Newspaper Page Text
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VOLUME XIV.
RE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION.
* * . , t .. u - . - < . ? • .
TUESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 20, 1881. ==
°A
PRICE 5 CENTS.
THE DARK MONDAY
THAT BORE DISASTER TO THE PEO
PLE OF MICHIGAN.
The Coming of the Pillar of Fire and Smoke.—The
Fright of the People—The Wild Side of a Me*
niae—Conrtiac the Beaeh—Plishtof Wild
Animal.—The Charred Hemalm.
desolate waste of country full of the ashes of pros
perity, and crowded with sick, wounded and dU-
counwed humanity, whose tears and groans must
open the heart of sympathy in every corner of the
country'. Turn which way they will, they see black
ruin and utter desolation;
THE PAULDING TRAGEDY.
Detroit Free Press Correspondence.
On .Saturday, the 3d instant, along the eastern
shore of Michigan a thin cloud of smoke rested
over the forests and gave the lake a hazy look. On
Sunday this cloud was thicker. Cattle and horses
had a wild, excited look, and fowls acted in a
strange manner.
For ten day* post fires had been burning in Sani
lac, Huron and Tuscola counties, but no one appre
hended any danger. Farmers had set fire to slash
ings to clear the ground for fall wheat, hut this
happens every fall, und the fact that not a drop of
water had fallen in from fifty to seventy days was
not considered by those who saw the smoke clouds
and replied that there was no danger. There was
danger. Ilehind thnt pall of smoke was a greater
enemy than an earthquake, and it had a tornado ut
its hock and 200 miles of forest in the front.
Monday morning the smoke cloud was thicker.
Far out In the lake It settled down utitil lamps on
shipboard had to lie lighted to see the compass, and
there was a weirdness about it which made sailors
fear. At noon, on land, no midnight was ever
darker. LamjM were powerless to light even a
small room. All buxlnesN was suspended in the
streets of the towns, and In the country the fanners
gathered their wives and children about them, aud
whispered that it was the coming of judgment.
Hot waves swept through the forests and over the
farms, parching the green leaves ns if they had been
placed in hot ovens. Hmoke was everywhere—
thick, bitter smoke, which blinded men aud
suflbented children in their mother's arms. From
noon until 3 o'clock a strange terror held the peo
ple in Its grip. Then, all of a sudden, the heavens
took lire, or so it seemed to hundreds. In some
localities It camo witli the sound of thunder. In
others it was preceded by a terrible roaring, ns if a
tidal wave were sweeping over the country. Al
most at the same minute the flumes appeared iu
every spot over a district of country thirty miles
broad by a hundred In length.
A billow of flame tap thirty—forty, and in some
places sixty feet high, fanned liy n hot and brisk
southwest wind, rolled over this tracl? und left be
hind it the charred bodies of hundreds of people,
thousands of live stock, and one can hardly tell
how many homes. Thu very air wns in flame. A
gas formed nhend of the wall of flames, and this
snapped uml erarkled and scorched and withered
and left green leaves os dry as powder.
At Illchmondvllle, ten miles above Sanilac, one
hundred riud fifty people had comfortable homes,
stacks of lmy and grain, teams, cows, pigs, sheep
and no fear of the tire which they knew was burn
iug a mile nway. At i! o’clock the flumes rushed out
of the woods, 1 called the fences, ran across Imre
fields, and swallowed every huusc but two und
toasted alive a dozen iieoplc. It is lmrdly forty
rods to the beach of the lake, and
yet many ]ieoplc had not time to
reach the water. Others reached it with
clothing on fire nnd fares and hands blistered. Thu
houses did not bum singly, but one billow of flame
seized nil ut once, and reduced them to nothing in
ten minutes. The two buildings saved were spared
by the flames—not saved by the hand of man. The
flames swept each side of them, as if mercifully in
tending to leave some landmark of the hamlet and
some place to shelter women and children and the
sick. Forty families in and around' this hamlet
CTCC!.lUj. , Y>U!Th i 1 u.tpe end situ; kg for thsMr Seona
reached St, to remain iu the water for hours, while
others fell on the highway aud were
burned to a crisp. There was no
time to save anything from the houses, and when 1
rode through the district, families which liutadny
before had been possessed of plenty, were not the
owner of a knife or spoon. Women were barehead
ed ami barefooted, children still worse oil', and bare
headed men sat on the ]airehed ground aud won
dered If God had not forsaken them.
A terrible cyclone struck this district with the
flames and I saw ninny and many a spot where the
billow of tire jumped a clean half mile out of the
forest to rlutch house or bum. The rearing and
crashing were awful. Horses ran here nnd there,
neighing and almost screaming in tlieir terror; cows
and oxen plunged and bellowed, and the most sav
age dogs were so overcome liy fear thnt they run
back into the blazing houses and died in the flames.
In this awful confusion, with trees crashing down
before the cyclone, and houses being unroofed by
its terrible power, while a great billow of tlame
came sweeping on ns fast us a horse could gallop,
fathers nnd mothers were called upon to save each
other nnd their children. The highways were lines
of tire, ltivcrs and creeks were do' ditches. The
only ehnneu to escape was to rush for- the ojien
Helds, and yet in the open fields, men, women and
children were burned to cinder. Those who pre
served their thought through the terrible confusion
preceding the appearance of the flames seized the
woolen blankets, wet them thoroughly, and drew
these over them as they crouched down on the
plowed ground, and where this plan was followed
their lives were generally saved. In some coses
people lay out in the fields fourteen long hours be
fore it was safe to rise up.
To one riding through the distriet it seems miracu
lous that a single soul escaiied. The fire swept
through the green trees the same as the dry. It ran
through fields of com with a speed of twenty miles
an hour, nnd fields of green clover were swept as
bare ns a floor. Hark and gloomy swamps, tilled
with ponds of stagnant water, mid the home for
years of wild eats, beats and snakes were struck
and shriveled and burned almost In a flush. Over
the parched meadows the flames ran faster than a
liorse could gallop. Horses did gallop before it. but
were overtaken and left roosting on the ground. It
seemed ns if every hope and avenue of escape were
cut oil’, nnd yet hundreds of lives were spared. Peo
ple spent ten to twenty hours in ditches and ponds,
or in fields under wet blankets, having their hair
singed, their limbs blistered and' their clolhiug
bunted off piece by piece.
