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VOL 1-NO 75. THOMASV1LLE, GEORGIA, FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 9, ’.889 §5.00 PER ANNUM P CD 1 P vl 0) CD l-< CO A Letter From the Land o’ the Sky. Mum-iir, N. C., Aug. 3, 1880. Euitok Ti.mes-Entkiiprisf.: T left Tliomasville on the 20th of June, and with the exception of one handed me by a friend at the restau rant of the “Grand Union,” in New York, I have not received a copy of your paper. I have anxiously looked for it by every mail since I reached here, but it conics not. If you knew what a pleasure it affords one away Irom home to receive and read his home paper, I feel assured you would not fail to send it. Mr. Hugh McIntyre and wife arc here with me. I am glad to be able to report him much improved since coming here. He is without doubt one of the best and most exemplary young men I have ever known. I am proud of him as a representative of Thomasville. I have driven with him and his wife forscvcral hours—without the least complaint of fatigue—over rough and rocky roads, and up the “Valentine boulevard,” to an altitude of two thousand feet, where we had a grand panoramic view of the sur rounding country, in the perfecting of which Judge Hopkins, of Atlanta, who had been with me over the same roads, thinks “nature, has exhausted herself.” Murphy, just now, is suffering from a type of fever looking very O/p/im'Ji/. Th» physicians attribute it to the ex cavations made during the hot weath er for building purposes. While I am willing to endorse, in some meas ure, this view, yet, if called upon for my opinion as to the best sanitary step to be taken, I would recommend a .HuiiviiijIiI'I rlimiiuriiiig rnnjluiji'utiou. We arc not the least uneasy about the fever. We arc a mile from Mur phy. The rapid Iliwusscc flows be tween us, and the “microbe,” to reach us, must be an expert swimmer. The rainfall throughout the country is excessive. I wrs informed, at the signal bureau in Washington, that in all the Atlantic states the excess for the present year, above the normal for several years, lias been seven inches.. The longest dry spell wo have had- here since my arrival on the 21st of June, wns./imv <hnj». Since then it has rained not less than once or twice daily. Blessed are they who reside up on the hill tops, far away from nil trained ponds nnd lowlands, which holds the water that falls dur ing the summer, nnd when the rnins cease in the fall, generate and elimi nate the germs of disease and death. Tha excessive rainfall for the past two or three mouths, and which still continues, may lie thus explained: The prevailing winds have been from the southeast. The distance traveled by the winds has been a thousand miles ii: excess of normal. The mean humidity has been seven and a half per cent, in excess of normal. Thus it appears that, to an uncommon ex tent, vapor laden winds from the sea have swept over the continent. These chill upper currents, rob them of their freight and drop it to the earth. The meteorological conditions upon which this rainfall depends still exist, and no one can predict when the windows < f heaven” will be closed and the showers cease. There is said to be more sickness in the- mountain regions of the South than usual at this season. In mingling with my medical con- lercs, representing the various sections of the country, I find that there is a very strong influence at work to boom the mountain regions of the West ns health resorts for pulmonary invalids. While 1 am ready and willing to ad mit that no one locality in our coun try will prove a putticm for the con sumptive, anil many would derive more benefit at one place than another, l am satisfied that Thomasville, by her works, has established in the pub lic mind a faith in her climatic ad vantages as a whiter resort so strong, that it would require a cyclone of competition nnd opposition to inju riously effect her. California and Colorado and Canada are as familiar with her climatic advantages as arc Georgia aud Florida. I predict a larger influx of visitors next winter than ever before. I have stated that we were not in Murphy, which is our post office. We have the good fortune to be at “Fair- view,” the charming residence of Prof. William Beal, who, with his kind, good daughters, never tire in their efforts to please and make their guests happy. At 1 p. m. to day the temperature was 70°. The temperature of the water was 50°. Fire has several times seemed comfortable to some of the guests. Very truly, T. S. II. P. S.—Since writing the above I have received your piner of the 30th ult. Many thanks. T. S. II. GEN.ALGER ON ALASKA. The Michigan Millionaire Gives Some In teresting Facts About That Country. From the I)et r oit Tribune. “A strange thing,” said Gen. Alger last night, on his return from bis trip to Alaska, “is the lack of information among our best posted people con cerning the geography of Alaska. The steamer on which wc took pas sage carried ioo persons, all on the same mission, namely, sight-seeing, and all equally ignorant ol the topo graphy of the land toward which they were journeying. Our boat was a small r.iern-whee’cr, and the emire trip was inland; that is, wc did not put to sea. The coast is a perfect kaleido scope of small islands, and the boat picked its wiy between the entire dis tance of t,20o miles from Tacoma to Sitka. Only in one place, in Queen Charlotte’s sound, did wc get a glimpse of the