Rensselaer Republican, Volume 15, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 August 1883 — Page 3

CASAMICCIOLA.

First Satisfactory Account of One of the Principal Disasters of Modem Times. The Surface of the Earth Boiled Like a Pot of Thick Mush. Enormous Practical Difficulties Attend* lag the Disposal of 4,000 Corpses. [Naples Letter to New York Herald. 1 When the first news arrived that the towns r in Ischia, a. well-known island twenty miles from Naples, had been overwhelmed by an earthquake Saturday evening, it was naturally believed that the aeoounls would prove exaggerated. Unhappily the fuller details which have come from eye-witnesses and from other souroes prove that the earliest tiding! wholly underestimated the extent of the calamity. In fifteen or twenty seconds Casamicciola, a town containing a resident population of over 4,000, but at this season crowded with visitors, was converted Into a heap of ruins, and, though the number of lives lost has still to be ascertained with accuracy, over 4,000 persons are now believed to be buried in the debris. Only five houses are left standing, and at Lacco Ameno, out of a population of 1,000, five people alone escaped. All the adjacent villages are in a like plight Forio, the jnost populous plaoe in the island west of Ischia, is completely destroyed. The first shock of the earthquake was felt at.some time between half-past 9 and 10 o’clock Saturday night THE EARTH BOILING. / Tfie first indication of the coming disturbance, according to the evidence of several survivors, wasDv a low, threatening, rumbling noise, which presently burst forth into one fearful roar, as though heavy artillery was being continuously hred in the immediate vlcmity. In the next Becond the houses were rocked about like boats on a boisterous sea, and then were shaken into fragments. A few, but only a few, inmates reached the open air before the crash came. The vast majority lay buried in the ruins. For fifteen seconds the earth was tossed about with wild upheavals in all directions, many of the terror-stricken inhabitants flying shrieking to the shore, where they were overwhelmed in their flight and buried by the-ialiing tenements or the tremendous quantities of debris flying about The violence of the shook once subsided, nothing could be heard but the shrieks of the wounded and terrified people. Every light had been extinguished. A dense cloud of dust, blinding and suffocating to the survivors, hung over the scene. To add to the horrors of the situation, houses half-shaken continued to fall upon the miserable people seeking for shelter from the general rain. - AT THE THEATER—IN THE MORNING. A survivor who was present at the theater says: “Although we heard the rumbling as though of thunder, it was not until the earliest shake of the building that the audience exhibited any alarm, fir the'firßt moment there was no shrieking, although consternation was depicted cm every face, but as the opening shook was succeeded by others still more violent a wild cry of despair broke frdin most of. those present The lights were extinguished, debris and rafters fed upon and all around ns, and the cries of horror in many places gave place to groans of agony as one after another of the wounded fell. It was a terrible time. When the shocks ceased, I crept with o.hers out from the wrecked building and made my way to the shore The dust was bJlnding. Several times I fell over masses of masonry and wreckage, and again I beard cries for help from under the ruina At the seashore I found others as terrified as myself seeking to escape, and awaiting with terror any further development of the earthquake Seeing that matters remained quiet we went back to help extricate and relieve the injured, but it was not until morning, when the officials arrived from neighboring towns and the troops came from Naples, that any adequate measures were taken to cape with the difficulties surrounding us. Then the sappers, aided by willing hands from among the people, worked energetically among the ruins, oarefnlly laving out and carrying away the dead, and placing those still living under the doctor’s care. It was, however, so necessary to proceed cautiously for fear of injuring those beneath the wreckage that only small progress could be made,, andftat the feme time our hearts were almost siokened by the piteous anneals for help. Some were so jammed in that It took hours to rescue them, and when at length the obstacles were removed it was in many eases found they had succumbed to their injuries, while in a few instances reason had given way under the fearful Btrain. The clouds of thick dust suffocated many who were not killed outright at the first shock. SCENES AT NAPLES—THE DEAD. The scene here to-day has been of a most distressing character, Hundreds of persons have arrived in the city in search of missing relatives and friends, and make'the mornful round of tie dead-houses in a frenzied state. Numbers disappointed here have gone on to Casamieciola, but all the dead bodies of visitors recovered are brought to this place for Identification Boats have been arriving hourly throughout the morning packed with the dead and dying- In one instance the cargo consisted of twenty-four little children some of the Infants all laid out in their white shrouds. These were taken to a hodpit&bpnd placed in rows Tuesday afternoon, July 31, two steamers arrived with fresh troops to relieve those exhausted by prolonged fatigue and by the terrible nature of their work here. Eight hundred bodies dug out of the ruins have been burled in the old cemetery, and a new one ha 3 been consecrated for the occasion by the Monte Calvarlo. It was soon found impossible to bury the bodies separately, and towards the last a large pit was dag, forty ieet wide, and the bodies cast into It as they were recovered THE KING'S PRESENCE. The King arrived yesterday and made an inspection of the ruins, attended by Signors Depretis Mancini, Genala, and several other officials and Deputies. The crowd which followed them was comparatively quiet and self-contained, and, in general, the only sound heard was the half-suppressed sobbing of women, who, at the time, pressed for- - ward, with outstretched arms, crying; “Maest.a! Maesta!” as if they expected the mere presence of the King to bring immediate relief. The exhalations were less offensive than yesterday, thanks to lime and water that have been abundantly poured over the ruins where putrefying corpses are too deeply buried to be dug out This measure, however, has created great Indignation among the bereaved, who still hope to find their loved ones alive. The Duke of San Donato made urgent representations on the subject to the .Signor Genala assured the Duke that where there seemed say chance of rescuing live victims the excavations would be continued. AS he proceeded up bill, each turn of the road dlsoloslng fresh spectacles of woe, the

