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THE MIDWAY CROUP.
UNCLE SAM'S TERRITORY IN THE
FAR PACIFIC.
A Deserted Island Empire in Southern
Seas Which Belongs to Thi. Govern
ment-Millions of Wild Birds Its Sole
Inhabitants.
How many persons in America know
that the United States Government is
the bona-fide owner of a very small
group of islands and an excel ent bar
,
bor more than half-way across the
K d C avs r ’ m .tearn n ing K r of Yokohama?
AMc an Englishman, Japanese the or
Hawaiian to what country does
Midway group of islands belong and
he will promptly answer, “The Uni
ted States ” it is even so. This
group is as much a part of the Great
Republic as are the islands off the
coast of Maine and New York. All
foreign powers dealing in the Pacific
recognize the, Midways as American
territory, and consequently give them
room in their promiscuous search for
unclaimed domains. From 1867 until
beaten threadbare by wind and rain
the Stars and Strif.es floated triumph
antiv over the group, and a flagstaff ;
still remains as a declaration of Amer
iean supremacy there. '
Tbe Midway group was first made
known to the world by (apt. Brooks,
of the hark Gambia. He named the
tw< principal islands Upper Brooks
and Lower Brooks, in honor of him
self as discoverer. Welles harbor, the
lagoon in which the islands are lo
cated. was also named by him. The
7 IC whh”ttie' e 0
l stim. to the east
it
miles and is without a break save on
the western side the channel leading ;
into Welles harbor, At the north- ;
rock*/ westpoint however, there are detached
which break at high tide. From
there all around the wall is compact |
ami is about five feet high by eight or ; j
ten wide This rock barrier juts
ses around east and south to Sami, or i
Lower Brooks island, where it dips]
down to reappear two miles to the
vff- t It then continues four miles in
a se rai-cireular line, terminatingat is nearly the]
harbor. This entrance a .
mile, '***At ivijr,
1 th6 eastern extremity of Welles j J
harbor, or stem of the pear, is Green
island (also pear-shaped), nearly one
bv two miles in extent, and of an t-le- !
ration varying from five to fifteen feet. |
It is covered with low shrubbery, j
abundant green grass and flower: I
ing vines. The soil is a mixture of I
powdered coral and sand, except on j
the south side, where the moulds ex
tends to a depth of two feet. Away !
from the bench the land ia very fertile I
and almost any semi-tropical plant I
will flourish. No black earth is to be
fouiid anywhere. and The is beach exceedingly sand is j
remarkably white
hurtful to the eye. Excellent w ater is |
found at a depth of only five feet.
There are at present two good wells on
that island.
* Thiiir mih s southw est of Green is
Hand island, the largest and most iiu
important in the group. It is fifty
si-vi-n ted at its loftiest point. Upon
this eminence is the stall referred to !
above, w hich at one time supported
the American flag. Below it is an old j
Injhse, occupied at various times in j
me years gone by, but now deserted ’
fihdljljjppidated, with considerable Tins island shrubbery, is cov-! 1
ered
grass 'and vines, but is not so fertile ;
as its smaller neighbor the to swell the north- from j
cast. In line w ith
the harbor channel. it is sub- j
jeet to frequent alterations and
tran sfornuit ions by the sea. Some- :
times several hundred yards of end terra
tii inn are built up on its south bi
the waves, only to he washed away
and restored at some other point,
As this island appeared a few months
ogu it was beautifully enrobed inn
coat of running vines, bright green
and budding shrubbery On the
western side lay the wreck of an old
vessel, which had evidently ventured
too clone to the reel an»1 gout* AgrotunV.
Near the shore, on the same sole, was
to be seen what is perhaps the most
impressive cemetery in all the worlyl.
Each grave is marked by n coral slab
and protected by coral walls. There:
is not a word nor sign of any kind to
indicate the names of the dead or
their nationality. ^Vith only the
splashing of the waves about them
they have a quiet resting place indeed.
lint if tin Midway islands are noted
certainly for any one thing, that specialty is
the number and variety of its
feathered population Myriads of
birds, large and small, are always
hovering about the group -flying
overhead and running about on the
ground. Their nest s are so thick at
certain seasons that it is almost ini
po ssible to walk without stepping
into them. The principal species of
birds to be noticed are the suti-alba*
tross, man-of-war hawk, tern, gannet,
curlew, plover and ducks, the latter of
several kinds. I he suti-albatros^ is
vory larg^. frequentlvmeasurinp t'lghf
feet from tip to tip. For table us- 1 ?
w ould fill the f’.-u-v of the ordinary
goose. .......' consist' merely of a
hole in the and into w - " del----
uou , uc egg w eiguiug at>out a pound.
