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fAVEjl F.VILLli u.\ !'
E WEEKLY CONSTITUTION.
VOLUME XIV.
TUESDAY MOIUSnXG, NOVEMBER S, 1881.
PRICE 5 CENTS.
FROM WASHINGTON.
ANOTH%) CRANK PRESENTS HIK-
SELU AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
Th?? Ltrge PunbUM of Confederate Sonde end the
Prtrc Petd-The Contest for the Speakership-
Hlecock's Chances for the Position???Ttn>
The Complexion of the Xext House.
W ???.miS'iToy, November 4.???Large pttr-
cltr.es <.f confotlernte bonds are now being
inutle litre bv leading brokers to fill the 1 orders
of English customers. The average price
paid to-day is about $2 for each $1,(??>0 of
lanids. Most of the securities bought. liere
er.me from Virginia, North Carolina and
Maryland, anil it is a noticeable fact that the
Jioldcrs seem quite as ready to sell tis the
Brokers to buy.
The explanation generally given of the
sudden demand for confederate bonds, which
have hitherto been regarded as worthless, is
as follows: At the close of the late war therp
remained in the bank of England to the
credit of (he Confederate State of America
an undrawn balance which, according to So
licitor Raynor, of the treasury department,
has been variously stated at from $80,000,000
to $17,000.0011.
This balance, it is said, still lies tiirie un
claimed, and there isu possibility, if not pros-
1 pect, that it will shortly be divided pro rut a
among holders of confederate securities, or
at least that steps will be taken to secure
such division. In reply to inquiries, Solicitor
Raynor, of tlic treasury department, says that
he doe- not know officially anything with re
gard to the subject; that he has received a
number of letters from the south asking
about this reported balance in the lionl: of
England, and that he is engaged in mi hug
investigations with a view to aseeitai. the
luets, tint that thus far lie has received
no definite information, lie says, further-
nuro, that granting the existence of a balance
he does not see what it lias to do with the
eonfedi rut ??? bonds, or how bondholders arc to
obtain possession of it. The motley was not
deposited
nia, 2: Colorado, 1; Illinois.; 13; Indiana. 8; 1
Iowa, !*: Kansas. Michigan ft; Mehnesota. I
.'i> Nebraska, 1; Ohio, 15: Oft%on, 1; Wiscon
sin, (i.
Protn the south there are thirteen votes as
follows: Kentucky 1, Louisianad, Missouri 5,
North Carolina 1. TenmwetVirginia 2.
It will thus be M en that in the fight of the
sections the east lias sixty-eight votes; the
west seventy-one, (including the Pacific
.states;, and 'the south thirteen votes. The
south, however, has no candidate. There is
tun one way that a western candidate can
succeed???that is, to have a caucus of the
friends of all the candidates from that section
and agree upon one representation candidate.
This, it is alleged, will he done, and in such
an event either Kasson. of Iowa, or Keifer, of
Ohio, will be selected. With either there are
two strong objections. Kasson has the par
liamentary knowledge, the social qualities,
the experience and the legislative intelligence
t?? make a good speaker. Years ago. however,
while in congress, he leaned somewhat on the
side of free trade, and for this reason could
hardly expect a vote from tito east, and cer
tain Ohio representatives could hardly explain
satisfactorily a vote given for him.
Outlie oilier hand. Keifer has no experi
ence at all. He flouted with tiie forty-tilth
congress, and made himself in that and the
lust congress conspicuous only by forcing
himself to tlie front and making parliament
ary points. in nearly all of which lie was over
ruled. Nor is be popular with bis. own dele
gation. That is to say. that while llie Ohio
???delegation will support him, they will do it
solei v so as to be in a position to jump the
trach and laud with the winning candidate.
Ohio usually, whenever there are spoils on
hand to divide, is a united delegation until
the time comes to breakup. They can scent
the lucky' coon a good way oil.
Assuming that the east will stand with
fidelity to its candidate the Ohio delegation
will be in u position to turn the scale and de
cide who the candidate shall he. Thischanue.
ho???"'ver, will be lost to the delegation if
Ki ll, i the candidate agreed upon by the
west. In such event, it is not believed Keifer
cmmi get a single vote out of the thirteen
from '.he south, because of his close conru-c-
itlt the Hayes administration. The re-
ubiicuns of the south claim to have sutiered
good deal at the hands of cx-President
Hayes, and have no good feeling toward those
in hold < lose communion with him. Should
A SINGULAR SUICIDE.
SELF-MURDER AT A
ROOM BAP.
BILLIARD
itnfu. M. McPhcmca Becomes His Own 8*. r tot- T-i.
cidcnts of x Remarkable Act of Setf-D: si. ??????
Uon???The Motive Involved in Myetery???
Ie Ttere a Lady in the Cose?
mind deranged by the excessive use of liqu.Gr, th
reason will forever remain unknown.
Aiter the inquest the body was prepared and en
cased end then removed toliismother'shome, corner
of spring and Harris streets, where it will remain
unit 15 o'clock this afternoon, when it will be for-
warded to Knoxville, Tennessee, his former heme,
for h erment.. The funeral will take place at the
res: Jence. this afternoon, at 1:80 o???clock.
??? It ifus McPherson was just 25 years of age and
. a young matt of fine character. His sad and
inn:.n.ely end will 'cost a shadow over a household
thi.'. is beloved and respected by ail. He was bom
l -i" it noxville and will there be buried.
GONE TO GLORY,
AS THEY ALL DO WHEN THEY TAKE
A DROP.
Hanging of Tom Betts for the Murder of Judge Moore
???Confessiom Made and Forgiveness Claimed???