King broke forth Into exclamations of astonishment and grief. Signor.-Genaia urged him to turn back, on account of the drtU* culty of the ascent, but his feeing reply was: “If others go so can I Disaster makes all men equal. ” Most harrowing incidents oomrred en route The few survivors encamped among the vineyaids met the King witn piercng cries for aid, accompanied by the moss frantic gestures. The King asked Signor Genala whether the rescued property ol the wretched Islanders was respected The Minister replied that unhappily in many tn- ( stances this had not been the case Yesterday eight rascals caught plundering among the ruins had been arrested and sent. to Napiea Strict measures had been taken to prevent any one coming from that city without a permit from the authorities From Forio the King proceeded to Laooo Ameno, the upper pare of which township la almost entirely destroyed. Here a thrilling incident occurred. A fair-haired strapping Englishman, lb. Louis Nesblt, was enthusiastically pointed out to the King by the population as their savior, he having by his exertions rescued a number of lives The King shook Mr Nesbit’s hand, and expressed in glowing terms his appreciation of British pluck and kifedheartedness All the Ministers then shook hands with Mr. Nesbft, whilst the venerable Premier, Signor Depretis, actually kissed bis forehead. The people around meanwhile cheered lustily for “Bor Luigi * ENGLISHMEN. After the closest and most oomplete inquiries I am able to state, on the highest official authority, that there were only twelve English in Casamieciola at the time of the disaster Six of these are among the killed —Mrs Burde and her son, Mrs. and Miss Robertson, Mr Green, (a retired Indian Judge), and Charles Barit, aged 13, son of the English clergyman at Naples Mr. Green’s body was only recovered yesterday. He had evidently been overwhelmed and suffocated by the debris, as the body showed very few marks of bruises, and had sustained no serious injury. The others who were in the town ana who escaped were: Col. Mackenzie, who has received some bad bruises; Dr Stoddard, Mrs Green, Mrfli Barff, with her daughter and another son. The Itev. Mr. Barff had returned to Naples for bis Sunday’s Bervioa. Many ladies are still lying unburied among the ruins, and although the copious application of lime has somewhat Improved matters, the odor is terrible. HOUSES ON TOP OF EACH OTHER. It Is impossible to describe the difficulties met with In carrying out the work of excavation. The site of the town is hilly, and the houses have been thrown on one another, and fibre and there are yawning cracks in the ground. The catastophe is absolutely complete, and it seems Impossible to restore Casamieciola . There is not a single house standing there exoept a little church, which has been unroofed, near the harbor, and three cottages in which it is impossible to obtain shelter. The whole presents an Indescribable spectacle, the details of which are heartrending. At Lacco Ameno the state of affairs seems to be, if anything, worse than at CAsamiociolo. Not a single building can be traced oat of the mass of timber and* stones which now marks where the prosperous village onoe stood. The Inhabitants living In thie v spot were 1,593, but of all this number only five are known to have escaped destruction. The wreck is complete Borne of the houses have disappeared bodily, falling presumably into the fissures when the earth opened. At Fario the damage is not so extensive, but it is still very great DESCRIPTION OF THE MOVEMENT OF THE EARTH. The earthquake appears to have run across the island from west to east, and, beside the towns I have enumerated, all the adjacent villages and hamlets have more or lees suffered. The first and most fatal shock was accompanied by a noise resembling loud thunder. The succeeding shocks were less clearly marked, but they served to extend the devastation and complete the fearful panic that set in throughout the greater part of the island. The previous weather had been splendid, but a' violent storm set in the day fallowing the disasters, and this, accompanied by almost total darkness, added greatly to the horror of the scene, and rendered transit from the island to the main land very difficult. It is pointed out as significant that Vesuvius had been unusually active just before the shock. THE FUTURE. The so-called earthquake of 1881, ih which over 30b people perished and most of the smaller Duiiaings in Casamieciola were destroyed, was in reality a sudden collapse of the soil The present catastrophe is also ascribed to an earth tremor, but Prof. Palmierif the Director of the Vesuvian Observatory, denies that this has been the case, and attributes the calamity, as he did the exactly similar one of 1831, to a depression of the fragile crust, undermined by Jhe springs. If this statement should be confirmed, the future of Ischia is hopeless No one will dare to build, and visitors will keep dear of a spot where at any moment the firm land may sink beneath their feet. This is a dismal fate.

