively prescribe in or
der to promote the liberal and practical
education of the industrial classes."
Mississippi's share of the agricultural c
land scrip fund amounted in 1678 to y
$227,150, which is now in the State r
treasury bearing five per cent? interest. p
The- Mississippi Legislature in 178
dividdd this fund between Alcorn Uni
versity (for colored youths) and the
present Agricultural and Mechanical a
College of Mississippi, giving to each i
$113,5i70. Subsequently the Legislature e
expended $15,000 of this money in the
purchase of lands, leaving to each of the c
institutions named a balance of $898,575,
which yields an annual interest at live ~
per cent. of about $',928. The State
Legislature up to within the past year
or two has appropriated the sum of
$32,500 annually for the support of thec
institution.
THLE BUJl>IxGS.1
Tfo enable the State to avail itself of I
the Federal aid it was necessary to erect
the College buildings, and these were
completed for occupadon by the stu
dents and professors in 18&0 These
buildings are about a mile and a halfI
west of Starkville, and occupy positions
on both sides of a branch Qf the Mobile.C
and Ohio Rlailroad. The principal build
igfaethe south and are just norfe
which the ascent from the railroad is
over a well-kept lawn. These buildings
are:
First, the academy, three stories in
height, of brick, and 127 feet long by 70
feet wide. The upper story consists of:
six class-rooms for the use of certain
professors in teaching; the second sto.ry
consists of six rooms for the use of other I'
professors, and on the first floor are thel.
College hall or chapel and the offices of
the president, Gen. Stephen D. Lee, and
the secretary, Prof. T. F. Watson.
Second, the dormitory, three stories
in height, with basement. It has a front
of 275 feet, running east and west, and
*two wings, each 140 feet in depth, ex
tending at right angles to the main
building. The first floor contains the
library, museum, a lecture room, the
cammandant's qluarters and a writing
room. On the second floor are two large
rooms, an armory and a guard room.
The remaining rooms on this floor are
chambers for the students. On the third
story are about fifty room's, used exchti
sively by the students. The accommo-'
dations of the dormitory arc for from
204) to 250 students.
Third, the laboratory, -Z fcet long by
38 wide, a two story building, the upper
story of which contains a large lecture
room, an analytical room for the stu
dents, a private work-room for the pro
fessor of chemistry, and apparatus room.
The lower story is~ used princip~ally a~
storeroo..~ a4.d anlalytical rooms, use
by Prof. A. M. Meyers, who is also the
State chemist of Mississippi.
The mess hall is a two story wooden
building. On the first floor are a diig
hall capable of accommodating three
hundred students, kitchen and bakery.
On the upper floor are two halls used by
two rival iiterary societies of the Col
lege.
There is also a hospital containing
eight rooms, which are very seldom oc
gmoieA. South of theailway is a plain
SO0ME BALLOON STORIES.
TI:l LLNG EXPERIENCES OF I'ROF.
KING AND THE WISES.
Trai elinig Sevetity 31iles an ilour--land ing
in a Vi1derness--Caught in a Snow Storm
Without a Valve R ope--Driven to Sea.
(From the Philadelphia Times.)
There are no two names better known
in the annals of of American aeronautics
than those of King and Wise. Professor
Samuel A. King is now in his sixtieth
year. Since 1851 he has been a practi
cal aeronaut, making his first asce nsion
in the summer of that yt ar from the old
Zoologica Garden, in Fairmount Park.
Since then he has made 2Si6 aerial voy
ages and a great many lesser ascensions.
His wife, who is a quiet, modest little
woman, has made a number of ascen
sions with him and regards balloornig a
much safer mode of traveling than car
riage riding. She is afraid of horses,
but doesn't mind taking a jaunt through
the air a mile or so above the earth. In
one of her trips she once had a narrow
escape. it was two years ago at In
dianapolis. After a remarkably pleasant
ascension the balloon in descending sud
denly swayed when near the earth and
caught in a dead tree. The sharp branch
ripped the balloon open causing it to
collapse, and landing the basket in which
she and her husband sat in a fork of the
tree, sixty feet from the earth. As quick
as thought Professor King braced the
basket with a rope, until he had cut the
balloon away, then, dropping another
rope to some farm hands, he loosened
the basket and was lowered over a limb
to the earth. Neither he nor his wife
received a scratch.