Retails of the Crime and of the Well-
earned Punishment.
t(* exf
ago, wt
bank tn secure the bonds
it i an hardly be applied by the officers of the
hank tn any such object. A gentleman,
??? whose relations with the state department
have long boen such a> to afford him an op-
jMirtunily to know the facts, said in
n conversation to-night that the un
drawn balance standing to the credit
of the Confederate States in the hank of
England amounts to ??????fSOO.btO, with
interest accumulations and that it was the
subject of diplomatic correspondence during
the luhnlnistnitraUpri of .Secretary Fish. The
position taken by the officers of the bank and
the British government at that time was that
the g ivernniciu of the United States, in'or
der to establish its claim to this money, must
acknowledge the existence of the government
of the confederate states, and must prove that
it, the United States government, had the
right, analogous to that of administrator, to
rereivi and di'i??'sc of t lie confederate govern -
incut's projH'rty. As the government of the
United Stales had always contended that the
government of the Confederate States
never had any legal existence, bur
We% "inipt i >Ttt ,FWniili.i;$rw people ill inSuU
i ????????????:ion, these conditions presented an iu-
stlrlil ??????ilitahlc olcla '??? -r I'nil . tisi !-
cration of the subject Secretary Fisli came to
the conclusion that the money could riot be
recovered. In the opinion of the gentleman
above quoted the large purchases of confeder
ate bonds which are now being made arc
part of a great speculative scheme, and so far
as the real value of the bonds is concerned it
lias no significance whatever.
tt is understood as coming from Mr. Mac-
Veugh personally that u principal reason why
he declines to stay in the cabinet is that lie
considers the present administration to be
modeled on the stalwart idea, and its methods
will be such as he cannot approve. On this
lieing brought to the attention of the presi
dent he remarked that he would be very gltul
to permit Mr. MacYeagh to use his own
methods entirely if lie will only stay in the
cabinet until he finishes the business he com
menced.
Not long after lie entered upon the duties
of his., otlioc, Secretary Windoni prepared a
plan for relieving the heads of departments
trout the importunities of iieisons seeking for
places, which he submitted to President Our-
iield, who regarded it with much favor. ??? The
plan contemplates the apportioning of the
subordinate places in tlic civil service among
the states, according to population; the aj>-
jM'iintment of a commission in cadi state to
examine applicants, and all vacancies to be
tilled from the state to which the retiring or
deceased incumbent was accredited.
.Senator Williams is credited with tlic fol
lowing little speeeh during the executive ses
sion of the senate. When Senator Ferry an
nounced that the republicans bail determined
to give up their light over the Lynchburg
postiua-itcr, Mr. Williams said:
???I never dreamed, Mr. President, that I
.should live to see the day when an cx-Confcd-
orate brigadier would lead the republican
hosts to defeat, or hear an old slave-owner
call the roll of his faithful servants, not at
the base of Bunker Hill, but in the chamber
of the senate of the United States.??????
Senator Mahone smiled, it is said, a very
broad smile at the remark of ??????Old Ccrro Gor
do.???
Tims far tlic contest for the speakership of
tiie forty-seventh congress has' been fought
only in the newspapers. Now, however, that
the* senate has adjourned, the canvass will
take tangible shape, and by the 15th or 20th
of November the right will be well on, with
all the candidates here on the ground pulling
the strings. It so happens that in the next
congress the republicans have very poor ma
terial out of which to make a speaker, and
for tills reason there is a scrub race for the
prize. The east presents a candidate in tlic
person of Frank Hisooek, of New York.
Reed, of Maine, is mentioned, but he has no
serious thought of being elected. From the
west the candidates are as thick as black
berries. There is Kasson. of Iowa; Bunnell,
of Minnesota; Burrows, of Michigan; Keifer,
of Ohio; Orth, of Indiana; Ilaskell, of Kan
sas. and Galkins, of Indiana.
The next house of representatives, accord
ing to the closest calculation, will be made up
of 147 republicans, 13<5 democrats, !* green-
liackers and an independent. Of the nine
greenbackers five can be classified as republi
cans, three of whom, at least, will ]>articipate
in the republican caucus in the house organi
zation. The probabilities, then, are that 150
republicans will go into caucus, and whoever
of tiie candidates for speaker receives seventy-
six votes will receive the nomination. There
is no doubt but that tiie contest will be one
between the sections???that is, the east and
west. The east, as the situation presents it
self, lias infinitely tiie advantage, because it
presents but one candidate, Mr. Hiscook, of
New York; whereas the west has a half dozen
or more.
Classified by sections, the cast in the next
house will have sixtv-eiglit votes from the fol
lowing suites: Connecticut, 3; Maine, 3:
Massachusetts, 10; New Hampshire, 3; New
Jersey, 4; New Y???ork, 20; Pennsylvania, 10
Rhode Island, 2; Vermont, 2; Maryland, 1.
The west, including the Pacific slope, will
have seventy-one votes, as follows: L???alifor-
liowevcr, be the distinctive candidate
from ihf west, it- is more than'
probable that Ohio would give Hiscoek
enough votes to secure him the caucus liomi-
atioti and the election. The majority of the
tes from the south, it is thought, will go
to Hiscoek. There is some talk that the ad
ministration will take a hand in the speaker-
hip contest todefeat Hiscoek. This because
lias lint always acted witli tiie' more pry-
uneed stalwart wing. The friends of the
resident, however, declare thutlhe president
nils to keep his hands off, and that as a
matter of fact Hiscoek is more acceptable to
m than any candidate the west presents.
It cannot lie discounted at this writing how
he remainder of tiie house organization will
he completed. Ex-Congressman Rainey, of
South Carolina, tiie colored brother who re
ived the empty compliment of the vote of
e last congress for the clerkship, is again a
miniate. So is the old clerk, Edward Mc
Pherson.
The public measures which will
pon by the forty-seventh emigres.-
Just as the hands of the elisk balanee.1 on the!
hour of four Wednesday afternoon one ol Atlanta's
best and most widely known.young men died by
his own hand.
