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The Banner Will Give Yon All The News of Conyera and Rock dale County. VOL XXV. RY GOODS COMPANY Is the place to spend your cash; they believe in small profits and quick sales- something ail who go there appreciate. Go. and see for yourself, then tell your friends and they will tell others, showing each one what our Cash House is doing. Patterns given away for the next thirty days. . . TTl Steamships and Piers at Hoboken Wiped Out by Great Fire. A LOSS OF TEN MILLIONS Flames Originated Among Cotton Bales and Were Soon Beyond Control—Ffteen Thousand Lives Were Imperiled. A New York special says: Almost 810,000,000 worth of property was de¬ stroyed, many lives were lest, many persons were injured and at least 1,500 lives wero imperilod by a fire that started among cotton bales under pier 3 of the North German Lloyd Steam¬ ship Company in Hoboken, N. J., at 4 o’clock Saturday afternoon. In less than fifteen minutes the flames covered an area a quarter of a mile long, extending outward from the actual shore line to the bulkheads, from 600 to 1,000 feet away, and had ignited four great ocean liners aud a dozen or more smaller harbor craft in its grasp. Stories in regard to the loss of life immediately after the tiro were cou Actiug, the number being variously estimated from fifty to two hundred. Up to midnight Saturday night ten todies bad been recovered, but they were so badly burned that identification was impossible. The hospitals in New York, Hobo¬ ken and Jersey City are crowded with the injured. From what can be learned the flames started among a large pile of cotton bales on pier 2 of the North German Lloyd Steamship company aud spread with such rapidity that iu fifteen min¬ utes the entire property of the com¬ pany, covering over a mile of water front and consisting of three great piers, was completely enveloped in flames. The people on the piers and on the numerous vessels docked were unable to reach the street. There were great gangs of workmen on the piers and these, together with a number of peo¬ ple who were at the docks on business and visiting the ships, scattered in all directions. As all means of exit were cut off by tbe flames, they were forced to jump overboard, and it is believed a great number were drowned. At the docks of the North German Lloyd were the Saale, a single screw passenger the ship of 4,965 gross tons; Bremen, a twin screw freight and passenger ship of 10,526 tons, and the Main, a twin screw freight apd passen¬ ger all ship of 10,200 gross tons. They caught fire and were burned to the wafer’s der edge. Tlie Kaiser Wilhelm Grossp, which had just coiqe in, 'yas sels the pniy one of the four big ves The a) the docks that escaped- tflese loss of the crews of yes Bp]s js said tp reach one hundred. The steamship Saalp had been towed down the river until it was just off Fort Liberty, where she had gathered about her a ring of fireboats and tugs, all fighting to save at least her hull. At varying distances about the burn¬ ing ship lay coal and cotton baTges, all ablaze, each with one or more tugs playing barges water upon it. Some of these and lighters were loaded with v cry inflammable stuff, and the flames leaped high in the air, while the heat to was so terrific that it was not possible use the small hose of the tugs. Along the Jersey shore small fires were from blazing, started by the wreckage the great ships. Dn the New York side of tbe river the fire caused the greatest excitemont the drifting steamships floated, aflame, ti^e to the shore and brushed ^gainst piers from Canal tp Mur¬ ray streets. The fire department was palled out at various points, and the apectaple w$s presented of the fire ffien op shore trying tp fight fires ftt every pjinute changing their situa¬ tion. There were hundreds of men on each °f the destroyed steamships and a few women. Crowds of dock laborers and also employees of the companies were all the piers. Men, women and children were on the cabal boats, and I * The Rockdale Banner, men on the barges and lighters, and when the fire made its quick descent upon them escape was cut off before they realized their awful position. The people on the piers jumped in the water to save themselves, and scores of men huddled under the piers, clinging to the supports, only to be sufl'oeated by the flames or to