The only time he was ever hurt was in
an ascension from Augusta, Ga. When
he descended the balloon caught on a
dead pine and was torn. He attempted
to descend by the drag rope, when the
balloon collapsed and came down with a
crash, badly bruising, but otherwise not
hurting him. Some of his voyages, how
ever, have been exceedingly perilous.
SOME THRILLING VOYAGES.
On October 14, 1878, he went up from
Scranton, got caught in a windstorm
and came down at Oak Station, Mont-!
gomcry county, 140 miles from the start
ing point, the whole trip consuming but
two hours. On October 15, 1881, he
made his memorable ascension from
Chicago with Hashagen of the Signal
Service Bureau. He was up nineteen
hours, and descended in the Wisconsin
wilderness, where lie and his comrade
lost their way and suffered terribly be-'
fore they again came in contact with
civilization.
One night he was suspended between
sky and earth for 13 hours over the Maine
and Canada wilderness. His experience
that night was thrilling and remarkable.
The ascension was made at 4 p. m. at
Plymouth, N. H., his companion being
Luther E. Holden, of the Boston Jour
nat. For six hours they hung over a
mile above the wilderness, the balloon
not losing a foot of gas or the car an
ounce of ballast. When they landed
next morning they came down at the
head of a new railroad which was being
constructed 250 miles below Quebec,
near the Gulf of St. Lawrence, over
which they had spent a portion of theI
night. The road was 200 miles away
from any other road or civilization.
They rode to Quebec on a buckboard,
driven by a French Canadian. Mr.
Holden always attributed their lucky
descent to an interposition of Divine
Providence.
In an ascension he made in August,
18'75, from Burlington, Iowa, he was
caught in a thunder storm, and came
near being struck by lightning. The
expansion of the air acted on the balloon
and drove the gas from the neck on to
his head, and through the open valve
with terrific velocity. He had a thrilling
descent through the clouds, and on
reaching the earth went crashing through
trees, landing twelve miles from where
he ascended, having been driven back by
the storm. The whoule trip consumed
three-quarters of an hour.
AN AERIAL BlIDAL TRIP.
On the Fourth of July of the same
year he took a party of seven, including
two bridal couples, over Lake Erie from
Cleveland. The balloon sailed over the
lake to Buffalo, where it struck a brek.
current and returned, passing Cleveland,
gradually approaching the Cainada shore,
which it struck at Point an Pele. It then
crossed a strip of Canada and :35 miles
of Lake St. Clair, landing 11 miles from
Port Huron at midnight, having made
480 mil1es in 13 hours.
On another Fourth of July he took
five newspaper men from Buallalo to
Quinton, N. J. He crossed the Alle
ghenies and followed the Susquehanna
as far as Havre de Grace, took a sharp
turn and sailed due east across Delaware
into New Jersey, the whole trip taking
thirteen hours.
THE wIsE FA3IILV.
Professor Charles Wise, under whose
direction the "Independence" will be
sent up, is the son of the late Professor
John Wise, Sr., who was lost while
making an aerial voyage. He made his
first ascension thirty-seven years ago,
when but 13 years of age, at Shannandale
Springs, West Virginia. He went up
two and one-half miles and staid up
three hours, landing sixty-six miles from
the starting point, to which place he re
turned in an ox cart. Four years later
he made an ascension from Newberry
port, Me ., on the occasion of a civic
ceebrati~ The wind was blowing to
ward the.n on and the committee offer
ed to pay the price of the ascension
rather than take any risks, but after con
sulting with his father he decided to
make the aseension. After going up
18,000U feet very rap)idly and desendhig
still mere rapidly he struck Plum Island
bar. As there were no inhabitants and
nio place to grapple the only alternative
wa ojump1 out of the ear. This he did,
laningsaelyinthe sand.
The ballooni, lightened of its load, shot
into the air and blew out to sea. The
next morning it was picked up by a
whaler GC00 miles away and brought mnto
Provincetown. The whole ascent and
descent occupied one-half hour. The
sailors on the whaler, when they- saw the
balloon floatineg in the water, t+aogh it
was an immense blubber and harpooned
it. It immediately collapsed and was
taken on board, the Newberryport papers
of the previous day being found in the
car. The professor has been ever since
actively engaged as an aeronaut, and at
various times has taken up every mem
ber of his family, having in thirty-five
years made over 300 ascensions. His son,
.John, Jr., who will take up the "Inde
pendence" to-day, made his first ascen
sion at the -ge of 8, with his grandfather.