THE NATION’S SAFEGUARDS.

Gen. Drum Anxious' 1 to Have a Grand Militia Force of 200,000 Men, [Washington Telegram.] Some unnecessary alarm has been created by a letter recently sent by Adjt Gea Drum to the Adjuant Generals of the several States asking for information as to how long it would take to make up their quota of a regular force of 300,030 men. It was thought by some that the Adjuant General was preparing for a war, either with Germany or Mexico, or to secure protection for a possible labor'outbreak. Drum,however,declares that nothing of the kind is contemplated He simplytdesires to see the militia Improved With the exception of Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts none of the States wofeld > be able to furnish more than a handful of trained men on short notice. The Adjutant General desires to establish a national militia of 300,000 practical soldiers He thinks that it would be a good protection, and avoid the necessity for increasing tbe regular army. He believes that the Government can well afford to spend four or five millions in perfecting such an organization, and one or two millions yearly toward maintaining it He does not look for war exoept In the remote future. The subject will not be mentioned in his regular report, but will probably furnish material for a special report to Congress next winter.

CURIOUS STORIES OF ANIMALS.

Thbee milk-white deer have recently been seen in the forest of Washington county, Alabama * A man in British Columbia bas a cow that dives for salmon, catches one, and feeds it to her young. A Clinton (Ind) cat with a family of three kittens has adopted three young coons and a flying squirrel In the-San Diego, (Cal) Court House vard a brood of valley quail have made their home, and are quite tame John B. Gabnier, of Lawrenceburg, Ind, saw a fierce fight between a turtle and a large rah Tbe turtle beat In Springdale, lowa, a large timber wolf attacked a Norwegian girl, but she overpowered him after a desperate struggle, and field him until help came.

