1 THE DEEP SEA PERIL II
] ' By VICTOR ROUSSEAU ." {'
2 •■ (Copyright by W. G. Chapman) •
• • ..... * * 1
CHAPTER Vlll^-Continued.
—lo—
my plan Is this: We most
tsnvo the airlock one by one, with
fnlhar a light weight of metal on oor
test. calculated to enable os to walk,
a»d yet oot to keep as down. We
rthen simply climb the slopes of
Island under the water."
1 think It Is the only feasible plan.
ttr." said Davles briskly.
*Bow do you feel about It, Ida?"
aafced Donald In a low tone.
„* Ma put her hand Into his. "I ant
rstoty to do anything you wish, Don
•M, dear," she answered.
*TII answer for the lady with my
«m Hfe. sir," said Clouts heartily.
"Then we're decided." said Donald.
"Wow, follow me In single file, hands
«a tho shoulders of the one in front
a* you. All ready r
Ho led the wny through the dark
•aaa, down the ladder at the base of
tho conning tower toward the storage
room in which the diving apparatus
was kept. Then he lit a cntidle.
The Slebert apparatus possesses the
aarlt of simplicity. Donuld, us he
*4)wted It on each with the aid of
Uavies, did not think It necessary to
(■Cpiaiqvthe mechanism. It consisted,
#»ut,(©f a waterproof uniform, then of
a glaas mask and copper cylinder, the
tatter covering the upper part of the
body and fastening about the shoul
ders. It contained a supply of com
pressed oxygen for several hours. The
carbonic acid exhaled passed Into a
receptacle containing cauatlc soda,
which purified it, thus liberating the
oxygen, while the nitrogen could be
Inhaled over and over again.
There was also a single sleeve at
tached by wires to a little storage bat
tery worn on the neck. In which, when
tho apparatus had been properly ad
farted, a small electric light could he
asda ta burn by the pressure of a
button.
They waited a moment while Ma
pat on the waterproof uniform; then
all followed suit. Donald and I>uvlex
dressed themselves after Clouts, and
attached the weights about the feet
at each nnd to their own. Finally,
when all were in readiness, Donald
anuffed the candle and lit his electric
tamp, which was Inclosed In a specially
devised glaas, calculated to resist a
great pressure.
Bach of the party was now sealed
from all sound. They saw each other's
faces very dimly through the glass
•asks.
Donald Indicated to Davles that be
•us to bring up the rear, his hands
upon the shoulders of Sam Clouts In
frost of him. He placed Ida In front
sf Gloats, and, raising her hands, put
(hem upon his own shoulders, himself
leading the procession.
He made his way into the conning
tower aguin. He opened the inner
chamber of the airlock, admitting Ida
and himself, and closed it again. He
knew that Clouts and Davles could
take care of themselves.
The airlock, built to be used for
ascape In Just such an emergency, wus
■soot for one temporary tenant alone.
But two could just . oanage to squeeze
In, and Ids could not have undertaken
the plunge alone.
They were breathing the stored oxy
gen within the copper cylinders. Tlu-y
were aafe for the present. The transit
was not especially perilous In itself,
hut there were dangers to face—the
poaotbility of being too heavily weight
ed and sinking into the ooze; that of
being too light and losing balance.
Theae bad to be met.
Through the glass mask Donald saw
Ma's face. She was composed, and, in
spite of the distorting medium, he w as
sura that he saw a look of trustful
love in her e^es.
He started the compressed-air appa
ratus to keep the sea water out of the
lock, and opened the outer door. They
looked Into the nothingness of the
. ocefn bottom. The wall of inky water
was hardly illum|ned by the faint light
tiiat shone from their sleeve-lamps.
Donald pressed Idn's hand. He felt
her fingers flutter la his. She under
stood what she was to do. She placed
her bead and shoulders within the
aperture.
Donald raised her feet and pushed
her lato the sea. He saw the night of
water swallow her.
And. choking down his fears, be
plunged in after her.
CHAPTER IX.