A mile north of where the old man Goodrich
lived wns a family which had a crazy son. When
the smoke begun to darken the country he began to
get excited, and on the dark day, two hours before
tlie flames came, he mounted a horse and galloped
up and down the country, crying out that the last
■day had come, nnd that the earth was to be swept
clean. latter he was seen nishing headlong to
wards the flames, whooping nnd cheering, and no
doubt he perished first of all. The horse Itself
seemed to partake of the rider’s spirit, and his shrill
neighs answered the cheers of the rider.
People felt the heat while the fire was yet miles
nwav. It withered the leaves of trees standing two
miles from the path of the fiery serpent. The very
earth took fire in hundreds of places, and blazed up
as If the fire were feasting on cord wood. The
stoutest log buildings stood up only n few minutes.
The fire seemed to catch them at every comer at
once, and after a whirl and a roar nothing would
lie left. Seven miles off tlie beaeh, at Forrester,
sailors found the heat uncomfortable. Where some
houses nnd bams were burned we could not find
oven a blackened stick. Every log, beam and board
was reduced to fine ashes.
The people who sought the beaeh had still to en
dure much of the heat and all of the smoke. Wad
ing out up to their shoulders they were safe from
the flames, but sisirks und cinders fell like a snow
storm nnd the smoke was suffocating. The birds
not caught in the woods were carried out to sea and
dmwncd. and the waves have washed thousands of
them ashore. Squirrels, rabbits and such small
animals stood no show at all, but deer and bear
sought the beaeh and the company of human be
ings. In one case a man leaped from
n ' bluff iuto the lake and found
himself close behind a large bear. They
remained in company under the bank nearly all
night, and the bear seemed oshnmblc as a dog. In
another instance two of the animals came out of the
forest and stood close to a well from which a famier
was drawing water to dash over his house, and they
were with him for two hours before they deemed it
K rudent to jog along. Deer came out and sought
ic companionship of cattle and horses, and paid no
attention to persons rushing past them.'
Half enough coffins t o bury the dead could not
have been got into the burned district in a week,
gome wore buried with neither coifin nor shroud,
while others had rude boxes as their last receptacle.
In beyond CnreonviHe. in one case, the coran was
made'of roof-boards taken from a shed, sawed up
with a crew-cut saw, and fastened together with
nails taken from the ashes of the victim’s burned
The dead are buried, but there is left a horribly
Aaather Arrow at of the DIBralty aid its Orlfii.
Yesterday a Constitution representative met a
gentleman from near Douglasville who was ac
quainted with the particulars of the Mitchell-Cook
shooting affray, which occurred between Douglos-
villc and Powder Springs Friday morning.
You sec.” said the gentleman, “the parties
wcreJ F Cook, his step-son JocMahathy, William
Mitchell, his son and a man named Nottingham.
For years past there has been an old difficulty be
tween Mitchell nnd Cook and on more than one oc
casion the tragedy of yesterday came near being
enacted, but both men were men of standing and
friends kept them apart.
Mitchell lived on a farm in Douglas county and
Cook In Paulding county. Their farms udjoin and
this was the cause of the original difficulty. I can’t
tell you the particulars but It was something about
u line fence that caused the first fuss. On last Mon
day Cook found a lot of Mitchell’s
hogs in his com field and drove them out.
Mitchell happened to see Cook driving his hogs
away, and made an assault upon him. He was ac
companied by a young man named Nottingham
who was working for him. and the two were too
much for Cook, who was compelled to abandon the
buttle field. This renewed the old difficulty, aud
Cook swore he would lie revenged.
Last Friday morning Cook again found Mitchell's
hogs in Ills corn field. He sent Mitchell word that
they were there and then went home and armed
himself with an old musket loaded witli shot and
ball, Acconi|Ninied by his step-son, Joe
Mahathr. Cook then went hack to the
coni field for the purpose of driving the dings out,
but was met bv Mitchell, his son, aged about eigh
teen years, anil Nottingham. The sight of the trio
did not frighten Cook und his son, und they went
for the hogs in gallant style, but the Mitchells came
to the defense of their property, anil a general fight
ensued, it scorns that Nottingham, who was u
stout young man, rushed at Cook, who told him
to go away, but with threats, Nottingham contin
ued his advance until Cook fired. Cook’s aim was
good, and Nottingham fell dead with
a dozen holes through liis heart. The
elder Mitchell then struck Cook with a stone knock
ing him down. As soon as Cook fell Mitchell
jumped upon him anil began stubbing him with a
knife. Mahathy, Cook's stepson, then picked up
the musket uml struck the elder Mitchell two fear-
ful blows over the head with it, crushing tlie skull
terribly.
When the battle wins over Nottingham was dead,
Cook wns badly wounded having received three
ugly knife cuts, and Mitchell wus uncon
scious. As soon as possible the wounded
men were removed to their homes where Dr. Pool,
of Doiiglasfllle.uutl IJr Cotton, of Powder Sprinjpi
visited them. Cook's woundsiire pronounced seri
ous but It is believed that he will soon recover.
Mitchell's injuriesare thought to be fatal. The gun
was a heavy weapon and the skull was so badly
crushed that the brain oozed ont.
The affair occurred in Paulding county and the
coroner held an luqueatyeaterday over the body of
Nottingham. After a careful Investigation avenlict
of justifiable homicide was rendered. Tlie affair
has created the wildest excitement.
A TERRIBLE DISASTER.
METHODS OF THE MOQUIS,
WHOSE RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES
ARE WEIRD AND STRANGE.
An Almost Unknown Tribe of Indians Brought to
Light, and Their Peculiar Religious Hites De
scribed — The Snake ss a Charmer
and an Object of Worship.