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Address of the Union League Club to Rood and Sufficient Reasons Why the Republican Party Should Still Be Trusted. V • \ Fellow Citizens: At the annual meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Union League, held at the Continental Hotel, in Philadelphia, March 34, 1883, the following resolution was adopted: “Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed by the Chair to prepare and issue an address to the people on the political situation of the country,” and the undersigned were appointed such committee. We enter upon the duty thus prescribed with hesitation and a profound feeling of inability to do justice thereto. At the same meeting the following preamble and resolutions were adopted, and . we here reproduce them to show to the people the spirit that .animates the National ‘ Union LeagueThe National Union League arose In the dark and perilous days when the National un.ty and existence were assailed by organized and armed rebellion; It did mnch for tho preservation of the Union; it has continued to exist and been active in every important political contest since the close of the dm war; it lives o-day and looks with no small anxiety and hope into the fature: therefore. Hr solved, 1. That we earnestly indulge the hope that any differences which hav heretofore existed in the Republican uariy shall be speeddy terminated, so that all embittered feelings may cease, and the saocesa of the party be secured in the future as in the past. Resolved, 2. Th it we earnestly recommend that the appropriate representative committees of the par.y meet at such time and places as they may select and consider what plans or methods can be adopted to produce permanent peace and proswrity in the Keuublloan party. Resolved, 3. That we call upon the masses of the Republican party throughout all (he States of the Union to stand together in support of the principles of the Republican party, and to labor together at the primary meetings, at the conyentions, and, finally, at the polls, to aid the party to seenre harmonious action, perfect organization, and ultimate victor)', and to this end we urge aggressive opposition to the Democratic party, believing It to be now, as heretofore, the exponent of political views hostile to the best interests ot the country. Resolved, 4. That this action of the Executive Committee be pi in ted and transmitted to the State and other subordinate organizations, and to the Rational and State Republican Committees. / : It will thus be seen that the National Union League is, in sentiment, in unison with the best ideas of Republicanism and political progress in the United States Entering, as the Republican party has soon to do in many States of the Union, uuon political campaigns fraught with mighty consequences as affect, ng the future ot the country, it is the hope of the National Council of the Union League that the spirit of dissension and bitterness which has been rife in some sections of the Union during the past few years, may die away and be forgotten. There is no section of the Republican party whose advent to power in the States ana the nation would De as disastrous to the best interests of the country as would that of the Democratic party. There is no shade of opinion held by any respectable number of Republicans in the United States that does not breathe the spirit of liberty, of progress, and of good government in a fuller and better sense than the best utterance, the best inspiration, and the best sentiment of the Democratic party of to-day. Paramount to all considerations of personal aggrandizement or the advancement of factions Is the demand the country makes upon the Republican party to see to it that the reins of government be not wrested from its hands Therefore, it is that, reiterating the utterances of our constituents, we appeal to the Republicans ot the country that factions cease among them, that the potent voice of the people speak to the waves of discord everywhere, and command them to be still We utter no word of crimination against our brethren of any phase of political sentiment We neither discuss nor decide any question that has been one of difference between u& We look upon them all, whether aiming at personal preferment or representing diversity of political views as immaterial and unimportant, when weighed in the balance against the consequences of Democratic ascendency. It would be a thrice-told tale to restate the political errors, failures, blunders and crimes of the Democratic party. It brought the Government to the verge of bankruptcy pt the close of its last administration. It promulgated and fostered, through the great body of its adherents, the fatal doctrine of State sovereignty and the right of secession; and that portion of the party which did not join in the open support of this heresy did not raise its voice to rebuke it Owing to the unpatriotic and criminal maladministration of the Democracy, the Republican party found a shattered and wrecked Union: a constitution defied and despi ed in eleven of the States; hostile armies arrayed against the life of the nation npon the soil of the commonwealth. The Democratic party had debauched public sentiment; it had made patriotism disreputable in a large portion of the country; the public credit was ruined, the industries of the country paralyzed, the flag of the nation despised abroad and degraded and powerless at home. The Democratic party had proclaimed itself the champion of slavery and declared that that blighting and mon trous instution should go into all the free Territories < f the oountry, and it ostracised the members of its own party who raised up their voices in opposition to these dogmas. We point to this record only to add that dur ng the past quarter of a century, notwithstanding that each one of these pernicious doctrines has been overthrown either on the battle-field, in the legislative halls of the country, or by the greater tribunal, the voice of a free people, nowhere has the Democratic party apologized for or retracted any of its opinions upon these great questions; The Democratic party was directly responsible for civil war and for the blood of more than a quarter ot a million of the best citizens of the republic; it placed upon the nation the fearful burden of a great debt, and steadily strove to bring about substantial repudiation of the obligation of the Government to pay it; its demand now to be put in charge of the Government Implies that it will come into power proud of its record, apologizing for nothing, repudiating nothing. It is enough to say of the Republican party that it bus made powerless for barm every principle ih t the Democratic party has advocated during tho last quarter of a century. It has stood in the gateway of power, with a drawn sword In its hands, beating back the aggressive forces of Democracy, and shielding the nation from the baleful influences of the vicious principles of its opponents; it has restored nationality; it has re-educated public opinion; lt»has re established loyalty; it has made liberty universal and eternal; it has obliterated all distinctions from among men before the laws of the Untied States; It has liftedJip the down trodden; it has enoourageothe weak; it has rebuilt the waste places of the nati- n; it has Spread abroad prosperity like a mighty canopy. Under the benign influence of the teachings and administration of the Republican party material growth has come to us, such as no other nation ever experienced on earth; we have grown mighty in population; we have grown mighty in wealth; we