On ths Sea Floor.
He struggled for balance as the sea
depths enveloped him. He groped
In the water as in a fog. The swirl of
hnhhUng air from the oxygen appara- .
tus In the Ipck carried him some dls- .
fence from ) the submarine, and then
he felt hl^nself sinking. . I
He aank very slowly; and as he sank i
ho groped for Ida. He could not find
har. The submarine bad disappeared ]
completely. i
He waded to and fro clumsily. He I
was like a dead man who wakes in an i
uninhabited purgatory of desolation. i
There was nothing anywhere—noth-
ing. Only the yielding water, at which I
his fegers clutched fruitlessly.
He began to walk for six paces la 1
. e " s.i u "
every direction, calculating that in this
way he could bound a parallelogram
nod return to his starting point. But
he saw nothing, and he did not know
that he had returned to the place froo\,
which he had set out.
He started wildly backward, believ
ing that the submarine lay behind htm.
As he walked, dragging hi* weight like
a convict's chain ami ball, suddenly
the outlines of the F55 appeared be
fore him. *
He realised that she was lying with
h»r bow higher thun her stern. At
once he gra*j>ed the filiation. She
had sunk with her how toward Innd,
nnd from this end, therefore, he must
start on the ascent nif, Fair Island's
subterranean base.
And this discovery renewed his cour
age. Of course, the others were en
deavoring to miike the ascent. while
he had gone floundering In the wrung
direction, downward toward the heart
of the crater.
He made his way parallel with the
submarine's bow. keeping well within
sight of the elusive craft, which would
disappear momentarily before his eyes
and suddenly appear again. almost
within arm's reach. Suddenly he
stopped. He stared ut the oozy floor.
Ills light had cast his shadow in front
of him.
But that was Impossible.
It was no shadow. It was a flat
tened man, n dwnrtlsh figure, ridicu
lously mlsproportloned, resembling an
linage seen in a curved mirror. It ap
proached slowly and uncertainly. For
a moment Donnld felt his heart stand
still with fear. It was a nightmare
figure, terror incarnate. A little glow
flashed from Its arm. They drew to
gether.
They stood looking ct each other,
peering through their thick masks.
Ha Struggled, for Balance aa tha Sea
Depths Enveloped Him.
But In that vague medium recognition
was impossible.
Donald saw only the blurred fea
tures behind the thick glass that cov
ered the face, distorted and twisted
by the refraction. He surmised that
it was not Davles. Davles could have
made himself known by any of a num
ber of symbols of the seaman's free
masonry. But then, It could not be
Clouts either. •
He caught at the figure's band and
rals«*d It to his
a woman's hand—it was Tsn?jL.
They knew each other. Doha Id took
her fingers In his, and together they
started on the ascent.
To his horror, I*mnld perceived that
the water was becoming opaque.
It presaged the appearance of the
sea monsters. They were In this lair,
und this substance was no fj>od, no
planktou that those devils pushed
forth before them like a veil, but a
material designed to shield them from
the filtering sunlight.
Donald grasped Ida's hand and
fought his way through the clinging
mass. As he swung his free arm,
upraised. It struck against a rocky
barrier overhead. The ooze underfoot
had yielded to solid rock.
He thrust out his arms on either
side, and still found rock. He realized
that they we-e no longer scendlng
the mountain, but had struck i cave*
Donald stood still, reflecting. Did
Ida understand? There was no way.;
in which to tell her.
He was about to retrace Is steps
when he perceived, a long distance in
front of him, a tiny glimmer of light.
At first he hoped that it wa« daylight.
But that was Impossible.
Ida raised her hand and pointed.
Bhe, too, had seen It, and had placed
the same Interpretation upon it.
At every step the light grew clearer.