ocean. . ~ “During the entire trip the weather was delightful. On a July Jay al 5ilka ibe thermometer registered 62 degree at noon. The air' was clear and dry, and daylight prevailed almost all the time. There is less than two hours ol actual darkness in the whole twenty-four. Mrs. Alger 1 breaded a needle and did some line sewing on the deck of the boat at 12 o'clock at night with no oilier light than that furnished by the heaven-. That would be a great country for courting —a young man could sit it out all night. Not a drop of rain fell during the twaive and a half days dint we were out from Tacoma. The ciptain said that was his tog'h trip, and the first one without rain. A remarkable feature of ihc coun try is that there is scarcely an acre of land that is inhabitable. Alaska is a great pipe, and Sitka, the scat of gov ernment, is situated about the center of the stem. Of the vast interior little is known, but the stem, extending south ward along the coast, is little more than a mass of islands, rocky and barren except for a dense growth of cedars. It is impossible in all that great country for a person to secure title to an acre of land or a stick ol timber. It all belongs exclusively to 1 the government. Of course, in due | time that will be rectified, as it should be right away. j “Alaska’s mineral resources are ; immense, and I have no doubt will, in I the future, be extensively developed Wc visited the lamous Treadwell mine on Douglass Island, opposite Juno, and 150 miles from Sitka. This mine is owned and operated by Senator Jones, 1). O. Mills and an English syndicate. They are working 240 800 pound stamps and turning out $2,400 in gold every day. There are a great many placer mines that are j The freight <h-pot was a «ph-ndid structure, ami was tilled to the roof with rahm- irch.mdifc, very little of which was arc an isolated class ol people, with nothing to do or do with. Their only means of communication with the outside word is by the steamer that arrives once a week with the mail. What they need is a system of cable, and this ought to be furnished at once by the government, as no private cnterprTsc can afford it. There should also be a government steamer at Sitka, and as soon as possible a line of, teamers plying between San Fran cisco and Tacoma and Sitka. A wag on road or railroad through such a country is utterly out of the question. •1 learned at Sitka that Alaska has a total population of 32,000, of which 16,000 are Esquimaux, 12,000 In dians and 3,000 or 4,000 white per sons. In the interior the country is not inhabitable on account of the mosquitoes, which often drive bears and other wild beasts to the coast dur ing the summer months. Its only value to the government is its mineral resources and its fisheries.'’ Gen. Alger found at Sitka a Pres byterian chapel and mission school, the latter having 150 native pupils, representing 20 different Indian tribes. There was also a Greek church, estab lished when the territory was under Russian control. He saw no eviden ces of the immorality that, it is assert ed Irom some sources, exists among the inhabitants of these coast towns at d mining camps. It was formerly the custom of Indian parents to sell their female offsprings to the highest bidder, but this practice has been ef fectually stopped. ^— A Great Fire. Fire is a good servant, but it is a bad master. Wc take the following from the press report of the late great fire at Spokane, W. T: The wires are now in such condition that somewhat Culler particulars of Sunday's conflagration cun lx* given. The fire started it o’clork in flic afternoon in the roof of n lodging house on Railroad avenue, three loors from Pc«| street. A dead calm pre vailed ftt the time, and the spectators sup posed that fireman would speedily hrin the flumes under their control. This could have Wn done if better precautions hud hern taker, hut the superintendent of the iter works was out of the city, and for me reason the men in charge failed to •'pond to the rail for more pressure. THK WHOLE BLOCK ABLAZE. The hrat. created a current of air, and in less than half an hour the entire Iduck of frame shops was enveloped in flames and horning shingles nnd other debris filled the iir. igniting several of the adjoining Mocks. \t the same time the opposite block to that n which the fire originated, in which stood he Pacific hotel, one of the handsomest -tinctures in the northwest, took fire. It was now 10 o’clock, a high wind prevailed Horn the southwest, and it was evident that the entire business portion of the city was in danger. Ill ILIUM.s BLOWN I i’. Mayor Firth ordered that buildings be blown up with giant powder, to check the spread of the fire. This order w as speedily put into execution, and explosions added to the reign of terror. The picture was a weird, grand and awful one. as block after block yielded to the demon of destruction. The sky was overcast with black clouds. A strong wind sprang up from the northeast, fanning the fl ames furiously, while nn up per current continued to carry burning em ber' in the opposite direction. J INK STItrcTU'tKS CONSUME!). The (Iraud hotel, Washington block, Fugle block. Tull block, new granite block, ru-hing building, Falls City opera house, Hyde block, all the banks, and in fact every house from Railroad avenue north to the liver, and from Lincdn street east to Wash ington street, with the exception of a few buildings in the northeast corner, were