So thick are the eggs over the ground
collected in a
a premium in the Midway Islands
market.
The lagoon teerns with fish and tur
tic. As at the French frigate shoals
and other land points in the same
chain, the turtle are of the finest and
en0 rmous proportions. They
intercepted along the sandy beach
without difficulty, turned on their
backs and dragged away to a pot of
belong chiefly to the
m , ]ll( . t and per ,. h families.
Many * of them are brilliantly colored,
re88 bling tbe dolphin . \ few hair
geaj flre tobe found, but as they have
- commercial value they are never
molested.
The Midway islands were never per
manently settled. Shipwrecked par
ties have frequently found refuge
there, but they were usually picked
up by passing vessels before they had
bad a long residence on the gronp A
family by the name of M alker, w ith
five or six others, lived for two years
on Sand Island m the latter 80 s They
subsisted well, but did not like the
isolated life. It is estimated that,
with proper facilities for cultivating
the soil and developing the resources
of the group, a hundred people could
live there and make money
1 he American tit e of the group
dates from 1867. In that year Captain
UniteT Uluted Sta^^steameTLackawanna States steamer Lackawanna
took formal possession ami raised the
United States flag over Sand Island.
Captain Reynolds was m search of a
suitable coahug station tn the Pacific
Being impressed with the advantages
" f';' jdw^v 1 "tVenropertv wronp to^’e une aime l by any
tcrrito’ry to the
of the United States'. For
Home yi'-ars the Pacific Mail station *eamship there,
Company maintained a
but finally gave it . up for a similar
post at Honolulu, which affords su
pern.r . business advantages, _
Just now the islands are umnhabt
by man. Their pecuniary value
to the Government of United States
w not considerable, but m event ot
war the post might be of importance.
—San hrancisov Examiner,
“DOMESDAY BOOK."
Two Rare Volumes Preserved at West¬
minster.
The Domesday Book, often referred
to, and perhaps very little understood,
consists of two volumes, preserved in
the Chapter House at Westminster,
Lorn o i. The volumes are written on
vellum, and are of unequal size. The
larger- con t ai afl — 382 . pa g e o^ in - foliftc
written in a small hand in double col
minis. The smaller book is a quarto,
has 450 pages, and is written in a
larger hand. Why the volumes are
called “Domesday” is still in dispute,
Some say that it is because,the re
turns therein preserved were first de
posited in one of the crypts of the
Winchester Cathedral called Dennis
Dei, the House of God, and ijthat
Domesday is a perversion of Dofipus (ioM’s
Dei. But the Dennis Dei,
house or hospital, did not have its ril^e
until a century after the books wer|P
placed at Winchester, and there is an
ancient chronicler, who probably had
means of knowing, who says they
were called Domesday because of their
resemblance to “the last judgment in
their universality and completeness.” instrument
Originally intended as an
of oppression by William the Con
queror, whose death followed quickly
flpou its completion, Domesday Book
became afterward the great autliorita
five document in all matters of disputa
relating to boundaries and privileges
connected with the real property of
the British realm, which then embra
ced all the counties except Northum
berlaud, Cumberland, Westmoreland
and Durham. 1 lie King, on Christ
mas, lOHo, ordered a general survey
of the land to be made forthe purpose
of learning whether or no any advance
could be made m the values, and that
the royal‘revenues might thereby be
increased. The returns showed a de
crease m values in estates held by
the subjects of the crow n And so
thorough aud apecihc was the survey
that no other country possessed such
accurate materials for its geographical
history “liomesday as are furnished for England
by l»ot»k
----
Bicycle vs. Cow.
\ damage suit has just insti
tuted by Edson McCormack, a bicyclist
t ,f Monroe comity, New York, against
Charles Topliffe. a farmer of Brighton,
% y The bicyclist wants $1,000
damages for injuries to himself and
wheel, caused by a collision with a
oow on the bicycle cinder path at
Churchville. Farmer Topliffe sent
his hired man to bring home a cow.