It was not stationary, but swung to
and fro slowly from side to side, ris-
Ing and falling, yet seeming to retreat |
slowly as they advanced. Donald
strained his eyes through the mask, i
expecting every moment to aee the I
form of one of his comrades. i
The light stood still immediately in
front of them, upon s level with Don- 1
* THE ENTERPRISE. WILLIAMBTON, NORTH CAROLINA
aid's errs. He leaned forward, put
out his hnnd toward It
Suddenly Ida leaped backward, i
dragging him violently with her. There
, was a sense of sound, or vibration, I
rather, like the closing of a trap's j
Jaws. They itemed to snap together
hardly a foot from Donald's bead.
And be saw suddenly, as If It had at j
that moment onlj become visible, the
/sTiiidowy form of some vast monster
lurking within the recesses of the cave.
It was one of the giant forms of
deep-sea life, perhaps holding the same
relationship toward the sea beasts an
tigers do toward men. It might have
followed the swarm when they a«-
seinbled In the submarine crater, pre
paratory to their emigration south
ward.
It was not one of the monsters that
had attacked the*' boat, for Dotvild
could discern a tlshlike body and a
huge bend with gleaming eyes, and u
pair of hinged jaws that gaped wide
as If to search for the prey,that had
eluded them.
The light was n phnsjfttorcscent lure
used by the creature to draw Its vic
tims within the cavern In which It
lurked. The sluggish monster re
mained quiescent, and -again the lure
appeared, dangling between the Jaws
from the snout above them.
Don ' I pushed Ida before him and
fled on * 'he c tve until he trod upon
the ocean .. gain. And they con
tinued to craw , the bottom of the
sea, two helpless ' man creatures, un
believably helpless Svhlle around them
the fierce, predntu, > swarms sought
their diurnal food.
Donald had found the slope of (lie
Island when the water began to grow
thick again.
Presently a phosphorescent patch
appeared In the distance. It became
less hazy. It seemed to concentrate.
The ocean suddenly became like trans
parent Jelly.
And, fudng him, Donald saw the
outline of oue of the seu monsters,
visible now and horribly magnitled.
The eyes opened upon his own. They
were not currantlike In that medium,
but expanded to- the full, great orbs
like sunflowers that glowered on their
prospective prey, larger than the eyes
of any beast created since leviathan
and behemoth.
However, the creature made no move
toward him as Donald, almost para
lyzed, remained confronting it. He
saw the gorilla form, with Its short,
budding limbs, the trunk of gorilla's
thickness, the narrow flippers, and the
triangular heud.
lie felt as some primeval man might |
have done when he looked into the ■
face of the mastodon.
The creature did not pursue Mir 1
hut stood, swaying gently• dreiidOillv j
human. Donald snatched at Ida and j
tried to run. He tripped and fell.
He drngged himself to hlsTeel again.
He became aware of a harrier between '
the monster and himself, which had,
perhaps, saved them. He had stumbled
upon a spiny substance, a corallold
growth that proved to be the outpost
of a submarine forest. It was a field
of crlnolds, the yellow lilies of the sea.
Beautiful plants with branching
anas, they bent and swuyed before
Donald's eyes as they drew In the mi
nute forms of life on which they sub
sisted. They were vegetable octopods,
carnivorous scavengers of the deep,
which feasted f>n the small fish that
they entangled In their waving
branches, and drew by the ciliary
movements of the lining of their ten
tacles towaril the central stomach.
Donald saw one of the waving arms
sweep down toward him. He tore at
It with his fingers. To his surprise
the brittle branch broke loose and
settled slowly In the ooze, there to be
come the embryo of a plant. From
every quarter th* tentacles, as If ap-
I prized of their presence, came swoop
ing slowly toward them.
Donald saw 'lda grasped in their
clinging clutch. Madly be tore at the
graceful, shrinking forms, until be bad
cloven n wide swath before him, and
the arms, balked and baffled of their
prey, withdrew.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
|
Argentine's Whej» Crop.
Reports from Argentine stat*
that weuther condfWms are Ideal for
the growth of wheat. The official pre
liminary est.mate Is for a crop of 240,-
000,000 bushels. The large crop of
1915-10 was 17:1,000.000 bushels, and
the average for the five preceding
jpears Urns 140,000,000 bushels. Domes
he are .bout 70,000,000
bbshels. The lurge crop now growing
will "br available some time after Janu
ary 1 If transportation Is furnished.