Than Kui'us M. McPherson there were few more
popnlar or brighter boys. Born a gentleman, he
never departed far /rum the teachings he had re
ceived and hut for his one great fault he would
have died a noble man.
The causes which led to Ms death are buried in
mystery, and in order to tell of his death the story
must lie prolonged,'
Korsometime past Mr. McPherson had been in
the I-oiilsville and Nashville railroad agency in this
city as the head of the clerical force, and as such,
discharged the duties imposed uiriii him with fidel
ity. but on the 5th of September last resigned this
position to accept a place with the International i Di
sposition. Here he remained until a few weeks
him he assumed tiie management of the di
play made by the Shenandoah Valley railroad, oi
Virginia, raid until last Friday his conduct was the
source of much pleasure and grcal pride to his
many friends. But on that day when he left his
work lie went unou a spree, which ended yesterday
as the last breath went out of hlsliody.
Months ago Mr. McPherson gavo'his friends much
anxiety by tine of these sprees, but when he sobered
up he resolved to do so no more, auil with his usual
faith ???adhered to his promises until Friday last.
Those who know him best say that his promise
would .-have been inviolate hut for a slight mis
understanding between himself and if young
lady to whom he was reported to be
engaged. ??? Tilts Jady resides in e
neighboring state, and was, if reports are to be
credited, the idol of the dead boy's heart. Several
days ago, iu conversation with one of his friends,
Mr. McPherson said: '???She lias gone hack on-me: l
don???t care to live longer,.ftud it I can???t straighten
trie affair I will kill myself.??? The friend aPthe
time i bought ???twns ohlv a passing trouble, and,
laughing at Mr. McPherson, forgot the conversation
unp i ; . sierday, when the terrible tragedy recalled
r. That he really mount what lie said there can
li-in he no doubt.
On Monday night last Mr. McPherson encounter
ed several gentlemen at the Kimball house, to
whom he repeated his threats of self-destruction..
To these gentlemen he said that he wotil???1 moti he
dead: that that night was liis last on earth, and
that the next morning would dawn upon his dead
hodv. Tiie crowd was coni posed of his friends, and
although they laughed at iiis threats, they tried to
induce him to go' to his home,
where he had not been since Friday,
but their entreaties were useless. Tuesday lie
spent with friends, and that night retired very la e.
The next morning, yesterday, tie got up rather life
and went to the time City lunch house, on Wall
street, amt ate his breakfast. Soon after this he
met a friend, with whom he entered the Kim
ball house billiard saloon, and to whom
he said: ??????I am going to brace up;
this won???t do: will take another drink,and then
I'm done." This was about 10 o'clock, unci after
the two hud taken their drinks they sat down to
watch a game of billiards that was in progress: and
he e Mr. McPherson remained until a
short time before the deed was com
mitted, although his friend soon 'e .
Alwmt 2:80 o'clock Mr. U. M. Brown, of DeKa'o
county, an old friend, of Mr. McPherson, came into
the saloon and in a short time they were iu close
1 conversation. During tiie talk Mr. McPherson
ie acted ' a ked his friend to Jena him a pistol, but was not
. i I accommodated. Just at this time Mr. Brown was
WIU Ul .
BILL ARP???S LETTER.
pi: i.
lie passage, without doubt, of a three pefeem
unding bill.- There will he an agitation of
inter-state commerce bill; some civil ser-
& reflections, and may he a tariff howl,
lutside of the regular appropriation bills, it
not thought there will be mfieh in the na-
tre of general legislation; but the lobby will
??? tst h- 'ivl with sciiein Tsuni'jobbers whohuve
designs on the nafional nioney bags; Over-at
tlic senate end there will also be a skirmish
ing for tlic officers. With David Davis???s vote
and tlmt of Mahone, tlio, republicans have a
majority of the senate. There is no doubt but
that very early next winter they will elect a
republican secretary and other otlicers.
The Star prints the following society gos
sip:
President Arthur, when it was mentioned
to him that it was rumored that his unmar
ried sister would preside for him. said, ???I
have but one unmarried sister, and her health
will not permit her to attempt to discharge
the duties.??? He, however, frankly said to the
lady who was talking with him, that lie in
tended to have receptions???meaning, of course,
after he moves into tiie cxeeutive'mansion,
and the season for receiving begins. When
the sasne lady spoke of the number of
widowers already in high places liere???his o,'-
licial heir apparent being a widower, and t' :???
new secretary of the treasury, the new British
minister, Mr. Allen, tiie dean of the diplo
matic corps, and Senator Anthony, the senior
senator, and other prominent members of the
senate and house, all of which would tend to
make society dull, as ladies, of course, could
attend no entertainments given by gentle
men who had no ladies to preside for then'???
the president answered reassuringly: ???You
will find that all will provide themselves with
ladies to preside pro liae vice, as we lawyers
say.???
A well dressed and powerfully built man
appeared at the white house this afternoon,
and demanded to see the accounts of the
president. The door-keeper at once recog
nized the visitor as a crank who had called
there in May last, and was sent home to his
friends in Pennsylvania, and with a view of
delivering him into the custody of the police,
suggested that the accounts could lie seen down
the stree???, and that he would accompany him.
The man, who gave his name as John Wooling,
of Pennsylvania, then presented a letter
which he insisted gave him the right to enter
the mansion, and lie endeavored to force
his way in. Dinsmore seized him and a des
perate struggle ensued. Wooling attempted
to draw a revolver, but Dinsmore, who had
grasped him by the throat, choked him so un
graciously that he was unable to use it.
Steward Crump and another employe hurried
to Dinsmore???s assistance and the lunatic, was
with some difficulty overpowered and the re
volver taken from him. It was a large sized
seven shooter, with every barrel loaded. The
police were notified, and Wooling was taken
to the station and locked up. The letter
which he presented read as follows:
John Wooling. you are hereby informed
that Dr. John Noetling is lawfully elected
president of the United States and occupies
tiie white house every day.