A Panic Caused by a Fire—Hundreds Trampled
Under Foot,
Kansas City, September 15.—A terrible disaster
occurred at the fair grounds this afternoon, result
ing in tlie destruction of the main hall and all sur
rounding buildings. A fire broke out in the west
end of the main hall at 3:45 p.m. At that hour the
hall was densely crowded, and at once a panic seized
upon the multitude. All efforts to quiet the excited
and terror-stricken jieople were of uo avail, und in
the confusion they rushed hither and
thither, trampling each other down, while
shrieks, groans and cries filled the air. Aii im
mense heavy black cloud of smoke came from the
building In vast volumes und settled like a pall over
the grounds, which were literally black with the
moving mass of humanity, estimated at "JO,000 peo
ple. A strong wind was blowing, and the lire
spread with wonderful rapidity, quickly communi
cating to the surrounding buildings. In an almost
inercd'biy s'v -rt ”1 a*e iLtlail •ASvmir
with all its contents, was an unsightly heap of ashes.
The flumes leaped across the avenue to Newspaper
row, quickly swallowing up the buildings of tlie
Times, Journal and Mail, tlie secretary's ofiicc and
a number of refreshment stands in that vicinity.
They next attacked tlie grand stand iu which not
less than 12.000 people were seated watching the
races. People lied in terror before the advancing
fire. Many fell uml were trampled upon, and a
large number were ninimed ana mutilated. The
confusion was indescribable. A panic had seized
upon the vast multitude, and it seemed impossible
to quiet their fours. There were no facilities for
extinguishing the fire ut hand, and it did not stop
until there was no more material for It to feed
upon. The fire department went to the
grounds, but could not reach there iu time to be of
any service. It had to lay 1,500 feet of hose to get
water. The money, etc., of the association was sav
ed from the secretary's ofiice. Power hall, the fine
nrt gallery* and stalls with the horses were saved.
Tlie fire started from a pile of rubbish lying on the
ground oustide the west entrance of the main hull.
A party of young fellows were standing iu the door
way smoking, nnd the fire is supjioscd to have been
started by one of them throwing a cigarette stub
into a pile of shavings. It is believed there wns no
loss iif life and no one is reported missing up to the
present time. The losses will foot up fully SoO.OUO.
FEMALE FRAILTIES
Chicaoo, September 16.—First Lieutenant Jolin-G
Bourke, Third cavalry United States army, and
aide-de-camp to General Crook, was one of the aft-
cers selected by Lieutenant-General Sheridan so4pc
months since to make investigations into the habjfs,
etc., of the Indinns living within or contiguous n
the military division of Missouri. The district as
signed Lieutenant Bourke was the southern half &
the division, the northern portion being allotted to
Captain W p Clarke, Second cavalry. Bourko his
penetrated into a country never before traversed by
a white man, nnd has written to General Sheridan h
long letter which contains a graphic account of a
curious und horrible religious ceremony among the
remote and almost unknown' Indian tribe, the
Moquis of northeastern Arizona. They have an
apostle whose Identity has been preserved since
they were first seen and partially described by Span
ish Catholic missionaries in 1636. The rite referred
to is the snake-dance.
Lieutenant Bourke says the Moquis had the pro
cession divided into two parts, one of the choristers
and gourd rattlers, the other of forty-eight meu and
children, twenty-four of whom carried snakes anil
the other twenty-four acted ns attendants, fanning
the snakes with eagle feathers. The horrible reii-
tlles were carried both in hauds and in the moiil*
It was a loathsome sight to see the long file of nak-'i
men carrying these monsters between thi ?
teeth and tramping around a long ciir 'o
to the accompaniment of a funeral
dlige of rattles and monotonous chantin,
After a snake had been thus carried around tree
circle, it was deposited in a sacred log of cottonwood
sapling, covered with buffalo robes, and its pla j
taken by another. Thus it was not hard to calm -
late the number used, which was not far from o; 6
hundred—rather over than under; and half i>e
number were rattlesnakes. The procession en ten. 1
through an arcade, marching in a line of arrow-
heads four times around the grand circle, cmbrac;
ing both the sacred lodge and the sacred rock, and
then formed in two single ranks, the chor
isters facing toward the precipice nnd
the dancers facing the sacred lodge
The ‘‘high priest,” as 1 call him. took statiou
rectly in front of the sacred lodge, aud between It
and the sacred rock, which latter is a grim lookh.z
pile of weather-worn sandstone 20 or 30 feet high,
having a slight resemblance to a human head. At
the foot of It Is a niche, in whieli is a piece
of black stone, bearing a very vague ap
pearance of the human trunk; at the base of this
idol are many votive offerings to propitiate the
deity to send plentiful rains, and as the procession
files arou.nl the little plaza, the “high priest '
sprinkles the ground with water, using un earthed
bowl and on eagle’s feather us a spriuklet-
A second medicine man twirls a peculiar sling
and makes a noise like the falling of copious
showers. When the two lines are halted facing
each other, the dancers, who nre at first provided
with eagle feathers, wave them gently downward to
the right und left, while the choristers s’,lake their
rattles, making a noise like rattlesnakes, aud at th
same time sing a low nnd not unmusical chan-.
When this Is finished the “high priest” holds thy
bowl toward thesacred lodge, utters a low but auilt
ble praver nnd sprinkles the ground again wlA
water. The singing and feather-waving are ro peatej
and the first scene is over.
Nothing at all horrible has occurred yet. But n
time is last before the second part of the ceietMnj
commences. The clioristc.s remain in their jilaet-f
with the "high priest,” while the druil
cers, two by two aud arm iu arm, tmiu i
witli measured tread in a long elicle, embmeiar
the sacred points already mentioned. Your blor \
like this of the one class of schools depopulating the
other. There will always be room for both.
The danger, and the only possible danger, to the
public school system is that there will in time come
a demand for a division of the public school fund,
and that a portion of it be allotted to the support of
sectarian schools. That danger is of necessity very
remote. It is fully as remote as is the possibility
that a majority of the people of this country wifi
become ltoman Catholics. Occasionally there is
some man weak enough to propose such a scheme,
but it is so extremely visionary os to be repudiated
by all Catholic laymen. In fact, there is a legal
prohibition of any expenditure of any monev raised
by taxation for any purpose in aid of anv school or
church, or for any sectarian purpose: and this pro
hibition, in addition to being an expression of uni
versal public sentiment, is recorded irrepealably in
the constitution of every state in the union.