have grown mighty in education, in intelligence. in virtue, and Christian civilization. Our former circumscribed commonwealth has spread itself out to the very waters of the Pacino, until the steady march of population and enterprise has peopled every toot of soil over which the American flag has jurisdiction, adding farms, villages, c;t es and States to the material strength of the oountrv. y The history of the Republican party is all brilliantly studded witftr the gems of righteous Government; it has punished misconduct in its own ranks; it has demanded faithfulness to the country; it hue restored the credit of the nation until it stands higher than that of any other on the earth; it has discharged its sacred obligation “to bfcd up the nation's wounds, to oare for him who has borne the battle, and tor his widow and his orphan;” it has lifted the old flag to a plaoe of higher dimrity and grandeur in the greatigalaxy of the nations The Republican party has not hesitated to remedy its own mistaken; it baa not been blind to its own errors; it has nob been cowardly; it has never dodged behind devices for temporary effect; it has always met the great, cuversified and growing questions of the day and hour in the spirit that brought it into existence; lc has settled every question by the touchstone of its own birthright —liberty, justice, freedom and equality. The Republican party stands to-d.»y the champion and protector of a free ballot and Eure elections, and demands the security by tw of the right of every man to vote in accordance with his own convictions The Democratic party has been, and is the polluter of the ballot-box, the enemy pf tree elections, and the promoter of dishonest election returns Under the administration of the Republican' party America has opened wide her doors, ana the down-trodden mid oppressed of other countries have oome here to seek an asylum and protection from tyranny and poverty abroad; it has restored the oivil service of the oountry to a plane of honesty, capability and faithfulness from which it was degraded by Democratic oupidity; it has fostered education; lc has protected the labor of the country. By its Legislative enactments and by the protests of its conventions and the grand intelligence of its press,the Republican party has t-tood for years, and it stands to-day as a wall of fire against the determined assaults of the Democratic parly upon the industries of the country, with its pernicious heresy of “tariff for revenue only,” that dogma which, whenever it bas be/m tried, haß prostrated and destroyed the interest! of free labor. The Republican party is the only shield today that protects the industrious, the educated, the intelligent masses of Amerieun laborers from the blighting influence of the cheap labor and degraded habits of the pauper mißions of foreign lands. On this one great issue the Republican party can well afford to ask judgment of the American people, while the Democracy in their press and their conventioLs palter in a double sense, and fear to challenge the popular verdict by a candid at owal of their free-trade doctrines In dealing with the tariff the Republican party champions the interests of every great national industry, and its beneficent policy since its accession to power has united capital and labor In the harmonious development of a prosperity unparalleled in lbs grandeur and In its diffusion among ail the people Against the theorizing of doctrinaires and the sophistry of demagogues the Republican party hotas up the magnificent record of the last two decades, in which the fostered and protected in .ustry and skill of the United States has lifted and borne the burden of a mighty civil war with hardly a slackening in it< great strides of progress, until to-day the diversity of our resources and the general welfare of our 50,000,000 of people am the admiratiomand envy of the world. With such a record of Ihe past and suoh a testimony of the present, the Republican party is justified la making confident appeal to the intelligent suffrages of the working people pf the country. The issue Immediately before the American people is a simple one: Shall the Democratic party, with its history, its career, and the purposes they so unmistakably indicate be brought into power without any guaranty, without even a promise of better government in the future? And shall this beautiful country, with all these splendid institutions, the handiwork of Republican administrations, be turned over to the blighting sirocco of Democratic rapacity? Or shall the Republican party, reindorsed by the American people, reinsbructed from the source of all political power and intelligence —the voice of the people—be recommissioned to go forward Id its great work, and continue to guide the Nation upon Its glorious pathway to ultimate perfection? In the language of the third resolution of our Philadelphia platform: “We call upon the masses of the Republican party throughout all the States of the Union to stand together in support of the principles of the Republican party, and to labor together at the primary meetings, at the conventions, and, finally, at the polls, to aid that party to secure harmonious action and ultimate victory, and, to this end, we urge aggressive opposition to the Democratic party, believing it to be now, as heretofore, the exponent us political views hostile to the best Interests of the country.” G A. Boutelle, William F. Cook, G. H. Gbgbvknob, Committee.