* Almighty God.
Communicated hv the Holy Spirit.
Colonel George Cowie,'chief of the diplo
matic and consul division of the fifth auditor s
office of thetreasury department, has resigned.
Cowie recently passed a claim for $2,000,
which was pronounced illegal by the first
comptroller. It is said that the "claim was
indorsed by the state detriment officer, but
tills endorsement was not thought to be suffi
cient to warrant its passage by tiie fifth audi
tor, and as Cowie was the responsible person,
his resignation was requested.
Secretary Hunt informs the officers of the
navy and marine corps that applications for
duty through persons of influence will not re
ceive attention. All such applications must
be made directly to the secretary.
.1 Xitmiitam Woman.
Chicago Tribune.
???Twos a terrible moment. The man was evidently
drowning, while the crowd on shore stood helpless
and horrified. At this juncture some one yelled,
???Oh, forabpat!??? But there was no boat v.ithin ten
miles. The suspense became awful, and the sun
sank into the misty bosom of the west like a bloody
pumpkin. All at once a female voice was heard
above the roar of the breakers. ???Never mind the
boat: take one of my shoes.??? It was the voice of a
heroic Chicago woman, and the applause that greet
ed it was heard three hundred miles at sea.
joitrad by a friend, and excusing himself, he left
Mr. McPherson, promising to return at 1 o???clock.
Boon after Mr. Brown left the saloon Mr. F. C.
Leavitt, of Boston, a gentleman whom Mr. Mc
Pherson had in' tat the exposition, came up and sat
down beside him. This was atiout three o'clock,
und for some time the two ;,dked .about, the expo
sition. Then Mr. JlcPlierscu asked Mr. Leavitt to
take u short Wulk with him. to
which the latter agreed. and for
the first timoaftot entering the saloon eurlytin the-
morning Mr. McPherson left it. When the strefif
was reached they turned up ITvor to Decatur and
up Decatur to Peachtree. At the junction of these
two streets Mr. McPherson said: ???X want to go to a
hardware store for a pistol; wont you go with me????
This question, it seems, somewhat startled Mr.
Leavitt, and he asked McPphcrson what he wanted
wijh a pistol, and was told that it was being bought
for a friend. The two then went on up Peachtree to
Clarke???s hurdware house, where Mr. McPherson ask
ed to see a smith and Wesson improved. The clerk,
to whom the request was addressed, showed him
several pistols, from which number one was select
ed aud paid for. He then asked for a box of cart
ridges and loaded the pistol. While thus engaged
Mr. Leavitt asked him what he was loading it lor
and was told by McPherson that he was
going to Montgomery that night and might have use
for it. McPherson then gave the clerk twelve dol
lars, the price ??f the revolver, and the two started
baek to the hotel. On the way he remarked to Mr.
Leavitt that he had given too much for the pistol
ana said thin it wasu t worth more than ten dollars.
Returning tothohotel they re-entered the billiard
sal<Kin, and sitting down, were soon joined by Mr.
L. C. Van Epps, one of Mr. McPherson???s friends.
Thev then ordered drinks, and after drinking Mr.
Van Epps went for cigars for the party. While he
was out Mr. McPherson purchased three papers from
a newsboy, and handed one to Mr. Leavitt, who
began reading, just as Mr. Van
Epps returned with the cigars, one of
these be handed to Mr. Leavitt, and then offered
one to McPherson, who remarked that he would
smoke it after awhile. Mr. Leavitt then resumed
his reading. Mr. Van' Epps sat down, and
Mr. McPherson got up and' started to
wards the rear bar. Near tne counter there was a
game of pool going on, and for a few second's he
stood und watched it. Then he went up to the
bar.aud putting his hand into his coat-pocket drew
out the box in which the pistol had been put by the
clerk from whom he bought it. The box he laid
on the bar counter and then turned to look at the
game of pool, but in a second faced the bar again
and took the pistol from the box. He tneti
stepped back a short distance and cried out
???good bye boys,??? at the same time raising the pistol
at arms?????? length. His voice was loud and attracted
the atlentiou of nearly every one in the saloon,
who turned just in time to see him place the muz
zle of the pistol against his head aud fire. When
he turned the end of the barrel towards his head
and before firing, he cried out, ???1 place it there!???
aud pulled the trigger.
For a few seconds after the report he stood still
aud mauv of his friends, among whom was Mr.
Brown, who had just returned tofillhiseuguge-
S ent at 4 o???clock, felt assured that ???twas only a
rce that was being enacted, but when the man
reeled and fell they knew ???twas a tragedy that they
were witnessing.
As soon as he fell Officer Joyner, who happened
to be present, ran to his side and raised liis head,
but the seal of death was npou his face. Just
over his right eye and near the temple there was
a large ugly hole, from which the blood was pour
ing aud the brain oozing. Calling to those near
by the officer soon removed him to one
of the windows where Dr. Drake glanced at him
aud said that the wound was fatal. The ball, after
entering, passed downward and caused a profuse
flow of blood; in fact, so strong was this current
that the gurgling sound made by his breathing in
dicated a strangulation.
The intelligence spread rapidly, and in a few
seconds the sulooujwas/irowdea with people anxious
to know the particulars. To all inquiries the phy
sicians said that the wound was a fatal one and
that death would shortly relieve him from all
pain.
The crowd finally became so large that the body
was placed in the elevator and carried to room G7 on
the third floor, but before the room was reached
the death straggle began iu earnest, and when the
litter upon which the body had been placed, was
set on the floor. Rufus M. McPherson's life was over
and his soul rushed into the presence of his maker.