CAUGHT IN A SNOW STOnM.
One of the most notable ascensions
I that has been made was made by him,
under the direction of his father, at
Waynesburg. Green county, when he
was ontv 14 years old. After wording a
half da4 at nflating the balloon, the sup
ply of gas gave out vhen the balloon
was only -hd ll. The balloon refused
to ascend with the boy, when his father
decided to do a thing that has never be
fore or since been attempted. He cut
the lower half of the balloon off. While
he was doing this some officious specta
tor cut the valve rope two feet beyond
the boy's reach, and in the midst of a
rain storm the 14-year-old aeronaut went
sailing into space, and beyond the
clouds, hatless and coatless and without
a valve cord.
He was directed by his father not to
go over two miles, but beidg unable to
reach the valve cord, he got caught in a
heavy snow storm and was driven forty
miles in forty minutes. Landing where
there were no means of communication,
he was not heard from for two days.
The excitement of the citizens was so
intense that they organized a committee
to search for and give him a reception
when found. When he was found the
citizens filled his hat with money. He
was nearly frozen to death during the
voyage, and when he descended was cov
ered with icicles. Since then he has
made 250 ascensions without an accident.
TWO LMARKABLE ASCENSIONS.
The highest ascension ever made was
on September 5, 1862, by James Glaish
er, F. R. S. He left the earth with
aeronaut Goggswell at Wolverhampton,
England, lit 1.03 p. m., and at 1.54 was
29,000 feet high, going np at the rate of
1,000 feet per minute. IIe kept on as
cending until the balloon attained an
altitude of 37,000 feet. Glaisher became
utterly unconscious, but Coggswell
climbed up the ropes and pulled the
valve rope with his teeth. They de
scended at the rate of 2,000 feet per min
ute until the balloon formed a parachute,
when it came down easily, seven miles
from the starting point.
The longest and fastest balloon voyage
was made on July 1, 1859, by John
Wise, Sr., La Mountain and Oliver P.
Gager, of New York. They left St.
Louis at 6 p. m., and landed in Jeffer
son county, New York, at 2.35 p. m. the
next day, the distance being 1,100 miles
as the bird flies, and 1,200 miles as the
balloon flew.
MOUNTAIN ROBBERS.
Their Blloody DeedI--Travelers Who Have
Disappeared.
In Putnam county, Tennessee, before
the war, for seventy-five years, a road
within three miles of Cookevile, leading
from Louisville, Kentucky, through
down into Georgia and South Carolina,
was known as the Kentucky stock road,
and was at that time the principal high
way for traders between the two sections.
Planters, slave dealers and stock men
would drive their negroes, mules, etc.,
down to the southern market, returning
with the money from their sale.
Such partices were frequently missing
very mysteriously, no trace of them ever
being found. The road ran through a
wild, thinly settled mountain country.
The stopping places, or dwellings where
a traveler could get shelter, frequently
were thirty or forty miles apart, and as
recent investigations show, were kept by
robbers and murderers of the worst de
scription, who for years folloved this
business of wholesale robbery and mur
der. About thirty years ago a man, who
is now a citizen of Cooke, found a skele
ton at the entrance to a cave, but no fur
ther investigation was ever made until
a couple of years ago, and it was left for
a stranger to make discoveries that cast
in the shade all stories of like descrip
tion, where the writer finds his terrible
characters only in his own brain.
A party was organized under the lead
ership of Mr. Ferd Kincaid to explore
the cave where the skeleton was found
thirty years ago. Back on the mountain
side about one-half a mile from one of
the notorious stopping places described,
the entrance to the cave was formed. A
hole, something like a well, going
straight down thirty-five feet, was first
passed through, and then the cave opens
into large caverns, with a downward
course under the mountain. At the bot
tom of the shaft the party found human
bones, and with a little digging in the
debris that had accumulated at this
point, unearthed about sixty skeletons
of men who have boeu murdered and
thrown down this hole. Some skulls
were found with bullet holes through
them, others being mashed with an axe
or instrument of that kind.