The school system of the Homan Catholic church
is evidently designed to so educate the routhof that
denomination in tlie faith of the church that they
will when they grow up adhere to it. It is designed
to be preventive and preservative, and as a met*
matter of church policy will undoubtedly do much
toward that end; but so long as there is no attempt
to make the public a part)' to that policy we suppose
the public have nothing to say about it. further
than that other denominations may undertake a
like work in their own behalf.
THE MURDERED CONVICT.
A TALE OF THE MOST UNPARAL
LELED BRUTALITY.
The True*Pacts of the Penitentiary Horror on the
Marietta and North Georgia Railroad.-Beaten,
Bruised. Mangled and Mutilated in Such
a Manner aa Would Shame Savages.
DAZED CHRISTIANCY.
He Is Challenged to Mortal Combat, but Considerately
Declines.
Washington, September 17.—Since ex-Minister
Christiancy returned from Peru, he has in several
interviews reflected upon his wife, and pronounced
all her testimony in the divorce case perjury. This
amused the Indignation of Dr F Litgenbell, brother
of Mrs Christiancy, and yesterday he called upon
Christiancy, but the latterrefused to see him. Sub
sequently Dr Lugenbell sent Christiancy by mail
the followingletter:
To Hon J P Christiancy—Sir: Unless you preferto
confine yourself lo assaults upon women, to warfare
in print, and to similar methods involving no phys
ical danger, you will please meet me at any spot in
Virginia, which you may designate, within twenty
miles of Washington. Anv communication ad
dressed tome in the care of J. Eieholz, 316 D street,
northwest, will reach me. It will be wise to accept
my proposition. Respectfully, T. Lugenbell.
Christancy wrote a reply saying : Having no
special ambition to acquire notoriety by assassina
tion, in which it seems I have the misfortune to
differ from you, and not believing that the mode
vou propose is the best for ascertaining the truth,
though, perhaps, as satisfactory as some methods of
procedure recently adopted in thiscountry, it occurs
to me that the best manner of answering your letter
is by an emphatic silence so far as relates
to the special inntters therein set forth, but without
admitting the truth of the charges, leaving you to
carry out at your own time and in your own way
the implied threat contained in the last sentence of
that note, of the wisdom of which I cannot accept,
even on your assurance. Seeking on my part only
such protection as the laws of my country afford, I
am, yours truly, J P Christiancy.
Lugenbell’s letter wns a plain challenge, and this
afternoon Christiancy applied for a warrant against
Lucenbell, who lives in Virginia.
While ex-Minister Christiancy, who is a guest at
the National hotel, was absent fron his room this
morning, hts door was forced open by thieves and a
box containing S6,000 worth of jewelry and dia
monds wns lined. The box had recently arrived
from Peru nnd it is thought the thieves followed it
from New York to this city. The jewelry and dia
monds did not belong to the ex-minister, but were
placed in his custody as United States minister for
safe keeping. There is no clue to the thieves.
GEORGIA CROP NEWS.
Crops in Jasper county are not good.
Crops are good from Cedartown to Rome.
Crops are exceedingly good in Carroll county.
Crops good in Haralson and Paulding counties.
Sumter county will make an average cotton crop.
The cotton crop around Hampton will be about
half
The sugar cane] crop of Stewart county looks
well.
Harris county will sow a larger area in grain than
usual.
A good com crop in the upper part of Oconee
county.
[Jiiops are better titan first reported in Cobb
GItIimc Rise to Numerous Family Jars.
Washington, September 16.—A sensational *eno
was witnessed on New York avenue, near Four
teenth street, this city, to-day. Colonel Boyd, who
annually publishes the Washington business direc
tory, wus walking down New York avenue with a
handsqme young lady. Suddenly a carriage was
pulled «p at the curbing immediately opposite the
couple, mid Mrs Boyil, wife of Colonel Boyd,
jumped out of it. She produced a cowhide and
began to lash the young lady who was
with Boyd unmercifully. The young lady
ran. Mrs Boyd following, but bystanders
interfered after a few strokes had been
administered. Then Boyd, at the command of his
wife, entered tlie carriage with her nnd was driven
home. Boyd has charge of one of the divisions of
the census, and several ladies are employed under
him. It is said he has been over attentive to two
or three of these ladies, and especially to one of
them. His attentions to this one aroused his wife’s
jealousy, and she has been watching the pair. To
day. just after Boyd met the young lady, his wife
made the descent npou them ns described. Whether
there is to be any divorce or damage suits hasn’t yet
been developed.
Chicago, September 16.—Benjamin Beatty,
of Newberry, Clermont county, Ohio, last
night shot Dr J F Abrams, a practicing physi
cian of that place, on account of his suspicions
of too great an intimacy between Abrams and Mis
Beatty. The shot took effect in the face, the ball
lodging in the neck. It is supposed to be fatal.
Chicago, September 16—An extraordinary divorce
case began in tlie superior court to-day. Mrs
Elizabeth Faloy modestly asks a divorce from two
husbands. . In 1868 she married Dents Faloy. of
Lynn. Mass, but in 1872 he deserted her; two years
later Edward Hines told her Faloy was dead, and
persuaded her to marry him. Subsequently she
teamed that Faloy was not only living in Quincy.
Mass, but was married to another woman and had
several children. Mrs Faloy therefore asks to be
released from Faloy because of his gross violation
of marriage vows, aud from Hines because she
could not legally contract marriage when she mar
ried him. The ease is unique iu tlie history of
divorce suits.
THE ASSEMBLED METHODISTS.
rliills as you see held liy the men on the left -n county.
of nil kinds wriggling and writhing win , ->>}, half the cotton crop of Walton couiitv seems to
a JSl 'iWlWSTS
count on this part of tlie busiuess. Snakes urc car
ried in the hail and in the mouth, and us I have al
ready said some of the rattlesnakes were so large,
over five feet, that tlie dancer could not grasp the
whole , diameter iu his mouth. As the procession
filed past the squaws, the latter threw com meal
before them onjthe ground..Thus snakes when thrown
to the earth showed themselves in the must
cases to be extremely vicious and struck at any one
coming near. In such an event a little comment
was thrown upon them, and the assistant running
up funned them with the eagle feathers until they
coiled up, and then he quickly seized them back of
ilicheati. After all the snakes had been put under
the buffalo robe covering the sacred lodge, there was
another prayer and the second scene ended. The
third scene commenced almost immediately and was
as follows; The snakes were seized* by ones, twos
and linlf dozens aud thrown into the circle,
where they were covered over with eoromea. Tlie
signal was given and a number of fleet young
men grabbed the snakes in handfuls, ran at
full speed down the almost vertical paths
in the face of the mesa, and upon reaching its foot
let them go free to the north, the south, the east
and west. Tlie young men then came back at full
run, dashed through the crowd and on to one of the
estafas, where we were told that they had to swal
low a potion to indueeScopious vomiting and to
undergo other treatment to neutralize any bites
thev may have received.