to tally destroyed. Meanwhile, a sudden change in the direction of the wind carried the fire southward across Railroad avenue, and destroyed the Northern Pacific passen ger and freight depots and several cars. rents of wind met, causing a whirlw ind of fire that seemed to penetrate the clouds, pet- forming all sorts of fantastic gyrations. In this manner the appalling monster held high carnival until about 10 o’clock, when the Howard street bridge over the river went down. The boon^>f logs took fire and burned for hours on the surface of the river. Many times flying pillars of fire covered the river, igniting the mammoth lumber and flouring mills that lined its hanks; but by heroic efforts its career w as checked the south side of the stream. EKAHEUL DESOLATION, Looking backward, however, the behold er witnessed a scene of desolation that was fearful to contemplate. Fragments of naked walls of what were four hours before magnificent structures of brick and granite, stood like grim sentinels, Over the surface of the burning sea all was devastation and ruin. The burned district embraces thirty blocks besides the depot. The only brick houses left'standing are the Crescent block and American theater. Schools and churches, the college and hospital were be yond the lines of the burned district and were not lost. THE LOSS FULLY $10,000,000. It is impossible at this writing to estimate the loss with any degree of accuracy, but it will not fall short of $10,000,000, with an insurance of about one-fourth that amount. paying well, and coal has lately been discovered. The fishing industry has the lead at present, and the company having a monopoly of that business has already paid to the United States government six-sevenths of the origi nal purchase price of the territory. “Sitka has a population of about 800, including the governor and United States officers, and four-fifths of this population are Indians. They It is Some Time Off. Wc take the following from the Atlanta correspondent of the Savan nah Times: It is reported that the election of J. If. (iuerry as Judge of the Patuuhi circuit, re mover; him front the race lor Congress in that district against Col. Turner, the pres- cut incumbent. Senator Wooten is looking seriously on this place, and it is wry prob able that he will enter the race. II he does, it is said that (Surrry will throw his strength to him, for the aid rendered him by Senator Wooten, in his race for the judgeship. Negros to go West. Ati.anta, Ga., An". (1.—A negro Colonization society, consisting of seventeen clubs anti about three thou sand members, 1ms been organized in Atlanta. The object is to secure homes in the West. Conventions will lie held as soon as other sections can arrange to send delegates. Emperor William, ol (imnaiir. is a very lii'arly i-ulrr nn.l dl iliki-r. Ik- run. limes all i-imriiiotis amount ol nn-ai, bn-i- ami wine rvrry ilay, ami is never troiiMeil with indi gestion. Me Jirel'eis a pipe to a ci;;ar, ami sllnivs-an element of greiilllt-.-s l,.v detesting cigiin-tles.— Ivx. The aversion to cigarettes is a very strong point in Ills favor. A young lady who recently visit ed Mrs. James K. Folk, at Nash ville says: "Mrs. Polk is one of the most hcnuliftil old ladies that I ever saw. Her hair is white, perfectly white, and her laugh —ah, there was never so musical a laugh! She is eighty two years old, and she receives every one who calls. She says she always will sec company. And she dresses with exquisite taste, too. Her gown was, when I saw her, of hlack silk and lace, nnd line white laces. __ ♦ - j There was hardly a quorum in the house Monday, and it was only with great effort on the part of the speaker that a legal vote could lie secured. Several important hills were conse quently tabled. The same old, old, story. Anil yet the members were elected, it is to he presumed, with the understanding that they should attend to their business. Every Saturday and Monday, during the session, costs the tax payers of Georgia 83,uni). And yet lmt little, if any, business is transacted on tlieso days, on account of membersabsentiug themselves. so veil. A SCUM: OK TK it non. Tin- li-ri'il'ying shrieks of a d^zi-n locomo tives mingled with the roar ot die flames, the bursting ol' cartridges, llic booming ot'j Riant powder, the hoarse shouts of the men and the pitiful shrieks of women and chil dren added to the n ild excitement ol the hour. hooking upward a brand and migh ty river of* flame was seen “against the jet black sky. Occasionally two uppodng eur- Tlic street cars at Lyons, in France, are hereafter to be operated by a sys tem of compressed air, which has been found to work satisfactory in Nantes and other French cities. The cars arc said to run smoothly and with little noise, while the machinery is simple, and docs not require a skilled mechan ic to superintend it. The cost is less than with horses, steam or electricity. Gen. I). II. Hill hits, on account of ill health, resigned the presidency of the branch college at Milledgeville. He is a loss to that institution. PRICES! ■AT-. LEVY’S Our Mu. Levy is now in New York making Fall purchases, and lie has sent us word to KNOCK DOWN PRICES on all sum mer goods, and make room for our immense Fall and Winter stock that is coming. So, from now on, a 11 Spring and Snmmer goods go at old “Knocked Down Prices.” Remnant table full of choice bargains every week. Lev ys Dr; M Him Mitchell House Corner.