In the room where he died there were only
a few persons, but among these was a friend of the
family, and upon him fell the unpleasant task of
informing the family of the sad death. First|he
went to Major Campbell Wallace, the president
of the Merchants bank, and told * him
that his grandson had shot himself. The
news startled the major and almost caused
his death, so rtrong was his feeling for the dead
boy/but with great fortitude he rallied and caused
the sad intelligence to be carried to the unfortu
nate youth???s brother. Mr. Wallace McPherson, and
to his mother. When Mrs. McPherson' first heard
the news, she was sitting in her chamber at home
and would not believe it. She worshipped her
boy and could not bring herself to think
that he would do the desperate act that was ascribed
to him, but when the 'dead body brought a con
firmation of the report, she gave way and almost
died of grief.
Boon after McPherson's death, Coroner Hilbum
held an inquest, but the evidence adduced indi
cated clearly that the deceased came
his death by his own hand, and
verdict so saying was returned. No positive evi
dence indicating the real cause for the deed was
deposed, and unless McPherson died because of a
Tli" Food Old Times Whcu lie Was a Boy???The Expo
sition, Etc.
I was a ruminating over the wonderful
tlii; fcs in the exposition, and it carried me
Lac . a half a century, only a half a century,
wli :'there were no railroads, no telegraph,
no : i. wing machines, no keroseue oil. When
oviri Ltthers were eontent to haul their goods a
I . t: < red miles on old-fashioned wagons, with
< raple bottoms, and the hind gate sloping
avtri??? up yonder???when we boys used to go
alone w???th.???em to Augusta, or to Macon, and
i ^ ut???at nigllt. and listen to the old nigger
pvii'rs, as they told us about ghosts and
! ???^d houses, and witches riding
' rsuc. 1 > horses at night' and platting
rir manes, and stealing a shoe
> < the whitest foot. When there were no
Sri li in the world and the tinder box was
i1.behind the door and we saved all the
we found in the woods. When our
???os dipped candles once a year and put
tin in the candle trunk and we were al
iow d one for each night and there were fifty
O' ir for company and sickness. When we boys
iff'. |-i nankeen in summer and country jeans
\n;V, uter. and honest wool hats, home-made
or rixdskin caps, tlmt would hold water like a
jug. ??? When the girls knit their own stockings
un.i it took only six yards of country liome-
sp'iVHb makca frock, and wc had quiltings and
a t fad dinner and invited the nabors, and
so ;.i??- of the patchwork was the sun ilower
and the rising sun and the honey comb and
thi Irish chain and the road to Jericho, and
it .v. :??? quilted in shells, and wc children
thou fht it was juts the prettiest, thing in the
widijj'world, and were so sorry for the poor
???folks who didn???t have em. We were rich at
oi???.r house. We had nice plank window shut
ters and 8x10 glass, and a big room, another
oil'' hy the side of it, and a porch and two
lit: it shed-rooms that were not ceil
ed. and I???ve never heard any
musigsince that sounded so sweet and woultl
pm 'em to sleep so gently as the patter of the
r.i i.; upon the roof that covered that shed
v'lrs we slept. Everything was good then,
aiuYthe world was lovely and tire days were
lor,'and happy, and it was almost an age to
Cl. p; turns, and chestnuts and chinkapins
\\ ' Ip. better than they are now, and
my mother's turn-over pies and mince pics
rv the best in the world and so were the
gi . r cakes, and now a days I catch myself
Lering why they are not so good as they
be, and think may be they have lost
receipt or the sugar has lost its sweet-
Those were good old times. I won???t
were better than the present, or that
ere happier on the average, but still I
think of them, just as all people who
growing 0 ld love to dwell in memory
??? iv I the past. The world couldn???t live that
ri now. Railroads apd telegraphy
aj-. owing machines and kerosene'oil are a
n<\ _rify, and we couldent get along without
ttppf They eame,in good time as a dispensa-
ti ??? a wise Providence. They came like
w .'Leri
i. hto
tb fid:
IH } ;i T
i hey wet
pt-ujJfc were
) \ to thii
Jonesboro, twenty miles distant, was Fri
day the scene of a righteous vindication of
the law. Tom Betts, a brutal and graceless
negro scoundrel, expiated upon the gallows
his crime of murder. He enacted a cowardly
assassination, and died the death of a dog, as
he deserved.
On a peaceful day in August, 1880, Mr. II.
J. Moose, an aged and popular citizen of
Clayton county, left Jonesboro in his
wagon, after transacting some business,
and drove to his home. He was at peace with
his fellows and wholly unconscious of danger.
Tom Betts, however, was following close upon
him, with thoughts bent upon robbery and
mufder. While Mr. Moore was in liis barn
yard unhitching his horses, Betts crept upon
him from behind and dealt him a crushing
blow upon the head with a heavy rail maul.
The blow was a fatal one and that speedily.
Betts robbed the body of $134.25
money and fled toward tdwn.
The crime was soon discovered, the
hue and cry raised, and pursuit made. Betts
was overtaken as he was entering town. On
being called to halt he threw out of liis pock
ets the money taken from Mr. Moore, and
which was thoroughly identilied on the trial.
Tlic proof of his having followed Mr. Moore,
and of his entering the barnyard with the
fatal maul in hand, was conclusive. He was
convicted and sentenced to be hung. The case
was taken to the supreme court and there af
firmed,
The day for the execution of the sentence
was fixed for October 21st, but Governor Col
quitt respited Betts until yesterday, in con
sequence of a petition for a commutation of
the sentence to life imprisonment. The Gov
ernor, however, refused to interfere, and yes
terday, shortly after noon, the assassin was
choked to death in the presence of thousands
of the people whose laws he had defied. Be
low will be found a fall and accurate descrip
tion of the incidents of the hanging.
The fiendish and brutal murder of nn old and
defenseless man was avenged by the law yesterday
in tlic execution oi Tom Betts, a negro, at Jones
boro.