The Argentine oats crops Is estlmnt i
ed at 88.000,000 bushels, or 12.000,00( (
bushels more than the crop of 1015, o
which 57,000,000 bushels were exported (
' | 1
To Keep Pipes of Furnace Clean. I
In order to recover small article- j |
dropped through the floor register (
grating of a hot-air heutlng system
without the necessity of Ixgnovlng 0 (
section of the pipe, mesh gratings may 1
be fitted into place. No. 0 gauge wire
mesh may be used in pieces Just large
enough to fit Into the metal box b» 1
low the register. I
«
WAR FOOD SURVEY
GIVES FINE REM
["' " %
REPRESENTATIVE of ALL the
varying CONDITIONS IN
NORTH CAROLINA. v
[
DISPATCHES FROM RALEIGH
, Doing« anc j Happenings That Mark
the Progress of North Carolina Peo
pie. Gathered Around the State
Capital.
RaleigU.
I
The War Emergency Food Survey
representing results of reports on food
condition* In urban, semi urban, and
rutnl sections of North Carolina com
pleted through the cooperative efforts
of the Food Administration and the
Stn'e Department of Agriculture
shows that corn and com products,
be;u;« and bean products, milk, fruit,
eg*. 1 -, poultry are taking tho place of
mpntx. with cured meats used Instead
of the fresh meats and canned good
pri iomfnatlng. Very few homes show
ed any amount of food storage
'1 he results of the survey are an
noticed by the administrative officers
of tlie North Carolina Extension Ser
•flce "
'Hie survey was representative of all
sei ions and all conditions of tho
St!if•» Three cities were selected,
representing a population of 80,000 or
nin e Kach city was to furnish twen
ty-five reports. Fifteen counties wore
sell , ted for conditions typifying semi
urban communities, and each county
wo* asked to make twenty-five reports.
Twive counties were selected for the
typii al rural districts, and each county
wiir- barged with twenty-live reports
These 750 reports represent typlciH--
Uonies In typical section of the State.
"The 650 reports which were return
e*. states 8 G. Itudlnow, who has
completed n study of the survey,
"shows a number of Interesting facts
which stand oufTSfber prominently:
"I The survey shows that, as an
average thing, very little meat is con
sumed at the present time, atid that
mah articles as corn and corn prod
ui ts beans and bean products, milk,
fruits, eggs, and poultry are taking
the places of meat
"2 In almost no Instances was any
frnnb meats purchased during the time
the survey was made, while In almost
every home was to be found a certain
amount of cured and salted meat. »
"3. Even urban homes have proven
the value of the campaign for canning
and preserving by showing In this sur
vey a large amount of preserved und
•canned goods, designated by the let
ters 11. P.. signifying home produced.'
I "4. The largest predominance of
I "tinned goods was to be found In the
canned vegetables. Including the com
! mon garden vegetables
"5. Very few homes showed an tin
i usually bnge amount of food stored
! away on the day upon artilch the In
j ventory of food supplies ii}as made, in
| «nmc Instances sugar, molasses, corn
1 products, lard and wheat products be
ing on hand In amounts of uverage
quantity
"6 It was to he expected that rural
homes would show neither the storage
nor the consumpMon of miscellaneous
articles, such as nuts, chocolates, co
coa. etc, but it is Interesting to pole
rhat the urban homes also fallen to
nhow either the storage or consump
tion of these commodities
"7. Agents have reported that, on
the whole, people have been very glad
to co-operate In making this survey
und in keeping records. ,
"8. Undoubtedly the survey lwi;»
proved to be a good thing for those
who have been asked to keep the rec
ords. because it has brought certain
things to light concerning which peo
ple have not thought about a great
deal "
Pharmacist Llcenee for Twenty-four.