drop back in the water from exhaus¬ tion. The greatest loss of life ap¬ pears to have been on the Saale. Up to 11 o’clock Sunday night only eighteen bodies had been recovered. Eleven of these were placed in a row at the morgue in New York city aud numbered, this being the only means of obtaining any sort of identity over the corpses. The only way the steamship officials have of approximating the loss of life is by comparing the list of those re¬ ported safe with the list of the em¬ ployes of the steamships. Late Sun¬ day night Gustav Schwab, general agent of the North German Lloyd line, gave out a list showing what men on each vessel had been missing up to that hour. On the Saale 255 men were employed aud 127 of these had only been accounted for up to 11 o’clock, leaving 128 men actually em¬ ployed as officers, sailors, engineers, coal passers, oilers and trimmers to be accounted for. The Bremen had 204 men on board, but only 127 of these have been found. The Main had only 137 on her at the time and of these 76 have been re ported safe. The North German Lloyd officials deny that any passenger was lost, and declare that few, if any, visitors per ished, and that the loss of life was al most entirely among the employes of the company. The loss on the steamship proper ties aud to other compies is estimated, approximately as follows: The steamship Main, of the North German !S ofStr^fiEgand Llovd line cost SI 500,000 stores. The loss is placed at $1,200,000 for the vessel and about $400,000 for the cargo fittings and stores that were aboard of her. The steamship Bremen, of the North German Lloyd line, cost $1,200,000 and her fittings and cargo were valued at $300,000. The cargo and stores W ere entirely consumed and the loss to the vessel proper will amount to at her machinery. which will The Saale, the steamship have the most horrible story of death to unfold when the divers go down in her, cost tbe North German Lloyd company $1,250,000, and the fittings and the cargo were valued at $300,000. The Saale is beached at Ellis island. SodTt TT.P ,1 Sou?*C to the vessel proper 1 " is V 00 , 00 a The damage done to the Kaiser Wil Le, m der Groe.e i« e.. im0 .ed .t HO,. Thn three docks of the North Ger men man Lovd T nvd line line which which burned burned to to the tne water’s edge are estimated to have cost ' 3 Tt’o°d'octB The docks were were well well filled niled with merchandise ju^i received from a roa and valued at $3o0,000. T he waT’ vlhled tirely .. , 00 consumed, nsnmed was value - 9 , 000 counting the stores which were on '.' The Hamburg-Amencan tt v. a line u„- do k which had just been comp'ete extension to then ? rea P > which was destroyed in o 1 _ vent the spread of the Hime., s damaged to the extent of $0 QOU This was the "ontrarv as the steamer Phonemcia, contra y to reports, was not even scorched. Qf the warehouses of Paluxer Qamp bqll f houses E, P, Q and 11 were burned. Mr. Campbell saul that he cpuld npt give a definite estimate qi bis losses just nQW t but the damage to buildings alone would amount to at least $ 50 000 , and the contents $l,2o0, , occurred at 000. Had the fire any ; other time of the year, he said, the loss would have been much greater, as just at the present time the imports are very light aud the houses not well filled. CONYERS. GA.. WEDNESDAY, JULY 4, 1900. CHAFFEE IS ASSIGNED To Command Our Troops In the Calestial Empire, COES WITH SIXTH CAVALRY News That Ninth Infantry Goes at Once to Taka Greatly 1‘leases the Offi¬ cials at Washington. President McKinley has assigned General Adna R. Chaffee to the com¬ mand of the American military forces operating in China. The plans of the war department were somewhat clear¬ ed up by the announcement. General Chaffee was at the war de partment Tuesday receiving instruc tions and will leave for San Francisco in time to sail with the sixth cavalry, This detachment sails on the Grant, which has been ordered to touch at Nagasaki for further orders It L probable that the ship will then sad direct for Che Poo, with General Chaf fee and the sixth cavalry General MacArthor. at Manila, was cabled an order directing the com mending officer of the Ninth infantry and such other forces as may be oper ahng in China by the time of the Grant’s to report to General Chaf fee on his arrival. Unless present plans change headquarters will be es tab lsed at C io 00 . The news that the Ninth infantry sails at once from Manila for laku was received with pleasure at the war department. Gen. Corbin said lie reg iment will compare favorably with any similar organization sent by any o the other foreign governments in The Ninth . ... has been rearnited , to . Rb ... fulle . ?