Old citizens now living inthis vicinity
say that the keepers of these dens would
keep track of the travelers when they
passed through with stock, and on their
return they would be almost certain to
disappear. The robbers were even so
bold they would take the clothing and
saddles and horses of their victims and
use them publicly. They would get a
man drunk, if possible, and, as whiskey
was plentiful and the custom of drinking
common, it was no hard matter to do,
then in their drunken stupor kill, rab,
and throw their bedies in the hole, and
without~ doubt many men, as this fearful
disclosure proves, never returned to their
homes, and anxious friends waited and
watched and wondered why they re
turned not.
Not far off, by the side of the road
still st-.ns a houise. The walls of one
roor.-~ s.e stained and spotted with human
blood. Above, in the mountains, about
twenty miles, was still a worse place, if
p iossibile, thaa this. Another case is
there, and would, if investigated, repeat
the sickening story. The people are
much excifed over this discovery, as
many diescendants of this robber gang
are still living all through Putnam coun
iv-. B~ut "dead men tell no tales," and
lie history of these fearful crimes will
iever be known.
The "Favorite Prescription" of D)r.
Pierce cures "female weakness" and
indre utrte-tins. Ry drugnists.
TIlE DEADLY TOlNADO.
LOSSES IN TiE UNITED STATES EST!
MATED AT S300.000.000.
Tornado-Centering Regions-FreqeICnCY Of
Cyclones in the 31sissippi Valley-4SN
a Mild Tornado Year.
The terrible destruction of life and
property by tornadoes at this season
causes much fear in several States. 1e
cent investigations by Lieutenant John
P. Finlay, signal service, United States
army, reveal to some extent the danger
in each region, which will do much to
allay unnecessary alarm in the Eastcri
States. At the same time other regious
before thought to be comparatively sUle
are found to be more dangerous than
had been supposed.
The first striking result of the exami
nation of Lieutenant Finlay's map, show
ing the geographical distribution of tor
nadoes from 1882 to 1886 inclusive is
that they uniformly avoid extended
mountain ranges. The Rocky Moun
tains present so insurmountable a barri
er that the country lying west of this
great range is almost entirely free from
the long, violent tornado tracts seen in
Kansas and Missouri. It is known that
storm centers which form west of the
Rocky Mountains are imperfectly de
veloped, and are not persistent or vio
lent in their course until the Mississippi
valley is reached. Tornadoes form at an
atverage distance of 453 miles southeast
of the main storm center, as shown in
forty-one cases cited by Professor H. A.
Hazen, of the signal service. It follows
that the cold air from the foot of the
Rocky Mountains, coming in the wake
of and eastward moving storm manifest
ing unusually low barometer, causes
sharp contrasts of temperature in Kansas
and Missouri, and these contrasts, some
times as much as fifty degrees, result in
great tornado frequency in northwestern
Missouri and northern Kansas. It is
further shown by the distribution of
tornado tracts that the average of severi
ty and destruction steadily lessens as the
storm centers move eastward from the'
Mississippi valley. This waning of tor
nado power is gradual, but the danger
does not entirely cease as the Atlantic.
coast is approached. The coast lines of;
the Gulf of Mexico and of the Atlantic
ocean are nearly free from tornadoes,
because great contrasts accompanying
storm centers cannot develop, owing to
the equalizing effect of the ocean tem
perature and moisture.
IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
Of tne total number of tornadoes re
ported nearly one half occur in the Mis
sissippi valley, which is the region of
greatest violence. The lapse of time
must make this even more marked, be
cause the records of the Eastern States
cover a much longer period, while the
number of tornadoes is less. The region
of greatest frequency is along the north
and west boundary lines of Missouri, in
creasing toward the point of intersection.
Then comes northwestern Georgia ex
tending into Alabama. A very solid and
compact region of tornado development
is in southern Michigan, tending toward
the lower part of Lake Michigan. For a
distance of about 200 miles square, this
region nearly equals that of Kansas in
frequency, though it has not more than
one-tenth its extent, and its average se
verity is far less. In the Eastern States,
the most remarkable region next to
western New York, is in the Connecticut
river valley, which seems to be persist
ently followed by tornadoes through
Connecticut and Massachusetts into New
Hampshire. The open country here
favors the development of a small torna
do with atract about a mile or half a
mile long, and from two hundred to five
hndred feet in width. Western Con
necticut and Massachusetts favor the
accumulation of warm air from the
southwest, which moves steadily north
ward, while Pennsylvania, Virginia and
western Delaware remain cool, this
causing sharp contrasts of temperature.