Betts, who had lieon confined in Fulton county
jail, for safe keeping, was taken therefrom Thursday
aud carried to Jonesboro, where he was lodged in
one of the heavy iron cages iu the jail of Clayton
county. He spent the night until one o???clock in
prayer and conversation with the prisoners, but at
that hour dropped off to sleep. lie did not sleep
more than an hour and on awakening resumed his
praying. About 8 lie ate a hearty breakfast and
soon after some colored ministers were admitted to
his cell and spent two hours with him.
The jail was well guarded by seventy' citizens of
the county armed with double barreled shot-guns.
Thev allowed no one to pass through the street
rapped up in his arm. He was a good old man,
na 1 hope to meet him in heaven. I am glad that
can say to you that God will help me. Al! tho
acknowledgements -would not liiake my pun *
isment less. I have made a
full surrender and He has for
given me for all that I have done. The truth is tho
truth, the truth must come. I would not tell a lie
to save my own life, because I will soon be iu the
presence of God. Tnerc are some who got up
something about a store being, broken open in
Fairbum and said I done it. Honestly, before God,
am just as clear of that Fairbum matter as you
are, and I know nothing about it. You hate my
dear wife whom I tenderly loved. Dr. Johnson
knows how I treated her. I respected and loved
her as you love your wite. Yon know (turning to
Dr. Johnson) you have talked to me. You gave mo
rood advice and 1 want to meet you. Dr.
Johnson, in heaven I am guilty of taking tho
poor old mants life, it is true, but a great many
things put to me 1 am not guilty of. But I drank
whisky and rail with bad women, and whisky
and bad company and no respect for my God have
brought me to this rope. All of you should raise
your little children in such a way that they
may not come to what I have come to. There may
bcagrcatmany rejoice at my downfall???von don???t
know my heart.??? Here Betts???s feelings found re
lief in tears, and after a slight hesitation and a
Htt\e emotion he continued: ???I feel that I am
going up to my God. I feel???I know???that God has
pardoned my sins, and I know that allmv acknowl
edgement is no good. You all know ???Mr. Davis.
That man has talked to me. He gave me good
advice, but I served the devil and went on my way
until I have come to ray rain, but I hope to
meet you all in abetter world than this; will vou
all take this to yourselves? Let this be your prayer:
???Where will X spend eternity: in heaven or in
hell???? If you live fifty years it will end, but eter
nity! there is no end to it. I feel that I will be with
God. There are things laid at my door of which l
am innocent, and God knows, and you will know
some day, that I am innocent. 1 want you all to
see what you souls are worth???more than all tilts
world. ???What profit if a man gain the whole world
mid lose his own soul,??? and if there is any one hero
that is leading the life that I have led,take warning
by the rope around my neck. Turn this evening.
To-morrow may lie too late. I put oil??? the serving
of God, and put it off. There was always
something I wanted to say or do. I have
put it off until I am nearly in hell,
and just did make my escape. I hope you all good
luck. All that swore lies against mo 1 hope to meet
them in heaven. I did not make mention of it tic-
cause I didn???t like you. I think It wax my duty.
May God bless you???may God bless you???may God???s
blessings rest upon your little children and your
wives???may God receive you all, is my prayer.???
The remarks were made with but little hesitation
and scarcely any apparent fearof the coming death.
Betts was speaking just twelve minutes and a
half. When he censed and sat down a prayer wax
offered by Rev. Berry Austin, colored. This prayer
occupied four mid a halt minutes. Betts shook
with emotion as it was delivered. At IS miiiutes to
one he shook hands with those on the scaffold, aud
asked that prayer be offered again. Squire Tin imp-
son, an old colored preacher, then made a prayer.
Betts, still kneeling, then made tiie followingUn
loading by the jail without a permit from the she& jBepts looking toward Dr. Johnson, said:
iff. This wits a precaution against the possibiliw'' ^ ???Dr. Johnson, Goodbye; may God bless yon.
of lynching or rescue. At 1 o'clock iie stepped u
They came like coal came wlten the wopa o??
the old world was about to give out. They'
came like other things will come as the world
grows older and the jieople in
crease in numbers. I???ve no fears
about the world coming to an end
very soon. It will be several years first. All
this coal and iron aud manganese wasent put
here for nothing. I saw enough iron ore in
one hill near Rockraart to supply the world
for ten years, I know, and Mr. Cole???s road is
B right to it, and somebody will buy it
3 long from Judge Barber, and go to de
veloping. It is acres broad and acres deep.
The manganese to make it into steel is not
far away, and the coal to smelt it is within
easy reach, and these combinations were
not accidents. There wouldent be a steel rail
in the world to-day if Bessamer had not dis
covered the new process of making it. And
now Mr. West is going to push liis little road
to the coal fields of north Alabama, and Wil
liam E. Dodge is already asking for the right
of way from Cartersville to Fairmount to de
velop liis mines, and all these enterprises are
to he carried on with nortnern money for
they have just found out how rich we are
in minerals and that we are a sort of civ
ilized people and give ???em a welcome
when they come. The south is nature???s
reserve and the time is at hand when the
world must draw upon us for supplies. I see
tiiat a feller in Pennsylvania lias been raising
a little passel of cotton, and has b.ought it
down to the exposition, and says lie is going
into the business regular and plant three hun
dred acres. Its sorter like Mrs. Arp???s little
orange tree that she keeps in the flowerpit all
winter, and it had a few blossoms and
three or four little sickly oranges. That???s
all very nice, but I???ve no idea of
planting'300 acres of ???em. Pennsylvania lias
stole a powerof things from us, butshehasent
stolen our climate as yet, and I???m not
alarmed about her competition in the cotton
business. Our folks will steal her cotton mills
and manufactures before she will raise enough
cotton to keep one loom a running. Our
people are not so had off,no how,for any thing.