Of one thing I nm assured; the Moquis medicine
meu know more aliout snakes titan any people on
the earth, the Asiatic snake channels not excepted.
--U hccipen
1M " Walker county will make more com than she did
last year.
The sweet potato crop of DeKalb county is not
promising.
Young Rawlins has the brag cotton patch in Tel
fair county.
Sumter county jHU make an average yield of top
crop cotton.
Baldwin county will make more com than she
did last year.
The colored people in Oglethorpe county arc
buying up land.
Fayette county will make a little more than half
a crop of cotton.
J L Edmondson, of Spring Place, is the com grow
er of Ills county.
V A Hamby, of Cobb county, makes and raises all
of his provisions.
Gordon county will not make more than half crop
of com and cotton.
A little doubt about more than half a cotton
crop around Byron.
Half crops of com and cotton will be made in
Montgomery county.
Caterpillars are injuring the top crop of cotton
in Washington county.
Large quantities of hay will be saYed by many
Henry county fanners.
Oglethorpe county willmakea little over half an
average crop of cotton.
SENATOR HILL’S CONDITION.
A DImimIoii of the Power of the Pre*»-
London, September 16.—Tlie ecumenical Metho
dist conference passed a resolution In favor of in
ternational arbitration.
The session of the ecumenical conference to-day
was occupied In the discussion of the use of the
I iress for the advancement of Christianity, embrac-
ng clauses on periodical publications of every
grade for adults, juvenile literature, the daily
press, and the use to be made of it by the church,
etc.
Mr Matshail. of Vicksburg. Mississippi, recom
mended the establishment of a well endowed church
newspaper, which, he said, would do as much for
the church as great universities. He praised the
American press for the willingness with which it
did the work of the church by reporting church
services.
The subject caused considerable difference of
opinion.
Bishop Holland McTyeire said religions newspa
pers were too narrow-minded.
M r Gibson condemned the tone of the secular press
in America.
The balance of opinion seemed to favor the pro
motion of religions newspapers.
He In Improving Rapidly and Will Soon be Home-
Then Will Try Eureka Springs.
Advices'rceeived at this office from Senator Hill
inform us that he is rallying rapidly from the effects
of the late operation and will probably be able to
leave the hospital and return to Atlanta in about
ten days.
As soon as Mr. Hill recovers from tho fatigue of
his journey home, he will go to Eureka springs and
try the famed waters for a permanent cure. At
present no one can tell whether or not this can be
effected. It Is about given up that the knife cannot
effect a radical cure, but those who know best are
confident that Eureka can do it.
Mr. Hill wrote a letter since tire operation to Mr.
C. D. Hill, now in this city, and the handwriting i
natural and bold, and shows that the powerfu
vigor of the senator has already brought hun out of
the prostration following the knife. He has not
spoken yet since the operation, but it is not thought
that his' speech will be permanently affected, us
only about one-fourth of his tongue has been re
moved.
The Murdered^ ConTtct.
( Columbus Enquirer.
This calls loudly for a reform in the management
of convicts. It is true that they are sent to the pen
itentiary as a mode of punishment, but the law pre
scribes how the punishment shall be executed. It
is said that the company that employed this convict
is in no way responsible for his death, and that it is
entirely on"the nands of Phillips. If the company
is in no way responsible what protection lias the
state and what protection has the convict
from any bloodhound whom the company
mav see proper to employ as an over
seer? There is a very grave responsibility resting
somewhere, and it seems that Phillips is not a re
sponsible character. Who, then, is to blame for this?
If the company employ a man of brutal character,
thev should be' held to account for his acts. While
we 'do not hold that they are accessory to the mur
der of Mathews, their position is certainly a very
grave unenviable one. If the convicts are to be
taken anil beaten to death by a brute, and none re
sponsible for it,then the earlier the system is abolish
ed the more humane it will be.
The Catholic School System.
Chicago Tribune.
The advice of the bishop of Georgia to the Roman
Catholic people of that state is to send the children
to school, and always to send them to the schools
established by the church wherever they can be
found, and, further, to labor to the extent of their
ability and means toestablishsuchschoolswherever
possible. This has always been the policy of that
church, and the fidelity with which it has been ad
hered to in all parts of the country is shown in the
great array of sectarian schools of all grades now in
operation. . _
It is claimed and asserted that the successful exe
cution of this policy is a menace to the American
system of common schools, and that the establish
ment of sectarian schools is full of danger to the
public schools. Just at this time, there are not
schools enough —public, sectarian, and private—to
accommodate the children who would like to
attend them. The children of this city who attend
the sectarian schools could not, if they would, find
room in the public schools. There is, therefore, no
immediate danger in a forever increasing country
The rice crop of Liberty county, will be fearfully
cut off by the late storm. •
Murrain is playing havoc with the cattle on Sand
Mountain, Dade county.
At least two-thirds of a cotton crop will he made
down about Montezuma.
Caterpillars are injuring the cotton in some lo
calities in Morgan county.
The cotton crop in the valley In Dade county will
exceed any previous year.
The largest portion of the cotton crop in Houston
county has been gathered.
The cotton crop around Cross Keys district, DeKulb
county, is an average one.
Sheep farming pays 63 percent average profit on
the investment in Georgia.
Farmers in Cobb county are cutting and saving a
great deal of hay this season.
It is estimated that oue-lialf the'cotton crop of
Polk county is already picked.
Farmers around Lexington pay 60 cents for cotton
picking and board the pickers
Caterpillars are damaging the cotton between
HayneviUe and Hawkinsviile.