In southeastern Pennsylvania the bend
of the Delaware river there is a group of
tornadoes centering near Trenton, 1S. J.
Southeast of Lakes Erie and Ontario
there is also a lively region, which is an
extension due to the still high contrasts
of temperature common in the Missis
sippi valley and southeastern Michigan.
In northeastern Mississippi there is a
very marked extension of the Georgia
and Alabama region, though not quite
equaling it in frequency.
LOSSES OF LIFE AND ROPERTY.
The value of property reported to the
signal service as destroyed in 205 years
years was about $28,000,000. Lieutenant
Finlay estimates this to be about one
tenth the actual value, maing the total
losses about $300,000,000.
The number of deaths reported was
3,165, and the injured 5,049.
These figures are doubtless much be
low the actual damage, because tornado
reports include the main facts only. The
transmission of news is partly obstruct
ed, and isolated regions escape report.
The comparison of a number of torna
does, with the amount of forest land by
States, according to the United States
census, indicates that these storms are
not appreciately influenned by the pres
ence or absence of forests. Tornadoes
are caused by the persistent movement!
and accumulation of air masses on an
immense scale. Forests and other local
features of lindscape have little effect.
The signal service reported 280) torna
does for 1886, 136 for 1885, 200 for 1b84,
161 for 1883, and from that time back to
170 the number diminishes to 9. This.
does not represent a change in the actual
number, but only indicates additional
facilities for observ'ation, due to the
steadily increasing interest taken by the
press and people, as well as to the or-~
ganization of a large staff of voh-mtary
tornado reporters in 1884 under the su
pervision of LieutenaAt Finlay. In 18&5
the number of reporters had increased to
1,500 and in 1886 to 2,500. This large
working force sent in an immense mass
of very valuable information, due to the
good will of the people. These reports
are used in estimating averges which
will serve as foundations upon which the!
work can and will be carried forward'
centuries. By this means the danger for
given regions will be so well known that
tornado insurance premiums can be esti-I
expenditnre saved. Th'ere is every rea
son to believe that if the tornado records
were carried forward for several hundred
years au ,stonishing regularity would be
discovered. The statistics already show
great advance in this direction.
18,7 a MILD TORNaDO YE.1.
The number of tornadoes reported
from January 1 to June 11, 1887, is 123.
In 3886, for the same period, there were
21 G. which shows that taken yearly there
are great fluctuations. The figures so
far indicate 18SS is a very much milder
tornado year than 1586. In July the
Eastern States )egin to contribute their
proportion in addition to those still due
in the \Vestern States. The most io,
portant deductions from the signal ser
vice statisties is that there is no evidence
of variediun in the number of tornadoes,
but only IL apparent increase caused by
better reportorial and press facilities.
It would require a vast lapse of the
to demonstrate the theory that the cut
ting away of forests affects the number
and deadly violence of tornadoes. They
may be considered a fixed characteristic
of the United States, like the geological
formation of the mountain ranges, and
the average number may be considered
as little subject to change. They seem
an inevitable result of the movement of
immense masses of air over comparative
ly level plains and on the boundaries be
tween the temperate and torrid zones.
Tornadoes occur in India and Japan,
and parts of Europe where land surfaces
are free from extended mountain ranges.
It would be a valuable contribution to
science if the tornadoes that occur in
India and Japan were classified and re
corded. This might lead to the further
advancement of the science of tornado
prediction in the United States, which at
present awaits the action of Congress to
carry it to a high degree of perfection,
saving many lives and much valuable
property.
AN OFFICIAL FISH STORY.
How Capta;n Langford Was Killed by a
Sword*-Fish.
(Fr-on iie Wash4innton -tar, July 2) 1
A bulletin of the United States Fish 1
Commission just issued gives the follow
ing accoatt, as described in a letter to
Professor B3aird, of the killing of a man
by a sword-fish:
"The schooner Ven, i* a small vessel
of about twelve tons, owned and com
anded by Franklin '). Langsford, of
Lanesviill, ;a,:s., with a cre- of three
men, engaged in the general fisheries ofR
the coast of Maxschusetts. On Monday
morning, August 11, Captain Langsford
sailed from home in purniut of sword
fish. About 11 o'clock in the morning,
when eight miles northeast from Halibut
Point, in Ipswich Bay, a fish was seen.