It being dark, the man drove the cow
on the bicycle path. McCormack who
was riding without a light, ran into
the cow. The latter was frightened
tried to jump a fence, the hired
man was knocked into the ditch, the
cyclist was hurt and his wheel was
w recked. McCormack says Toplifle
responsible for the violation of the
law l.y his bire.l man in driving his
^» 0 w < n the cycle path. Farmer Top
liflV savs he w as vi,dating the speed or
dinane. and ha-brought a counter suit
for u.i ;: 0 cs to Lis con. Xnouuedauui
a i Sl > tafks of seeking solace ia oouit
for hi* injuries.
THROUGH GEORGIA.
Th e contract for building a new jail
j or j> od g e county, at Eastman, was
awarded to the Pauley .Jail and Manu
f actuldn g CO mpany for the sum of
gg,635.50.
Co]]ectorof sterna! Revenue Kneker
h ed that Miss Brunner, the
^ Mfle on, and H. E.
Wilson, who holds a similar position
at Savannah would both be retainel
» their positions.
The Georgia ^nt Mining, Co. will Manufacturing be able
and InTefit not
to pay the court costs and the com
pe nsation of Auditor Rosser. An affi
davit has been filed in the clerk s office
a t Atlanta declaring there were no
funds in the treasury with which the
f ees could be paid,
After forty-two years of active pro¬
fessional life, still vigorous in intel¬
lect and stujdy in body, holding a
leading position at the bar of Georgia,
Judge George Hillyer, of Atlanta,
closes his lav books, turns over his
clients and cases to younger men and
retires to the quietude of private life.
Cohm}us cit y council passed a
resolution qtarautining against Bir
( Montgomery. g An or
^ (d 0 p ted requiring vacci
within “ in ten days. / These steps
f who
“"v.l^nCo from Birmingham
^ ^ ^ ^ )leyeloped
ease of smallp.x. The patient was few at
once removed to the pestbouse, a of
miles from the city, and no fears
the disease sheading are entertained.
The rifle tesm,consisting of eighteen
men, which w 11 represent Georgia at
the internatierfal meeting at Seagirt,
N. J., has been selected by the com¬
mittee which iias been taking note of
the recent rtnge work done, From
these eighteei a .- fate team of twelve I
will be chosen according to the show¬
ing the men n%ke in practice on the
Seagirt ranges. They will leave Sa¬
vannah Angus t 20th. The matches
take pkice from August 30th to Sep¬
tember 6th. '
The corporations of Atlanta who
have not returned to the county tax
receiver their state and county taxes
will be double taxed md placed on the
list of defaulters, notwithstanding the
decision of Jnj coinptrolier general
upon the subject* TfiiT announce¬
ment was made at a session of the
board of county commissioners, and
the tux receiver was instructed to put
the names of ill corporations upon
the defaulting list who had not return¬
ed their property for taxation.
According to the latest returns re
ce ived by Comproller General Wright,
there will be n< fallingoffinthetax
a j do property of Georgia this received year,
Captain Wrigh il! has already
figures from counties and of these,
three—Chathan, Columbia anil Lin
( ^ 0 i n —pave hit B returned for correc¬
ji. i u -X 109 show a net de
crease i, c d*v.o t - 791. Estimates re
ceived from the other twenty-fix e
counties indic a i e that this loss will
not only be • made up, but that the
state will coibe out about $200,000
ahead.
The State Normal school at Athens
may be moved to Atlanta. Although
it has been an open secret that there
was more or mss dissatisfaction among
the members j’f the board of ti ustees
of the school dm account of certain con
^ ftre but few who have
l,,.,,,, jiiformetl that the question Should of re
, , talked about.
? , , *‘ f rom Athens to Atlanta,
. bft bl e that the old Sol
"l “,he the latter citv would be
d h>me for the school. The
' ha8 been visited bj
’
trUBteeS and it is known
lue has been favorably re
ported upon.