Many sections of Dooly county, will make more
com than they have for several years.
The genuine cotton caterpillar is putting in its
work in some places in Talbot county.
S T Murray, of Dooly county, has already picked
five boles of cotton from five acres of land.
Colonel WH Willis, of Oglethorpe county, has
cleared 62,000 on dried peaches this season.
There will be an average of one bale of cotton to
every four acres throughout Wilkes county.
The drouth still continues in Putnam county.
The crops of peas and potatoes will be short.
Corn and cotton crops of Chattooga county are
much better than at one time calculated on.
Stewart county will have a larger acreage in oats
and other small grain this fall than ever before.
Farmers about Hollingsworth, Banks count)', are
offering SO cents a day and board to cotton pickers.
Mr T McGee, of Harris county, has three acres of
cotton for which he refused 1,500 pounds of lint
cottop.
On twenty-five acres of laud the Barnes brothers,
of Baldwin county, will make three hundred bush
els of com.
J. C. Whitaker, on river lands in Baldwin county,
will make 5,000 bushels of com. Half this quantity
will supply his farm.
Mr D J Henderson, of Irwin county, has just
gathered seventy-five bushels of com from an acre
and a fourth of land. .
Mr Joe Cofeb, of Gooscpond, Oglethorpe county,
has sold his place to a colored man for 200 bales of
cotton on twenty years’ time.
Mr J P Fears, of Morgan county, will make plen
ty of corn to do him, and his cotton crop is as good
as that of any of his neighbors.
Miss Salue McRae, of Walton county, had gath
ered and sold four bales of cotton by the 27th of
August. She will have cotton on exhibition in
Atlanta.
A number of newspapers in this state are telling
fanners to sow turnips and plenty of grain. The
Constitution tells them that, looking over the state
this season, while dry weather injured many crops,
a large number of farms suffered for work. Drouth
did not injure a very great number of well worked
crops.
For several days the public lias been greatly ex
cited over the death of Mathews, the convict, at the
Ball Ground convict camp, on the Marietta and
North Georgia railroad, and The Constitution has
made every possible effort to obtain the true history
of the case. Last night at the car shed a represen
tative of the paper spied Mr. Frank Haralson as he
alighted from the train which brotigh him in from
Canton, where he has been for the post week inves
tigating the affair. As soon os Mr. Haralson, wliusc
mission was known to the reporter, alighted he was
button-holed for an interview.
“Just back from Canton?” asked the reporter.
“Yes,” replied Mr. Haralson.
“Well, how did you come out?”
“All right.”
“When did yon leave town on this mission?”
“I left here Friday last and went direct to camp,
near Bull Ground'in Cherokee county; Dr. Raines
was with me; we were directed to go by Governor
Colquitt to investigate the causes leading to the
death of John Mathews alios John Massey,a convict,
whose recent death had been reported to the gov
ernor.”
“What did you find when you reached Ball
Ground?”
"Soon after reaching Ball Ground camp I ascer
tained that Mathews's death was generally attribu
ted to harsh treatment at the hands of Charles D
Phillips, Jr. Phillips is a son of Dr. Phillips of
Clarkesville, Georgia, and a nephew of General
William Phillips. For soma time past he has been
a section boss un the Marietta and North Georgia
railroad, and as such his duties
were to superintend a squad of the convicts working
on that road. Among the convicts under his care
was a boy by the name of John Mathews, but known
in the camps os John Massey. He was sent from
Hall county last spring for burglary and had been
in the chain gang about six months. On Wednes
day, August 31, early ill the morning, John Massey
went out with a dump cart and made a break to get
away from the camp, but wns fired at by the guard.
The shot missed its mark and Massey continued his
llight for about three hundred yards, when he was
met by Mr Spears, the sheriff of the county, who
happened to be in that neighborhood, and hearing
the report of the gun sturted towards
tlie camp to investigate. Seeing Mathews
attired iu the convict garb running from the camp,
Mr Spears halted him, mid in a short time Mr
Charles D Phillips, Jr, came to the pluce where tlie
sheriff aud Mathews were, mid immediately the
three started back to the works. They had not gone
far when Phillips took a brush and struck Mathews
with it and told him to hurry up. They went on to
die works and after a short while Phillips struck
Mathews about fifteen blows across tlie back with a
strap. Not very long- after this Phillips again gave
Mathews about 35 lushes on his naked back, anil
then again in a short while gave him 35 lushes more
on his nuked back, making three beatings before
dinner. All of these whippings happened
within about two hours. According to tlie evi
dence as given in by one of the guards,
aud which you here see, these whip
pings did not include the “toppings” Mathews
received during the day as he pussed Phillips.