The captain, with one man, taking a
dory, gave chase, and soon harpooned
the fish, throwing over a bucy with
ine attached to t -e , l .oon, aitr whic'
the fish was left anC they return to the
vessel for dinner. About an hour Later
the captain, with on- ni-, again took
his dory and w'ent out to secure the fish.
Picking up the buoy, Captain Langsford
took hold of the hie, pulling his boat
toward the swordfish, wiel was quite
large and not badly woiuedi. The line
-as taut as the boat slowIV neared the
sh, which the' Captain intended to lance
ind thus kill -t. When near the fish,
but too far away to reach it with the
ance, it quickly turned and rushed at
ly t
and under the boat, thrusting its sword
ts sword up through the bottom of the
boat twenty-three inches. As the fish
urned and rushed toward the boat the
ine was suddenly slacked, causing the
Captain to fall over on his back; and
hile he was in the act of rising the
word came piercing through the boat
nd into his body. At this time another
wordfish was in sight near by, and the
aptain, excited and anxious to secure
oth, raised himself up, not knowing
hat he was wounded. Seeing the sword',
e seized it, exclaiming, 'We've got him,
nway!' He lay in the bottom of the
lory, holdino fast to the sword until his
ressel came i ongside, while the fish, be
ng under the boat, could not be reach
d. Soon the Captain said, 'I think I
im hurt, ad quite badly." When the
essel arrived he went on board, took a,
few steps, and fell, never rising again.
he boat and fish were soon hoisted on t
oard, when the sword was chopped oil'
to free the boat, and the fish was killed
on the deck of the vessel. The fish 1
eighed 245 pounds after its head and 1
ail were cut eff and the viscera removed;
hen alive it weighed something over<
00 pounds. Captain Langsford sur
ived the injury about three days, dying~
on Thursday, August 12 of peritonitis.
he sword has been deposited in theI
nited States National Museum."
Mormonis at Work.
Cniu:nEsroN, S. C., July 6.-Serious1
rouble is feared on' the banks of the~
avannah RLiver near Augusta, Ga. The
ev. David Berion an"d 'lders Spener
~nd Murray, Morm'e miaSsionaries, have
een pireaecing in t'at locality for some
ine. They haecnetdabout t-.en
yv-ive amilies of the more ignorant.
hites. The doe'rine expournded is that
al w w do uot adopt the faith of Mor
norasm aed go to Clai before 1803 will
e destroyed by fire; that no marriages
re in accordance with the laws of God
xcept those sanctioned by the Mormon
hurch and that no woman can attain to<
bsolute perfection in the future unless
arried in this life. Notice to leave the
ocality has been served on the mission
ries by the rnore respo'nsible citizens,
ut they have refued to comply. The
nissionaries are backed up by their con
'rts, and declare that they will resist
ay attempt of the regulatfors to drive
hem from the' zountry.
I, it Ren-ly Con4tnp'ion
sens a sly oe oflive comli t au
-a b esordto hea'Iy 'den 'It will s4
'irns n thei sp-dy decay, and then
ais wel hav casuuntion.11. wIhichis
ierce's "Glde 'I.le~ Discovv"~ By
-A deacon of Seymour, Ind., has
een exp)elled from the church for de
laring his belief tha~t the world is 1,000,- 1
I00 years old and tht it is likely to
tand for another million before the
T. A. EDISON, TlE WIZARD.
TELLING ABOUr HIS EXPERIMENTS
IN SUBMARINE SIGNALING.
The Ca t Lins of Vessels Seven Miles Apart
Can Talk With Each Other--In Philadel
phia Buying Electrical Apparatus for
H is Laboratory.
A smooth-faced, thick-set, youthful
looking man, attired in a gray suit and
accompanied by two handsome young
women, stepped briskly up to the desk
of the Continental Hotel office and regis
tered in a plain round back-hand,
"Thomas A. Edison, Orange, N. T." It
vas the wizard of elecricity. The young
women were his wife and sister-in-law.
He appeared to be enjoying the best of
health, and said the stories about his
being at the point of death while in
Florida were without foundation. He
said he had come to Philadelphia to
purchase electrical apparatus for his new
laboratory at Llewellen, N. J.
TWO UTT T.TONS IN ExPERIMENTS.