After liavip# been identified with the
Georgia volu>d<*er force since 1882,and
after serving jis inspector general of ride
practice for tp* volunteer force forovei
two years, ^ T * su ^ )
mitted his Resignation to Governoi
Atkinson, a f ew ( ^ a N s a o° an ^ ^ was
accepted with a protest. This was the
second time nithin two months that
Colonel Obee r sen * resignation,
The first siut e was prevailed upon
to withdraw jit, but the second time he
insisted tha^^ accepted. He
his reason that he found the office
occupying td° mmdi of his time, thus
forcing him either to neglect his bus
iness or perfj orm duties of the offic*
in a half*hed rtet ^ wa N
Demr nt * th/gr^at’tf/mand ^ 1 r ^ * *' .
at the
Treasury Department. Washington, for
email notes. The Department officials ate
fairly
L.TJT'iX' ^’^ cTCiei loacjaoOciu.
CAROLINA 1
SOUTH
The Dispensary Board Lays in a Supply
of Corn Juice.
The board of control at Columbia,
S. C., was in session last week. In
his report Commissioner Taner among
other things says:
“It is with pleasure that I inform
yon that in accordance with the reso¬
lution passed by your honorable board
at yonr last meeting I have turned
over to the state treasurer the sum of |
815,000. This makes a total of $55,
000 paid the state treasurer since I
was elected commissioner, taking
charge in May, and a grand total of
$155,000 in the last eight months.
“We owe comparatively nothing,
everything being paid for as the bills
are presented. and
"Our stock of liquors supplies
amounts to about $150,000 here in the
state dispensary, and the stock on
hand in the local dispensaries will
amount, in round numbers, to $200,
000, and we have money enough on
hand to pay for all your honorable
board may see fit to buy this month.
This I consider a good showing for the
financial standing of the dispensary,
notwithstanding the charges of cor¬
ruption made by the enemies of the
dispensary. ”
The board then devoted itself to
purchasing liquors. All the beer comes
from Georgia this month, 200 barrels
being ordered from the Acme Brewing
Company, of Macon, and 100 barrels
from the Atlanta Brewing Company.
Fifty barrels of corn were ordered
from the Kohn distillery, Montgom¬
ery, Ala. Baltimore and Philadelphia
houses got orders for upward of 400
barrels.
UNEARTHED A CORPSE.
Lightning Plays a Curious Prank in a
Small Town in Florida.
A telegram from Fort Ogden, Fla.,
says: Lightning has been very fatal
in this section the past month, more
than eight people haviDg been killed
by it.
Many strange incidents are related,
the most extraordinary Jieing a story
from across the Ixissimee river.
Henry Myers was killed by light¬
ning there last week while in a field
and was buried next day.
The second day a thunder storm
arose and his grave was struck, the j
lightning tearing open the grave,
throwing the coffin out and breaking
it nren
It was found two days afterwards
1,,- relatives land the hmlv reburied.
The body was not disfigured by the
last electric bolt, but the coffin had
been torn to pieces, the body being ;
left on top of the upturned earth with
the splintered coffin fragments around
lt. This is vouched for by several
people 1 L from that section.
Bid tEES.
Lawyers in the Fair Case Will Receive
ji.ooo.ooo for Services.
A telegram from San Francisco says:
A low estimate puts the fees which the
lawyers will get from the estate of the
late James G. Fair at $1,000,000.
Messrs. Llovd and Wood, who are at- '
torneys for ‘the two daughters, Mrs.
Herruauu Oelrichs and Miss Virginia
Fair, will receive 4 per cent of the
amount recovered.
As the daughters will receive at
least $8,000,000, the lawyers will re¬
ceive $320,000. A similar amount will •}
go to Garber, Boult A Bishop, who
have an ironclad contract for 4 per
cent. Wilson A Wilson will get $160,
000, and there are a score of minor
lawyers who will take from $50,000
down.
IN NEED UF REFORA1.
An Investigation in Georgia Which Ha*
Created Much Interest.
vestigatiug the State Agricultural
school at Athens, Ga., completed its
labors last week. The committee has
not yet made its report publio, but it
is learned on good authority that a
recommendation will be made that the
technical or practical feature of thi
school, as represented by the model
farm, m in need of reform. It* un
derstood, however, that the university
is in no danger of losing the land
script fund. The investigation has
been watched with interest all over the
fitfll e.
_
Are Now One Body.