The state pharmaceutical board an
nounced the licensing of 24 applicants
who stood .successfully the ex,mlna- j
Hon last week There wert- I.''. who
failed to jrass Those successful were: ,
W. C. Allen, llendcrsonvllle; R. E.
Barrett. Burlington; C. E. Ilrookshlre,
Ashevllle; M. I' Brodle. Brevard; H.
Campbell, Taylorsville; J S. Chest- j
nut. Clinton; G. B Cheek, Durham; j
T. Dodson, Greensboro; ('. T. Inn ham,
hapel Hill; J Fisher. Concord; (' V 1
Garner, Creed moor; P. R. Match, Jr.,
lalelgh; H I*. Herring, Wilson; J W.
Hlnderlite. Raleigh; E. I). Ledbetter,
Chapel Hill; M C. Miles, Warrenton; ,
J F. Smith. Mebane; F L. Smith, I.ex- ,
Ington; F. I, Powell. Whltevllle; R j
A Rogers, Oxford; J C. Taylor. Rose
mary; W. X. Finger, Raleigh; M L.
Jones, colored, Wilmington; W S
Woodward, colored. Rockingham
New Enterprises Authorized.
The Bmlth N'ovotoy Electrical com
pany, Inc., Charlotte, cupltal $lO,-
000 authorized and $5,000 subscribed,
by 8. J. Smith. E. H. Isenhour and A.
B Justice, for manufacturing merhan
IcAl toys and other purposes.
The N. P. S'oan company. Charlotte,
cnplial S2O 000 authorised and SIO,OOO
subscribed, by N. P. Sloan. H. V.
.Sloan. W.' H. Dunn and others.
The People's Building company, of
Washington, capital SIOO,OOO author
ised and SI,OOO subscribed, by F. W.
J A. Trtckett and T. Alii wood. »
Fairs of State Break Reeorda.
Two hundred and twenty-seven fairs I
have been conducted In the Btate this '
year, breaking all State, and presum- ;
ably, all nutional records. The State
Department of Agriculture and the A.
and E. College have co-operated In two
hundred and seven of these fairs.
Submitting a preliminary report of
the fair work for this season, the ad
ministrative division of the Extension
Service calls attention to some of the j
outstanding features of this year's ac- 1
tivitles.
While all returns have not as yet
come In. It Is safe to say that the fairs
themselves have broken all records for
attendance. Not onl yhas this been
true for the State Fair, but for the
smallest of the community fairs as
well.
Characterised by tho trend of the
times, the fairs have exhibited splen
did cooperation with the Extension
Service In emphasizing many concrete
demonstrations, educational exhibits,
lectures, addresses, and all forms of
visual education which would stlmu
Inte greater food production and food
conservation. One of the most notice
able things has been the tendency on
the part of most of the fair managers
to remove objectionable and Immoral
features from their shows
With the fairs In the State divided
Into a comprehensive division for the
first time to Include definite types rep
community, county, district
fairs and the Stute Fair, Is seen the
-beginning of a State wide fair system
on a real educational basis for the
agricultural constituency of North
Carolina.
"We have co-operated extensively 111
tin* following way." suites the prehni
Inury report, "emphasizing these ten
features:
"1 Staiidurdl/.lng prizes and pre
iniums.
"2 I'uttlag up educational exhibits
of an agricultural and home economics
character.
".1. exhibits of boys'
and girls' club woiiK
"4 Addresses and lectures.
"5. Demonstrations*.* canning, dry-
B, preserving, treating cereals for
eases, etc.
ti. Exhibiting charts and pesters of
the Food Administration Office.
"7. Encouraging greater production
of food.
"8. Organizing and Incorporating
fair associations.
"9 Securing names snd addresses
of interested farmers,
"10 Working towards a big Stats
system of really valuable fairs."
0
Tobacco Sates Show Increase.