* possible hunt of 1,170 anc is 5 r ?T ,c e wi an amp e PI y field faeld guns.tents and cofeplet> for ‘fi 1 - P“ e • serv goes c ® a “ o d * P_ ^hlv ® ./ equipped in . the matter of f transporta tlon and 8ab81staaco supplies for a , lon 6 Cflm P a - 1 S n - 1 18 ' manded by Colonel Liscum one of the J,he army. Ihe tup “from from Manila Ma to Wl11 b £ made on the ranspor s Logan and Port Albert, the latter c 1 £ 1 ng trans P or4atlon outht and ma ~ . cmue guns MOBILE FLOODED. _ n 0ver a Foot p f of * w Water tpp p Fel1 .« ,n | n * the 1 , Space of Nine Hoars In Alabama City. °‘ tb© w 9 at her bqreau of this country was experienced at Mohile, Ala., Tpes day, when 12.57 inches of rain was [t vrecivitated S iu the locaT immediate section f“wvmles morelv a rain extending direc® o n lva %uho?ih nalmostevery Soad anSounoed the Mob le and Ohio f a l lroa d announced that tnat they in^ey had nau rain ram S 8 began about V.,w°, 4 0 . c l oe k, and bo1ir a of 0 and 7 tbe r8C0ld for » J. ie ’ two bours A 6 1118 five 1I ^ C ^ e 8 ‘ rbe t of the fal , i was recorded between , . ? aud 2 0 , c , ocki the entire fall of 12 . 57 i ncbes bein S n ' Be bour ®* onc0 before m this country has this rcoord been j equalled Donaldsonville, when on September 3, 1893, in La there WaS r f orded a fali ° f 21 ‘ 7 ° ’ i nc hes iu thirty hours. The damage done by thp faU cannot be eBkimated. The crpps are ry^inocl entirely, aud bridges in all seettons of the country are either washed away or eeyerely damaged. AU of the country roads are impassable. All of the rail roads experienced washouts and there . g heavy dftmag0i as the road beds are weakened to a great exteqt ’ ion has . before , The S 0 C t never ex perienoed £ such a protracted period of rainfalis, and there is no way ^ estimating the total amount of djwage doaet farmers, according to well in f ormed cotton factors and commission mei ^ aro we ,j nigk ru j ned> and there j 8 n0 hope for them to recover their I ’ logses The cotton is gone to grass to _ a gr ea t extent, while the other farm p roduc t s are receiving no attention wka£eyer pwing to tho impossibili^ of work i ng the fields in the sain, j WAR STATUS IN SOUTH AFRICA Roberts Reports Two Small En¬ gagements With Enemy. IN BOTH BOERS WERE BEATEN Within the Last Few Days British Have Captured 5,000 Rifles Belonging to Burghers. Lord Roberts bas sent bulletins to London of two small fights occurring on June 26th and June 27th in which the Boers were discomfited. Iu a dis patch from Pretoria dated Thursday be Ba y S . ,« A small force of mounte d troops, . monnted uu8f commanded by Lieutenaut Colonel Dreiper was at tacked by the enemy \ under Prefers anJ ’ the morQ of June 2 6 tb, fleyen m iks uortll o{ Sonekal . They beatofftll0 e / and burned their , a « 0ur ca ua iti e8 were three wo uded and ten killed . .. Hunter * temporarily l £ commanding Iau Hftmilt on . g made marck yester dfty frQm Hoidelberg toward Frankfort without meeting any opposition. „ The en attacked our Eoodeval ^ ruit § st on tbe railway yesterday, ( hurB )f bnt were ensily beaten off b de t ac hment of the Derbyshire ht infftntry> t he West Australian m 0 unted, a fifteen pounder and an ar moured train . “Baden-Powell reports the capture of ^ influential Boer named Ray, who wa9 endeavoring to raise a commando in the Rnstinburg district. A patrol brought iu over a hundred rifles, More than 4,000 rifles and 1,000 infe rior pieties have been taken during the )ast few days . <<fi e s t a tes that thirty Boers have arrived at Rustenburg, going to their homes from Delareys commando. Thej wouId have Ieft before if <hey had seen the J proclamation which was carefully witl h6ld by the Bo er authority.” Lord Roberts says that Wednesday, June 27th, was a record market day in Pretoria for Boer farmers selling Parties of Boers are still hanging on General Buffer's flanks. F. R. Burn ham, the American scout, is invalided, On June 2Qth the war office cabled Lerd Inerts that disquieting reports regarding the hospital were nccumu jporo nurses were