How many top i Phillips gave him during the day
the witness could not tell. Mathews was carried to
camps that night with the rest of the prisoners
where he remained duriug the night, and was again
taken to the wo.ks the next morning, Thursday,
Septemlier 1, with the rest of tlie squad under
Phillips's, care. Before dinner time Mathews was
whipped again by Phillips. This time Phillips gave
him ubout twenty lushes. After the whipping the
squad went to dinner and witnesses could not tell
whether Mathews ate anything. When they started
back to the works after dinner Mr Cowart, one of
the guards. swore. thnt Mathews reeled us lie
went on his way to the works; After
reaching the works Mathews wns assigned to his
duty, which was loading wheelbarrows, but accord
ing to the evidence of the guard, he would, after
gathering the dirt on his shovel, throw it into an
other shovel instead of the wheelbarrow, thus show
ing that his mind was derauged. Phillips saw this
and approaching Mathews asked what he was put
ting that dirt in. Mathews replied, “I am putting it
into a wheelbarrow.” Phillips then struck him
with a lash aud again asked him where he was put
ting the dirt. To this question Mathews said it was
a shovel, and began putting the dirt into the wheel
barrow, but iu a few seconds resumed his erratic
work of filling one shovel with another. Phillips
seeing this, approached Mathews and struck him
with a lash again and agai.i. Mathews said it was
a wheelbarrow that he was loading. All this time
Mathews was complaining of being sick, but Phil
lips paid no attention to the complaints mid put
Mathews to using the piek. Phillips asserted that
he believed Mathews was feigning sickness. While
using the pick Mathews continued his complaints,
saying that he was unable to work. Phillips then
made him get down on his knees and put his face
against the bank of the cut. He then took Mathews’s
pick-axe, aud driving one point into the bank ciose
to Mathews’sneck, placed the handle across his neck
so as to hold him to the ground in this uncomfort
able condition, and compelled him to remain so for
twenty-five minutes. \\ hile the convict was in ibis
position Phillips ordered oneof theconvictstogound
get a bucket of peas and some bread. When the mes
senger returned Mathews was released from his dis
agreeable position und supplied with thepeusand
bread. When the bucket was set before Mathews
he dipped both hands into it and filled the one with
pees and the other with bread, which he crammed
Into his mouth so rapidly that those who saw it
knew that he was crazy. While eating he fell over,
and was found in an unconscious condition by
Phillips when he went to him, but instead of lifting
the poor fellow up, Phillips began pounding him
again with the strap. After laying on the hush sev
eral times, Phillips realized Mathews's true condi
tion, aud calling some of the convicts to him, or
dered them to take the peas and bread out of Math
ews's mouth. The poor fellow’s mouth was full,and
was emptied by the convicts inserting tlieir fingers
into it and forcing the contents out. After his mouth
was emptied, Phillips put the strap around iiis neck
and jerked him into a sitting position. He then
called fora wheelbarrow into which Mathews was
put, but when the boy started to roll him to the
camp. Phillips caught hold of one of the handles
and dumped the eonviet out on the ground. This
failed to arouse him, and Mathews wasaguin placed
in the wheelbarrow and rolled to the camps, where
he was pluceil in his bunk in an unconscious condi
tion and where he remained until the next Friday
evening when death closed the scene aud Mathews’s
sufferings were over.”
“Was there no physician all this time?
‘.‘Yes. Dr. Hawkins, the physician in charge of the
camps, met him as he was being rolled into tlie camp
made an examination of his condition and prescrib
ed ten grains of bromide of potassium to bo given
in two doses. The physician visited him again
Thursday night about 11 o’clock and found him iu
tlie same unconscious condition. He then gave him
a toddy and left him. On Friday he again visited
him, but did nothing beyond witnessing his agonv.
About sundown Friday evening his patient died.
On Saturday morning he examined the body at the
earnest solicitation of W. W. Phillips, who "was in
charge of tlie camp, and reported to him that
Mathews’s death had been caused by heart disease,
and gave a certificate to that effect.”
“Did you examine the body?”
“Yes. We had the body unearthed and held an
inquest.” .
“Wliat facts did you ascertain?’
“The body was so decomposed, having
been under ground eight days, that we
could not tell what its condition was when
buried, hut from the evidence before the coroner,
it was clearly shown that John Mathewseame to his
death from cruel treatment at the hands of Charles
D Phillips, Jr.”
“How do you reconcile Dr Hawkins’s certificate
and the conclusion you have reached?”
“I am satisfied from all I could learn that Dr
Hawkins, when he gave that certificate, did not
know what lie does now. In other words, he knew
nothing of Mathews, except the condition he was in
when lie first saw him, and the facts related in his
certificate were based upon no personal knowledge
but merely upon hearsay.”
“Where is Phillips?’’
“Charles Phillips, you mean, ne left the campson
Sunday night after Mathews's death, and has not
been heard of since, as far as I ean learn.”
•Well, what will be the end of the tragedy?”
disobedience to the expressed orders of the company
for which he was working. Orders and agreements
entered into between Charles D Phillips, Jr, and tlie
Marietta nnd North Georgia railroad company, and
signed by Charles H Phillips, show that what he did
was in direct violation of written orders and agree
ments, and therefore the company is not responsi
ble for the death of Mathews. Captain W W Phil
lips, who has charge of the camp, gave me all the
informational! his possession andjentlercd me every
service he could to reneh n correct conclusion in this
matter. In fact. General Phillips nnd Mr M Mc-
Kinny, who have ch trge of tlie commission and
the sick, did all in their power to aid me in the in
vestigation, and the information received from them
enabled me greatly to arrive at the conclusion I
have reached. The testimony of Mr McKiuny iind
Captain W W Phillips, together with facts that they
knew nothing of before they were sworn to by
other witnesses at the inquest, show beyond
all doubt the truthfulness of the charge against
Phillips. 1 tell yon now, and the evidence shows
it? that the company is not responsible for the death
of Mathews. With this exception of the mistreat
ment of Mathews, from all I could find, from con
victs, and from other sources, that the convicts in
that camp are humanely treated, well fed anil well
clothed.’'
“When will yourreport be made to the governor?’ ’
“I will submit my report to the governor to
morrow evening, together with all the papers con
nected with the matter.”
“Will you represent the state when the case Is
called iu tlie Cherokee court?”
“My connection with the ease closes now unless
otherwise ordered by the governor or legislature.”
"How is public feeling?”
“You mean, can Phillips get a fair trial? Yes, lie
can, in Cherokee county. The people of that coun
ty will give him justice. But here is tlie evidence
token before the coroner's inquest, anil you can
form your own opinion,” concluded Mr. Haralson,
handing the reporter a huge bundle of papers.
“The grand jury of Cherokee county yesterday
found a true hill against Charles D Phillips, Jr.
charging him with murder, and the evidence will
demonstrate beyond all doubt that Mathews was
wilfully murdered.”
“What was the nature of the testimony before the
grand jury?,’
“It was much stronger and more conclusive than
that before the coroner, and will convict Phillips of
the murder of Mathews in any court or country.”
“Who Is to blame in this death?”
PUBLIC EDUCATION.
The Enthusiasm of State School Commissioner Orr
Worked Up.
Yesterday a Constitution reporter met State
School Commissioner Orr, anil by the happy beam
ing of his face saw that something pleasant was re
volving in his brain. After a cordial handshake the
progressive educator said:
"I tell you that our people don’t appreciate the
value of the National teachers’ convention recently
held here. I thought wheu it met that it would di>
more than anything thnt lias recently happened to
make the people of the north know us butter, mid
like us better, and now I am quite sure that X was
right.”
“What has convinced you, doctor?"