Political Notes.

“The Republican. party must go.” Yes, yea, don’t fret; it has been going for over twenty years, with the same hungry crowd yelling after it. Start something new. Judge Hoadly is a great lawyer, but as a politician he is going to make a record that will dwell in'the memories of mankind as an awful example of how not to do it. —Commercial Gazette. No matter who may lead the Democratic party, it will only be a barren and unhappy union of incompatible partners, incapable of harmonious purposes or political aims; and we have not so mean an opinion of our countrymen as to believe that a party without a policy can govern the United States. —New York Tribune. The Democrats who a few v weeks ago were boasting of an easy victory in lowa are already beginning to shin it up back alleys. The people of lowa will make the campaign one to remember. It is a defense of every hearthstone, and will decide whether a majority has rights that the saloon interest is bound to respect.—Chicago Inter Ocean. Hoadly, the free-whisky candidate for Governor of Ohio, has pronounced the tariff plank of the platform on which he is seeking election “clear, concise and accurate Democratic doctrine throughout the length and breadth of the land.” Which Democratic doctrine? Watterson’s? Bandhll’s? Dana’s? Eaton’s? , Carter Harrison’s? Voorhees’? Beck’s? or does it contain all rolled into one and “worded” to suit Abe Hewitt and Toni Hendrick’s ?—Chicago Tribune.

PASSING EVENTS.

Preparing to Squeeze Monopoly—The Ischia Calamity. J. Our Forests—The Cholera—Cheering Agricultural Prospects. The completion of the Northern Pacific railway is fraught with vital interest to the people of the Pauifio coast Heretofore, in the opening of the new routes, the Central Pacific combination have been enabled, by geograpMoal and other influences, to so maintain fare and freight rates that the new routes afforded no relief to anybody. Tho oompletion of the Pacific, the Atchison, Topeka sad Santa Fe, the Denver and Rio Grinds and the Atlantic and Pa* etflo, has In no oaae resulted in a redaction of fare to California, for the reason that the Central Pacific, controlling, aa it doaa on all sides, the Western outlet of these roads, refuses to make concessions. With the oompletion of the Northern Pacific a new era will dawn. That road la under obligation to nobody. It reaches tide-water with Its own line, and the Paolflo ocean la free to all It can make its own rates without fear of reprisals in any direction. It can out the fare to Ban Francisco to |<s—quite enough; by the way—and force lta rivals to follow suit or lose the business. It can make its own freight rates, make lta own contracts with Paolflo coast merchants—in other words, do exactly as it pleases, and the Central Paolflo combination is powerless for either redress or vengesnoe.

The Ischia Calamity.