needed. On June 23th Lord Roberts replied, saying that he did not wish to shirk responsibility ° r to screen the short oom,ng8 ? f l ' he medlcal corps : and 1 ; e B^g^teda committee of f inquiry. He T said hat t iere hftd b " en a “ a ’ Dor T a nu “ bcr of sl ck , at B'flemfonton due to tbe exhausting t t nature of the march tb ' oondition of , the , camP &t m / f® where the river was crowded with de composing ? animals aud also with ( ^Tch V wounded after tho fi"hl on ° 10 th To improvise accommodations at f t ein for such a number whieh baJ beoome 2<0 00 before ho left Bloemfontein Roberts! was no easy task Raid Lord No tents were carried, a0d efinfo tbe Dub hospiSs ij c buildings ifthree had to be J months ^ befe bad been 6,3flfl admissions to the Uospitals * o£ patients suffering from 01lt ric fever , w hile the deaths num bered a bout 1,370-about 21 per cent, Lord Roberts observed that he did not kuow whether this would be an ab uormal rate in oivil hospitals in peace times, hut if the rate was abnormal it wag du0 to the exhausted state of the men ’ and not to the neglect of the med ica , 0O - RUSSIA MAKES PREPARATIONS, All Military and Civil Authorities Secretly ordered to Get Ready, The Vorwearts (German newspaper) says: “From an absolutely reliablu source we hear the Russian war min ister has sent to all military and civil authorities in Russia secret orders to prepare everything for mobilization.” 1.}. omom Has Orgn Largest «nouns Gin-11th! Ca.- h 1 ‘ The County. V > . OREGON ON A ROCK Our Big Battleship Meets With /Accident Ou Chinese Coast. THE NAVY DEPARTMENT IS ADVISED Vessel Was Hurrying To Chee Foo and Struck Flnnaclo Kork During a Dense Fog—May Yet lie Saved. The following dispatches were re¬ ceived at the navy department Satur¬ day morning relative to the grounding of the battleship Oregon: “Che Foo, June 29.—Secretary of the Navy: Anchored yesterday, dense fog in seventeen fathoms, three miles south of How Ke Light, gulf of Po Chile. Sent out two boats aud sound¬ ed—least water five and half fathoms. Weather clear. Got under way and struck Piuuacle rock. Much water in the forward compartment. Perfectly smooth. Shall charter a steamer if possible at Chee Foo aud lighteu ship. Rock through side of ship above double bottom about frame 19. Small holes also through bottom of ship. “Wilde.’’ “Che Foo, June 29.—Secretary Navy: Iris gone to assistance of tho Oregon. Raymond Rogeks, “Commanding Nashville.” “Hong Kong, June 29.—Secretary of the Navy, Washington: Princeton arrived. Brooklyn leaves for Nagasaki. The Zallro, at Che Foo, has been seut to assist Oregon, reported by Rogers on a rock south of How Ke light. Iris going to her assistance. Remey.” Captain Wilde’s statement of tho injury sustained by the Oregon is not sufficient for the department to form a definite opinion as to the prospects of saving the famous ship. They say, however, that the ship probably can be saved, if the weather does not be¬ come rough, but unfortunately this is the season of storms in Chinese wa¬ ters. The point where the Oregon grounded is fifty miles west northwest of Che Foo. Taku is 150 miles west of Pinnacle rock, where she struck. At the request of the secretary of the navy, the state department sent a message to the Russian government at St. Petersburg asking permission to brrng the Oregon to Port Arthur to bo docked there in the event the ship can be floated. At that point is the nearest dock of sufficient size to dock tho ship, and it is part of the navy yard possessions of tho Russian govern¬ ment. Secretary Long will spare no reason¬ able expense iu the effort to save the Oregon. Her total cost was $5,575, 032. Ou this total the hull aud ma¬ chinery represeuted $3,222,810. The Oregan made herself the most famous ship in the American navy, and the best known ship in the navies of the world by her remarkable raco from San Francisco around Cape Horn to join the fleet at Key West just be¬ fore tho Avar Avith Spain was declared. It Avas a feat unequaled in the an¬ nals of naval history, aud au unprece¬ dented test of the capabilities and powor of a modern Avarship. The 'Oregon, nuder command of Captain Charles E. Clark, began her long race of 14,000 miles against time from San Francisco on March 19th, 1898. She arrived at Jupiter Inlet, Fla., on May 24th and oommunieated with the navy officials at