“Why, one tiling is the speech which Dr Wicker-
sham recently made at the meeting of the state
teachers’ association of Pennsylvania before 300
teachers. l»r Wlckersliam was for sixteen years the
state school superintendent of Pennsylvania, and
is one of the most progressive educators in the
country. Besides this he is a man of powerful in
fluence in his state. He came within a few votes of
going to the United States senate recently, and was
nea iy nominated for governor by the convention
which put out tlie present Governor Hoyt.
He is n northern man, a union man and a strong
republican, and I think these facts make this speech
of his u magnificent tribute toAtlanto, to Georgia
and-to the south. Here are some passages from nls
speech which want you to give to the people.” Said
Dr. Wickersham:
“ Up at Chautauqua last summer there were several
of the southern states represented. About twelve
or fifteen teachers and school officers came up from
Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky ami Texas. They all
united in the most earnest petitions that tlie
national association should hold a meeting in the
south. They said: Our people want to see the
friends of education from the north. They want to
hear them. They want to become acquainted with
them—fraternize with them. We accepted tlieir in
vitation nnd went down south. I have just returned
from there, and I mil prepared to give some little
account of tlie experiment. Atlanta city is in
northern Georgia, as you all know. 1 was there in
1806: it wps a perfect desolation then, as well as the
whole country around, it has grown up since
that time Into a beautiful city of 45,1100 people.
“The members of the association were rejoiced to
see that the platform of the hall in which wo met
was decorated witli the good old flag we so much
love. The governor of the state delivered an address
of welcome, anil United States Senulor Brown
favored tlie association with some excellent
remarks. A great banquet was given us,
attended by 500 or 600 people. The
legislature, which is now in session there, extended
to the members of the association tlie privileges of
tlieir hulls. The city furnished carriages free to all. .
members of th*. Is sly w-i 1 .*: "ir rt”
for a drive nil nbcut the city and the iiitrenclnnents
outside of the city. The welcome given us by the
people there y*us very hearty. They seemed glad
to see us among them.
“I want to lay here, too, that tlie men who' now
manage the school affairs in the south—state super
intendents and the leading teachers—are among
tlie ablest, most learned, most zealous educational
men I have ever met anywhere. This may lie con
sidered. remarkable, but such is the fact. They are
generally graduates of colleges. They are men who
have expended a good deal of time in tlie study of
school atfairs, and they are remarkably zealous.
Now, I was surprised ut this, and yet I am not com
mending them too highly. I never met anywhere,
at any time, a body of educational officers superior
to those tlmt are now in command of tlie common
school army in the states of tlie south. They are
doing a good work all over that country.
“One thing more 1 must mention. Near the clos
ing of our association I was very much surprised to
receive a pressing invitation given by the senate
and house of representatives, through a committee,
to address them on tlie subject of education. A
yankce, a northern man, a man, too, who had worn a
sword in tlie war against them, being invited to ad
dress a southern legislature oiv the subject of free
schools! Two other gentlemen were invited to
speak with me. We met in the house of repre
sentatives. A large number of senators and
members were present, and tlie house was filled
with citizens. Speaking under such circum
stances, I was determined not to lower the common
school flag I hud borne so many years in tlie north,
a single hair’s breadth. I told them: ‘I have not
one face to show you here and at the .south another.
I have preached, as you know, the doctrine of com
mon schools in its most radical shape. What I mean
by a system of common schools is to provide an ed
ucation free, everywhere, impartial to every child in
thecountry, white or black, red or yellow.’ I went
on in this way to elaborate the system. For the first
fifteen «r twenty minutes they listened at
tentively, leaned forward in their seats to
catch the words as they came from my lips. Then
they began to applaud a little, and by and by a lit
tle more. I hail not spoken ten minutes longer un
til applause followed almost every sentence. When
I wus ready to sit down, cries came from all parts
of tlie house, ‘Gooul’ ‘goon!’ I went on a while
longer, aud when I finally closed, the applause con
tinued at least three minutes.
“In all my life, I never anywhere made an ad
dress that seemed so produce more marked effect.
And this wns in Georgia.
“I want to say just one other thing,because I feel
it to lie justiee to these people that I should say it:
I am strongly of the impression thnt the great, wide
chasm whieh lias separatcl the »wo sections for so
long a time is drawing closer together, and that the
great wound from whieh rivers of blooil have flowed
in the juist is about to be healed, and that we are to
have a better, a greater, grander union under one
flag in the future, thun we have had iu the past.”
SUICIDE IN CALHOUN.
Judge Foster Kills Himself at Ills Home In Calhoun.
Judge Thomas A Foster, of Calhoun, committed
suicide yesterday at his home by shooting himself
twice with a pistol.
The particulars of the affair so far are meagre,nnd
although the cause for the rash doad is yet un -
known, it is generally believed that business trouble
was at the bottom.
Judge Foster was one of the leading citizens of
Gordon county nnd was well known throughout the
state in mercantile circles. He was bom in north
east Georgia, but removed to Calhoun about 1856,
where he formed a partnership witli Mr J M Harlan,
and this has been the leading mercantile firm in
Calhoun since that time. He was at one time judge
of the inferior court of Gordon county, and as such
won a name for impartial justice that
has ever since clung to him. He was a business
man of elegant qualifications, and had amassed
quite a fortune, but it Is thought that severe re
verses have visited him lately, depressing him to
such an extent that he became temporarily insane.
He leaves a wife and three ,children. His wife Is
a sister of General A. C.
Atlanta.
Gariington, formerly of
Everybody 1* Coming.
Baltimore Gazette.
All the great cities of the north_ nnd west nre
reaching out eager and very industrious arms At-
lantoward. Notone of them has so natural and
equitable a claim as Baltimore has; but they may
each secure a larger share of the benefits if Balti
more fold her arms in indolence, while busy fin
gers of New York and Boston are spinning the
golden web wherewith to reap huge harvests fn the
fields where they could but meagerly glean if Balti
more’s business men enter upon the work aright.
But there fare reasons for fearing that they will
snatch the prize from our grasp. We may pride us
on our brilliancy, and on our consonance with
southern tastes and aims, but we should not forget
Nobody is to blame in this matter but Charles D I the teaching of the fable concerning the race be-
Phillips, jr, himself, what he did was in direct * tween the hare and the tortoise.