The Americau Aesociation v *; „ of -n„„ Den
tis-s and the Southern Dental Associa¬
tion, which organizations have recently
been in convention at Old Point Com¬
fort hare united into one body, with
Dr. Thomas Fillbrown. of Boston, as
president, and Dr. George H. Cush¬
ing, of Chicago, aa secretary.
The fir-t bale of new cotton was
].] in Meridian. Mi.-s., last week in
• of the Board of Trade and Cot
j x,- ce to the highest bidder.
vv ids Cotton Agency se¬
cuic-u ll loi cents per pound. A no
cotton was raised by three pfomiueht
negro farmers of Clark county.
TRUMPET CALLS.
Bam’b Horn Sounds a Warning Note
to the Unredeezned.
HE wish to shine
makes men fools, j
The devil’s head
Is longer than his
Jit tail.
Don't try to im¬
part ideas by your
H V 1 feelings.
mi 3 The man who can
tell all he knows of
religion knows
5 Tery little.
n The profit on
■ whisky Is conspic
nously advertised in the clothing of the
laloon-keeper’s wife.
You cannot fool God with a pinch of
sieves.
A little sin has as much death in it as
l big one.
The gurgling of the faucet is the dev¬
il’s delight.
Make a call too short, rather than be
yawned out.
The was is not over because we have
lost a battle.
Whoever knows God well wants to
know him better.
Some would rather face a cannon
than their own evils.
Prayer is always easy, when we
kneel on praying ground.
The man who knows how to live well
will not have to learn how to die well.
Our prayers for guidance will not be
heard, unless we are willing to be led.
The devil has to fight hard for all he
gets In every home where Christ is
king.
In the robin redbreast speaks the
same Christ who came to “seek and
save.”
Nature Is God’s; botany and geology
are man’s; so religion is divine, theol¬
ogy human.
The man weighs little on the Lord’s
side who is not throwing an ounce of
weight against the saloon.
The prohibition that gives society the
children who never saw a drunkard
can't be such a bia failure,
CHINESE COLLEGE
yy,n p. sorted in Shanghai on a Large
Scale.
A . , , le S r «» fr . ° m ,, brtn ^ F f QCISC °
Dr JohQ Freyer, professor of
oriental languages and literature of
tne University, has arrived irom
China, where lie has been ini consulta
tion witn high government olheia s
about the founding of a great college
at Shanghai for the education of Chi
™6e in western art, sciences and liter
ature.
L ’*- freyer decuned an offer ,, to , , be¬
“me the president of he institution
b lt ^nted to assist the project It
is intended that the institution will be
an educational center, where the fa¬
vored youth of the empire may go to
gain knowledge of the occidental civ
ilization. There is now at Tien-Tsin
an academic institution, but it is plan
ned to have that at Shanghai of a
much higher standard,
As the nucleus of the Shanghai uni
versitv a normal training school is
now in operation with thirty pupils,
who are preparing to become mstruo
tors.
CRUELLY ASSASSINATED.
An Old Italian Musician Murdered by
White Caps.
An old man, supposed to be an Ital¬
ian, and whose name has not been as¬
certained, was shot and killed by un¬
known persons near Ashoen Hill, Giles
county, Tenn., last Friday. He had
been affiliating with negroes several
weeks, teaching them music. He re¬
ceived an anonymous letter Tuesday
night, signed “White Caps,” warning
him to leave within forty-eight feathered. hours,
or he would be tarred and
covered. He refused to leave, and
death followed. His body was found
in his cabin riddled with bullets.
OVERWHELMINGLY DEFEATED.
_
Const;tutional Conventioa will Not Be
HeU in Tennessee,
A general election was held in Ten
nessee last week to determine whether
or not a constitutional convention
should be held. Keturns received
show that the call for a convention has
been overwhelmingly defeated A
light ^ vote was ^ polled, but m most dis
Qot C0Dsidered . Ia
Nashville with a voting population ol
15,000, the total vote cast was not
over 1,000.
The University of Alabama.
The advantages of being educated in
ones own Stats University cannot be
overestimated. Equal strength ac¬
quired abroad or in an Institution of lees
prestige, would be far less valuable in
a practical sense. University Alumni
are and are to be leading men in all
walks of life. should
Parents with sons to educate
make a note of thi* _ .