The mail aooounts of the Ischia calamity bring It before the reader In still more vivid colors than those of the telegrams. At Casamicciola there was a resident population of 4,000, and the town was crowded with visitors After a premonitory roaring the earth began to roil and surge “like a pot of thick mush.” and in an Instant buildings begad to crackle and crumble into heaps of rubbish. Great cracks opened in the earth, into which many houses disappeared bodily. It was about 10 o'clock at night when the end came. A moment bet ore, and a large town was full of people, many already in bed. A moment later, and not a single house was left standing, saving only a small church by the sea, ana the root was partly shaken off that A few of tbe inhabitants esoaped to the streets only to be crushed later by falling walla Dense masses of sulphurous smoke and dust were emitted, in which many were suffocated. There was not a light left It Was total darkness Not until faioming could the survivors begin to rescue the wounded In the ruins of tint single town 4,000 people lie entombed For a day or two many lingered in suffering. One by one' their orles ceased In two or three days the progress of decomposition has made the work of seeking for remains an impossible task. This is the history of one town. There were a half-dozen others in which similar scenes were witnessed upon a smaller scale. It was one of the most appalling disasters of modern times

Our Forests.

The meeting of the American Forestry Obngress was held at St Paul The primary object of this association is the preservation of onr forests. Dr. Loring, United States Commissioner of Agriculture, is its President and 'delivered the opening addreaa Among other things he said that the consumption of pine lumber by firetand in the arts was veiw great, and suggested that the future supply might be obtained by allowing an exhausted region to recuperate while the lumberman resorts to uncut seotlona for tire purpose of his demands. New * Hampshire and Vermont are exhausted of their pine supply, and thelrlpruce will last but seven and four years respectively at the present rate of oonsumptlda In Maine the pine will last but four and spruoe fifteen years, while in South Carolina, at tl>e present rate of cutting, the pine forests will last fiftyjears; California. 150 years, Arkansas, <IOO years; Pennsylvania, 15 years; Georgia 80 years, Louisiana, 100 years: North Carolina, 50 years; Wisconsin, 20 years; Michigan, 10 years; Minnessoto, 10 years; Mississippi, 150 years; Alabama, 00 years; Florida, tO years; Texas, 250 years. Exhausted forests can be restored in time, and to this end every means should be applied both by people and Government, each within its own jurisdiction.

The Cholera.

If it is true that the oholera, wMch has caused suoh dreadful ravages in Egypt, is not the genuine Asiatic disease, there is, of course, every, reason tor believing that we will escape a visitation from the plague. The physicians who were first sent over by France and England pronounoed it Asiatlo cholera of the most malignant typo- The physicians cent from India into Egypt by the British Government say the disease Is nothing like the plague with wbleh they are familiar in India There is a doubt, then, as to the character of the pestilence. If it is an endemic disease, there is no ocoaslon lor alarm either in Europe or America; if it is an epidemic disease, ft is certain to take the grand tour around the inhabitable earth. Cheering Agricultural Prospects. In tbe midst of a somewhat, to say the least, doubtful financial and commercial outlook the prospect of a most bountiful harvest, and consequent plentiful breadstuff supply at moderate prices, is suoh as should insure popular content and tranquility. Indeed, the agricultural prospect is so hopeful as to constitute a silver lining to the somewhat darker than ordinary cloud that just now Obscures the horizon of trade and commerce.

TRUE STORIES.

As the dog of Samuel King, a flagman at Elizabeth, M. J., was trotting along the road a swallow flew so low that it went Into the dog's open ipouth with such force that the dog narrowly escaped choking to death. The bird was finally taken out A mah in East Dougherty. Ga, has a front tooth which he plugged with lead with his own hands over thirty years ago. He used an awl to clean out the cavity, and packed the lead in with the same instrument, after beating it out as thin as possible on an anvil The tooth is in a good state of preservation, and is likely to last as long as the man Fob several dfys Mrs. John Malsby had been keeping a nice pound-cake in her bureau, which she was saving for the first preacher who might drop in Tnugiiw her surprise, when she opened the drawer, to find a highland moccasin two feet long coiled up on her nice white cake The snake was killed and the cake thrown' away. How the snake got there ia a mystery.— Walton (Fla.) Nevus. 3 Db. J. K. minruM contributes to our museum a cucumber four feet in length and a perfect representation of a snake coiled up. It measures four and half Inches around the body and gradually tapers te the tall. The mouth and eyes are plainly marked, and when growing upon a vine in the garden, is scary enough looking to frighten any one not acquainted with the rattlesnake variety of oucumbem Ittmp , kin, (Go.) IndtpendtnL