When we can???t get a thing we can do
Without it. When we are crowded we
arc right smart ourselves, as was illustrated
in the late war???why we mado salt out of
smokehouse dirt, and coffee,out of dried po
tatoes. Talk about your suit: of clothes made
in one day for the governor???made /by all the
skill of modem machinery and lots of hands
to help do it. I know an old lady in Butts
county whose son joined a company in the
war and was to go oft??? in tnree days,
and she had the - wool clipped from
the sheep and carded and spun
and dyed and wove it herself and made him a
number one suit of warm jeans clothes before
he left. Now, that???s a fact, and can be proveh,
and it???s a more wonderful thing than was
done at the exposition, for she had nothing
but the old wheel and a wooden' loom. Our
folks got along pretty well when they had to
pick Hie cotton from the seed by hand and
could only pick a pound a day, and we could
get along now in the same old way if it wasn???t
for the new-fangled fashions imported on us
and the idle folks that don???t work and
have got to be supported by somebody. Adam
Smith wrote a book and proved that the labor
of one man could decently support eight peo
ple, and my opinion is that we have got to
that pass when about one in eight is doing it
???and that???s the reason why so'many contri
vances are invented. It is to help one indus
trious man support seven or eight vagabonds
???or non-producers, for they are all the same.
Well. I hope Atlanta is happy and the expo
sition a success. Mr. Toon told me there was
nothing lacking but a steam planner.
Bill Aep.
Ju??t Suppose.
Springfield Republican.
Suppose Hancock had been elected last year.
How the present queer little boom-in confederate
paper would have alarmed all the republican or
gans!
.lynching
At half-past ten o???clock Betts was visited in the
jail by the representatives of the press. He was
found in a cage built of heavy iron bars, and in
-.vhieb be was considered sufficiently .???-ecure to allow
trim the freed/iii 1 ???I the cell. He vus .voniewln.
bleached from long confinement and,was in cheer
ful spirits. He is a heavy negro; atofcpt twenty-six
years of age. and??? when in nehllli weighed
about 150 pounds. lie received" the
reporters with great freedom, mid did not hesitate
to talk. In reply to a question as to wliat ho had
to say, he replied: , , ,
???I shall say what I have to say when I reach the
ground. I may not say anything. I shall use my
own judgment about the matter. Whatever I say
will be the truth, because the people want the
the truth and they ought to have it.???
???How do you feel about your future?"
???I have made my peace with the Almighty, apd
I have no fears as to what will follow my death.???
???When did you experience this conversion????
???About four weeks ago, in the Atlanta jail.???
???And you believe that you will go from the scaf
fold to heaven????
Yes, I believe that in a few hours I will be with
my God.???
He said that he had been treated very kindly by
Sheriff Archer, but that during bis confinement in
the Atlanta jail he had been badly dealt with, and
that a sufficiency of food had not been given him.
He said that he would probably ???eat a snack??? if
something tempting could be placed before him.
At 12 o???clock he was taken from the jail,his hands
manacled, and under the guard of seventy citizens
was conducted to the scaffold, riding in a spring
wagon and sitting upon the coffin that was soon to
contain his body.
The scaffold was a well-constructed affair, erected
i a field belonging to Mr. James Davis,
about one mile from the town, half way
to the place of Judge Moore. The road out which
Betts rode to the Scaflbld was the same out which
he followed Judge Moore on the day of the murder.
The scaffold consisted of two upright beams with a
cross liar about thirteen feet from the
ground. The platform was supplied with
a double trap, held in position by
an upright beam resting on a wheel ruuuing in a
groove. To tl|is was a rope for springing the trig
ger, and upon trial it was found that the affan
worked like a charm. The rope was an inch hemp
rope, well stretched with a five hundred
pound weight It dangled from the
cross beam- and was looked upon with
awe by a crowd o?? nearly four thousand people.
The scaffold was erected in a good place for the con
venience of a crowd, taring between two hills. A
rope stretched about It some feet off kept the crowd
at a good distance.
The wngon containing Betts, the sheriff, jailer
aud a deputy sheriff, reached the scaffold at
twenty minutes past twelve, Betts ascended tlic scaf
fold and after a short delay he asked':
???How much time have I got????
Sheriff Archer replied:
???Hpw much do you want????
Betts answered:
???You know what I told you.???
The sheriff looked at his watch and said
???I will give you half an hour.???
This was at half-past twelve. Betts arose, looked
pie prayer:
???Our Heavenly Father and our God. I
do feel thankful, this evening, for the glorious
??? ??? km m g on Thy holy name. I thank
that everything is well with me,
and that I enjoy the privilege of calling on Thee
one more time. Our Heavenly Father, have mercy
on me. Have mercy on all of us. Have mercy on
the poor little children. Have mercy on these,
my brethren. Have mercy on the people every
where all over the land. May ray
death be the cause of some poor dying sinner turrs-
ing from his ways and coming on the Lord???s side.
Lord bless us all. Bless my poor wife. Bless these
little children. May they tie raised in the fear of
God. Mv, Father, go with me now. Go with me
through the valley of the shadow of death. All my
help must come from Thee. Have mercy on my
enemies if any rejoice in my death. Have
mercy on them. May they feel that they will have
to die ar.d that they have souls to save. Oh Father,
may 1 ineet-this people at Thy right hand; go with
me ailU-Teecive me. Amen!"
TheiSffitei was concluded in Uvoandahali min
utes. during its delivery tears were freely shed by
the less hard-hearted of the spectators.
At the conclusion of the prayer Rev. R. T. Kent,
a colored minister of Grinin, shook hands with
Betts, and stated to the crowd that he had been re
quested by the doomed man to sing a favorite
hymn, ???Ah Whither Shall I go???? Betts joined in
the singing, adding a good bus voice. At (wo min
utes before one the ministers left tlic scaffold.
???i upon the trap. The block
cap was adjusted, and as it was being fixed about
his head he remarked: ???Full it under my chin???
good-bye???tell your mother good-bye.???