Total leaf sales on >rtirth Carolina
tobacco markets for Uie month of Oc
tober were 07.004.1 14, repfesentlng an
Increase of 6.012.380 pounds over the
snine month of 1916 according to the
report of the Slate Department of Ag
rlculture made public. With an aver
age price of $28.50 per hundred
pounds, this would Indicate an ex
change of $19,096. 172.49 on fifty mar
kets Wilson led In the report with
8,600.291 pounds. Seven markets had
reports exceeding 2,000.000 pounds.
They were Wilson. Durham. Mender
rov Klnston, Oxford. Rocky Mount,
and Greenville.
Apex. 1,063.219; Ayden, 464.188;
Ahoskle. 201.226; Burlington, 760.164;
Creed moor 205346; Carthage. 8H.7 ;
Durham, 2.06#, G74; Klkln. 598,902;
Farmville. 1,691,296; Fuquay Springs,
760.511; Goldsboro 663.834; Greens
boro, 363,713; Greenville, 5.4131)00;
Henderson. 2.808.221; Klnston, 4,
Rl>6 R18; I/eaksvlllc, 86,064; LaGrange,
1 209,225;
ane. 788.965; Madison. 637,454; Mount
Airy, 1.368.0:19; New Bern. 400.484;
Oxford. 2.429.345; Plnetops, 394,920;
floxboro 676.'153; Rlchlands. 151.305.
Peldsvllle. I 471.862; Rocky Mount.
6.156,824; Robersonvllle. 461 79t»;
Statesvllle. 171.013; Snow Hill. 682-
524 Snrini: Mope 100.242: Sinlthfte.ld.
1 029,606; Stoneyi'e, 4M5 3I1; Vance
born, 249.315: Wjirrent«in. 602,554;
Wilson. 8 600.291 763-
097: Warsaw 700,281; Wendell. 1
1 »;r,.#?r,4; Washington. 972.141; Wa!-
laee. 466 087; Wln«ton-Sa'em. 1.577.
221: Youngsville, 1,082,485: Zehulon
734 790.
T!i» following warehouses did not
send In report in time to be Included
jln the above report:
' StoVtM countv warehouse,. Walnut
'
j Walnut Cove" 74.Mv0 warehouse.
"rxhoro 502.781; Co'-etl's warehouse
I Wlnslon-Salem, 1 521.123'. Zehulon
warehouse. JJebulon. 202.866
26 Count'Ws Boildinr) Roods
Twenty-six (oiintlen I nthe
| now doing road buf.dlne under Stnfe
' suwervisfon. «even siartinK In
; her and nineteen nirre hednning work
'ln October District simervisors. nn
rier the act of the la*^general asscni
Mv pln'lng road m.iln'e-ißiice In the
State Highway Comm'ss'on's hapde. ,
Uieve been placed. In districts
j and supplied with cars The work of!
rar.rklng the State system of roads ,
will begin in a short time markers j
having been ordered and t>la«ing as
soon as routes are determined.
Over $1,600 Rewards Offered.
The total of rewards now outstand- !
ing for the capture of the unknown
burglar who killed the Infant child of
Mr. snd Mrs. J. K 4'luinmer last week.N
leaving practically no clue to his iden-,
tlty, now amounts to more than $1,500.
numbers of checks of $25 and other
amounts having been sent In by citi
zens out in the State who were hor
rified by the terrible crime, these do
nations to supplement flie-rewards by
the State, the county tad the city and
by members of the Immediate famllv.
N.C. FARMERS UNION
CONVENTION ENDED
I ' -V
_ 0
OR. H. Q. ALEXANDER It AGAIN
RE-ELECTED PRESIDENT
OF UNION.
$
POE IS NATIONAL DELEGATE
State Union Adopts Resolution Thank
ing Government for Action to
Secure Nitrate of Boda.
Winston Salem.—Dr H. Q. Aiexan
dnr wan again elected president of the
North Carolina Farmers' union at the
session in this city with only on® die
Renting vote. Hi* action in prepar
i»g patriotic resolutions and resolu
tions for the union to purchase $lO,-
Odd In Liberty bonds indicate a change
from his accredited attitude of oppo
sition to war and resisting tiie draft.