Washington. Secretary Long ordered Captain Clark to report to the Norfolk navy yard if his ship needed overhauling; if not, he was to go directly to Key West. Two days later, or on May 20tb, the Oregon joined the fleet at Key West. She bad steamed the 14,700 miles at racing speed without the slightest im¬ pairment of her delicate machinery, or a break of any kind. Tbe civilized world rang with praises of the magnif¬ icent performance of the ship and her heroic crew. The Oregon participated in the at¬ tack on Santiago and Avith the Brook¬ lyn prevented the escape of the Colon in tho memorable sea fight of July 4 th. During the chase of the Colon the Oregon developed a speed of eighteen knots under forced draft. When peace was declared with Spain the Oregon Avas sent to Manila. Some days ago the vessel was ordered to China, and had nearly reached her destination when the accident oc¬ curred. NO. SNEU PAYS PENALTY Former Georgian Hanged at the National Capital. KILLED A THIRTEEN-YEAR OLD GIRL Owing: to Snell’a Heavy Weight, the Hope Cut Through and Almost Decap¬ itated Him, Benjamin II. Snell, formerly of Georgia, paid the death penalty on the scaffold in the district jail at Wash¬ ington Friday for one of the most fiendish murders ever committed within the confines of the District of Columbia. His victim was Lizzie Weiseuberger, a little white girl, thirteen years old. Suell was a clerk in tho pension office, a giant in size, measuring six feet six inches and weighing nearly 200 pounds. The drop fell at 12:07 and his neok Avas broken by the fall of 5 feet, and the rope cut through to the spinal col¬ umn, almost decapitating him. There were only a few present at tho execution, but among them was Karl WieBenberger, the father of the murdered girl. The crime for which Snell paid the penalty was committed August 6 th, 1899, at the residence of the victim’s parents. The evidence on the part of the prosecution tended to show that Snell went to the house of Karl Weis enberger, father of little Lizzie, that morning and asked for a drink of water. There being no water in the house, Mr. Weiseuberger Avent to a hydrant, some distance away, to procure some. Thereupon Snell pasted through the house aud entered the kitchen, where Mrs. Mary Weisenberger, the wife of Karl and mother of Lizzie, was pre¬ paring the morning meal. Snell greet¬ ed her in his usual manner, to which she responded by ordering him out of the house and accusing him of having seduced her daughter Lizzie. Suell thereupon went from the kitch¬ en into the adjoining room, where Liz¬ zie Weisenberger was sleeping, drew a razor from his pocket and cut her throat, inflicting five wounds and nearly severing her head from her body. When the mother, hearing the cries of her child, rushed into the bed¬ room to protect her, Snell assaulted the mother, cutting her twice. Snell knocked the woman down and made a break for liberty and was chased several blocks before being captured and disarmed. He at once feigned insanity, and made that liia pica in the trials that followed. SEYMOUR’S CASUALTY LIST. Allied Troops Killed In Battles With Boxers sand Chines# Soldiers. According to a message from Ad¬ miral Seymour, casualties in the bat¬ tles with Boxers and Chinese troops up to last Friday were as follows: “British killed 27, wounded 75. Americans killed 4, wounded 25. French killed 1, wounded 10. Ger¬ mans killed 12, wounded 62. Italians killed 5, wounded 3. Japanese killed 2 , wounded 3. Austrians killed 1, wounded 1 . Russians killed 10, wounded 27.” AS AN OBJECT LESSON 1.1 Hung Chang Orders Over a Hundred lMraten and Boxer* Beheaded. The Canton correspondent of The London Daily Telegraph, iu a dispatch dated Thursday, says: “One hundred and thirty pirates and boxers were beheaded yesterday by Li’s orders to terrorize law break ers. The United States steamship Princeton has been ordered to Can¬ ton.” BATTLESHIP OREGON AGROUND. BIb Naval Vessel Deported Ashore Fifty Miles From Che Foo. It is reported in Shanghai that the United States battleship Oregon is on shore on the island of Hoo Kie, in the Miao Tao group, fifty miles north of Che Foo, aud that a steamer of the In do China Steam Navigation company has gone to her assistance. (Queensland Is Patriotic. The government of Queensland has offered the British admiralty a gun¬ boat for service iu Chinese waters. ;