At one minute past one Betts stood upon the trap
ready.for the full. SheriU Archer stepped from the
-U.flbul. took Up 'bn Tope that was con
nected with the trigger, gave.it'd g-'iit'c po'l!,', ???.-ld
with a barely audible thu<' Bells wont down. The
(All was three and a half feet, tint hie neck \fns not
broken thereby.-. In four minutes Iris pulse was ex
amined ana found'to be forty "boats to the minute.
In .*ix minutes his pulse was gone, and in seven
minutes life was extinct. The body was cut down
by Sheriff Archer at eighteen minutes past one,
placed in a good board eotiln and buried at the ex
pense of the comity by the sheriff.
The very best order prevailed throughout the
day. There was little or no drunkenness, and no
rows. There was a general feeling of satisfaction
at the maimer in whieli the execution was conduct
ed; and thus ends the double tragedy iu Clayton.
DOWN IN DIXIE.
over the crowd with a calm, undaunted, but not
bullying expression, and commenced speaking.
We give his speech exactly as he made it:
???Well, I have come to the gallows. This is the
last act of my life. All my hopes are past
now. There are many of you who are
stunding around here who rejoice in your hearts to
see this, and it is, I feel, justand the will of JGod.
I have led a wicked life. I have spent my life in
folly, running after women and in serving the
"devil. In my heart 1 have not got a thing against a
man liere to-day. I am glad that I feel reconciled
before you and "before my God. I am charged with
the murder of Judge Moore. You all
stand here and want to know is
I guiltv. There has been a great deal of lies swore
against me. There is no man in the world can say
I did the murder, still they advanced themselves
and swore things that were not true. I don???t feel
that more than two or three men swore the truth,
and I can say that Sheriff Archer, and Mr. Davis,
and Billy Camp, were the only ones
who stated the truth. Mary Lewis swore
to a lie. She is guilty In the sight of God. Tom
Spence swore to a lie. I am glad that I can tell
them of it. Thev have all swore to lies; and Mr.
Nash, he swore to a lie, and George Mann swore to
a lie, and Austin Mann, his hither, he swore
to a lie. But still all these ac
knowledgments will not suffice me anything, and
1 will, in a few lnoments.bewitb my God. I am not
sufficient to talk to you as I desire. I wish you all,
I wish to God that you all would take an interest
in your own souls, as you see what the serving of
the devil has brought me to. I have bceu led by
the devil as thousands of you all are.
There is men here has talked to me when
I was wild and sinful when I was stepping toward
hell They advised me right and tried to make me
live to be a man, an honest man. But I sinned and
have done awful things that I ought to have let
alone. You want to know if I killed old man
Moore. It is true. I tracked the old man out. I
tracked him out and hurried him into eternity
without one moment???s warning. There has bceu
manv lies told, but that is true. The devil had me
Chattanooga is fearfully infested with tramps.
Knoxville, Tcnn., had 27 deaths and 3S births in
October.
Cholera is killing hogs in some sections of Mis
sissippi.
There are more than fifty thousand Baptists in
Arkansas.
The Nashville merchants pay over $800,000 annu
ally for snuff.
Cottox h.os been about all picked out in the hill
counties of Arkansas.
A large number of emigrants are passing through
Tennessee for Texas.
The break bone fever is prevailing in many por
tions of West Tennessee.
The cotton production of Arkansas for the rear
1880-81 was 705,000 bales.
W. H. Garlner has been elected president of the
Mobile cotton exchange.
Wagon loads of eels from the Catawba rivfcr are
carried daily to Charlotte.
The dried fruit crop in the Knqxvillc section of
Tennessee, will be 400 cars.
.Arkansas is daily receiving train loads of em
igrants from the older states.
??? Bread poisoned for rats killed Paul Jenkins, of
Harrison county, Ky., who ate it
The Alabama conference of the M. E. church,
south, will meet in Selma November 80.
North Mississippi citizens are purchasing lands
iu the pine country in south Mississippi.
A fourteen pound gar fish was caught a few days
ago in the Catawba river. North Carolina.
The Tennessee press association will visit the ex
position November 15.
I)iwrrnEi:iA is playing havoc with the children in
Allen county, Kentucky.
Work is progressing steadily oil the state insane
asylum at Little Rock, Ark.
A tomato vine in Bowling Green, Kentucky, hss
grown to the height of ten feet,
CUsiberland county, Kentucky, boasts of a jar
of honey that is thirty years old.
Fortv-tvvo acres of land in Mason county. Ken
tucky, recently sold for $125 per acre.
Seven thousand walnut logs are in Cumberland
county, Kentucky, waiting for a tide.
iphtueria, which "has been very bad in east
liville, Tennessee, is disappearing.
The biggest man in El Paso, Texas, is a China
man, who is six feet four inches high.
The wells and water courses are lower in Jackson
county, Florida, than ever known before.
Mias Risby. a Houston, Texas, girl, made her de
but in opera in Florence, Italy, November 1st.
It takes $30,000,000 for freight and insurance to
place a year???s cotton crop in the New England mar
ket.
James Anderson, of Florida, caught a cat fish
weighing one hundred and twenty pounds in Ifom
lake, Shelby county.
The schooner Mystery???arrived in Jacksonville,
Florida, the 30th of October from Indian river, witli
000 pounds of turtle.
Thirteen hundred and ninety-one farmers have
paid for their fertilizers iu Greenville. South Caro
lina.
In Texas the dose of medicine administered to
horse thief is very simple, consisting of only one
drop.
New Orleans merchants have contributed $12.-
750 towards the building of a new Catholic eh urefat
at Vermillionville, Louisiana.
There are 309 convicts in the North Carolina
penitentiary, of which number 75 a re white and 234
colored; 00 "females, 2 white and 4S colored.
Shipments of coal from the Sewanee coal mines
during the month of October amounted to 769,331
bushels. This is 149,859 bushels more than lust Oc
tober. A
INDISTINCT PRINT