Dr. Clarence Poe. editor of The Pro
gressive Farmer, Raleigh, who was
considered an opponent to his re-elec
tion, was not re-elected as a member
of the executive committee, hut was
made n delegate to the national union
The other officers were reelected
National President C. 8 Barrett
was present and addressed the union.
The Farmers' union convention ad
•pourned after passing a resolution of
lliunks for the steps tnken by the Con
cress - of the United States authorizing
the President to use $10,(100,000 in the
purchase of nitrate of soda to be Im
ported for the use of the farmers and
to be furnished to them at cost.
executive committee wsr authorized
to appoint a committee to go to Wash
ington to confer with 'he agricultural
department concerning the best tneth
od of distributing this smla National
President P. S Barrett has consented
to accompany the committee. Th*
text of the resolution is as follows:
"Whereas, the Nash County Farm
ers' union did, at their meeting in
August, strongly petition the Congress
of the United Slates to enact a law
enabling the agricultural department
| to import nitrate of sodH for dlntri
l>ution to farmers at cost, and.
| "Whereas, this petition was follow
ed up with much painstaking corre
spondence with both Congress and
the agricultural department, and,
! "Whereas, Congress did on or about
the 10th of August, 1917. enact a law
authorizing the President of the Unit
ed Stales to use $10,000,000 of the
natfonal funds to purchase soda;
"Therefore, we, the North Carolina
Farmers' union, do resolve that we
tender our sincere 'hanks to the na
tlonal Congress for Its action in thla
regard and to the Nash county unio i
as well for its intelligent efforts.
"Second, That a memorial be sent
to the agricultural department at
Washington urging that no stone be
loft unturned lo tho end that ships be
provided for the landing of this soda
in our country before next spring
Committee to Washlnoton.
"Third. That It Is the sen«t« of 'Jits
body thnt a*" committee be appointed
to go to Washington, if the necessity
arises, to confer wiih the agricultural
department as to the best manner of
carrying out plan of distribution of
thla soda, the chief labor of which has
been delegated to Mr. M. R. Wilkin
»on, now of Washington. D C., but
formerly of Atlanta, Ga
■ • "Fourth. That a committee be ap
pointed also by this body to help
work out a plan of assisting the fed
eral government In the distribution of
Ibis material within our own state"
The Insurance committee lntroduc
ed a resolution, which was adopted
recommending the Farmers' Mutual
Fire Insurance company as the most
suited to the farmers.
Five Dead In School Fire.
Ashevllle Five known dead, with
a possibility that the number will be
Increased to debt, is ttie toil claimed
by flames which destroyed the Catho
lic lllil school for colored children, 20
minutes after the children had been
put through lire drill Three of the
bodies have been Identified, and two
more at the morgue cannot be identi
lied us yet. but five more children are
missing, and is is practically certain
riiat the bodies are those of twA of the
missing children.
The dead and Injured are as fol
lows:
Identified dead: Henrv Thompson,
Rlsie Thompson, Marv Jamison.
Missing nnd bel'eved H«nd: Addle
Logan. Daisy Dobbins. Mszel HarrU.
Inez Davis Hannah Smolton Two
unidentified bodies are in the morgue
nnd will account fo- two of the miss
! Ing. -
The teachers. It Is statod, tried to
make the children form for Are drill,
j but the little negroes, excited, refus
led to obey orders. One teacher lock
ed the door, but the children broke
, It down and escaped.
I The firemen hare not been able to
j aoarch the ruins thoroughly as yet.
| and it is feared that all fire of the
i missing children are dead, which will
bring the death list to eight. In addl
-1 Hon to the list of dead, there are
! seven children in the hospitals suffer
ing from injuries, one of whom. Helen
Davis, may die. V.
The fire is believed to hhve origi
nated In the furnaee room.
In Justice to the Ash«vllle fire de
partment. it is atated that the fir*
had burned It minutes before th*
alarm wu turned l»