The laboratory, the erection of which
has just begun, will, when finished, be
as large as the University of Pennsyl
vania buildings and will be devoted en
tirely to experimenting. The machine
ry will be of the largest and most im
proved patterns, the machine shop alone
being 200 feet long. Mr. Edison, in
peaking of the cost of experimenting,
said he had expended over $2,000,000 in
experimenting, but as it was strictly in
the line of his business he had found it
noney well invested. In speaking of
is Florida trip he said he was so well
pleased with the climate that he had
1rected a permanent laboratory on the
banks of the Caloosahatchie river, where
e will continue his experiments every
winter. He has erected a number of
lectric-light plants in several Florida
owns, but he has not devoted much
ime to plants.
SIGNALING UNDER WATER.
One of his most interesting experi
nents was in submarine signaling, by
vhich messages can be transmitted from
ihip to ship by means of steam whistles
)perated by keys in the same manner as
elegraphic instruments. All his expe
-iments have so far been confined to the
raters of Caloosahatchie, where he has
ucceeded in conveying intelligible mes
ages a distance of one mile. The prin
iple on which he will endeavor to per
ect his experiment is the remarkable
aeility afforded by water for transmit
ing sound.
Divers in the ocean have heard the
wish of a steamer's wheels fifteen miles
tway and Mr. Edison thinks he can
;ansmit his message from ship to ship a
listance of at least seven miles. What
ie purposes doing after he has perfected
pparatus is to have the large ocean
teamers equipped with the steam whis
les and transmitters. Under the water
ine of each steamer will be a sounder,
onnected with the captain's cabin by a
hiu thransmitting wire running through
tube. When the captain of one vessel
ants to signal another he will sit down
o his key-board, turn the steam on his
histle, manipulate the keys and send
he message out into the waves that
reak against the sounder. This sound
vill pass unbroken from wave to wave
vith remarkable velocity until it runs up
gainst the sounder of some vessel or
essels which may happen to be within
each of the volume of sound.
As soon as the wave containing the
ound strikes the sounder on the hull of
he vessel or vessels within reach, the
essage will run over the electrical wire
o the captain's cabin, where it will ring
.n electrical bell. An attendant will
hen take down the message as it comes
rom the water, by means of telegraphic
:eys, as comfortably and correctly as
hough he were sitting in one of Jay
iould's Western Union Telegraph offices
eceiving news about one of Jay Gould's.
>ig deals.
PAsSING IT ALONG.
After the message has been received
he captain can swing his vessel around,
.nd continue the message through seven
ifles of water, in tIle same direction,
ntil it strikes another steamer, when
he operation may be repeated until the.
ihole breadth of the ocean has been
rossed. It will also be useful as a means.
> signaling by a vessel in distress.
Mr. Edison seemed confident that his
xperimnents would meet with success,
>ut regrets that he cannot send the mes
age by electricity, instead of a steamer
thistle.
Pianos andi Organs.
All of the best makes. $25 cash and
>alance November 1, at spot cash prices
>n a Piano. $10 cash and balance No
rember 1, at spot cash prices on an
rgan. Delivered, freight free, at your
iearest depot. Fifteen days test trial
~nd freight both ways if not satisfactory.
Write for circulars.
N. W. TRUMP,
Columbia, S. C.
Albion, in Erie county, Pa., has a
uriosity in the shape of a clock which
tands seven feet high, operated by
hans and great weights, the dial bear
ng old Roman figures, with the entire
orks made of boxwood and bearings of
>Ure ivory. It is a pectfct time-keeper
ud up~ward of 100 years old.
-Louisa county, Va., is exciteaC over
he alleged fact that after a whi~o hand
cerchief, which had been folded four
hick and laid over the face of a dead
vomanu, had been removed, there were
our distinct pictures of the womaan,.
bout the size of a 25 cent piece, plainly
>inted on the cloth. Spirits of camphor
~ad been applied to the face before the
ace before the handkerchief was laid
>U it.
-IFt is said that in Portland, Maine,
here is a man with a false nose, a glass
-e, but three fingers and one thumb,
Gne ear, false teeth, false hair and a
rk leg. For all this he is the liveliest
an in Portland. He walks ten miles
~very day, rain or shine. He has had
hree wives, and survives them all, and.
ias refused five chances to get married
gan, so he says, since he buried his.
at wife about a yea ao.

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