etjr >mttj)firli> fteMi. price one dollar per tear. "TRUE TO OURSELVES, OUR COUNTRY AND OUR GOD. single copies pive cents. VOL. 25. SMITHFIELD. X. C.. FRIDAY. MARCH Hi. ISHXi. NO. 2. MINE HORROR |N FRANCE. Greatest Disaster of Its Kind In Modern History?More Than 1000 People Lose Their Lives. Paris, March 10.?A mining catastrophe of incalculable hor ror and magnitude has stricken the great coal center of northern France. An explosion of fire damp at 7 o'clock this morning carried death and destruction throughout the network of coal mines centered at Courrieres and fire followed the explosion mak ing rescue difficult and almost impossible. The inteuse excitement and confusion in the vicinity prevent ed early estimates of the exact loss of life, but a dispntch receiv ed here at 4:35 p. m. gave ,1,404 miners entombed and probably lost. At 8.45 o'clock this even ing a brief dispatch from Lille announced the total of 1,193 dead. All France has been profoundly shocked by the magnitude of the disaster, which is said to be the greatest in the history of Conti nental mining. President Fallierts sent his secretary, accompanied by Min ister of Public Works Gautier and Minister of the Interior ltubief, on a special train to the scene of the disaster. The scene of the catastrophe is the mountainous mining region near Lens, in the department of Pas-de-Calais. Here are huddled small hamlets of the mine work er?, who operate the most pro ductive coal mines in France. The subterranean chambers form a series of tunnels. Six of the i outlets are near Lens, and others are at Courrieres, Verdun and many other points. The output j of these mines is particularly j combustible and is largely used j in the manufacture of gas and in j smelting. About 2,000 miners j work the group of mines, and, [ with their families, make a popu j lation of from 0,000 to 8,000 souls. The catastrophe took place shortly after 1,795 men had de scended into the mines this morn ing. There was a deafening ex- j plosition which was followed by | the cages and mining apparatus being hurled from the mouth of the Courrierres Mine. Men and horses nearby, outside the mine, were either stunned or killed. The roof of the mine office was torn off. Immediately following the ex plosion flames burst from the mouth of the pit, driving back those without who sought to enter, and dooming those within The work of attempting to rescue the imprisoned miners was hastily begun by officials, engi neers and miners from the sur rounding mines, who formed par ties and made heroic efforts to penetrate the smoke and foul gases and bring out the im prisoned men. i tie families ot tne entombed miners crowded about the shaff, threatening in their efforts to obtain details to force back the gendarmes who kept them from I the mouth of the pit. The populace of the district is j appalled by the disaster, which affects every household. Paris, March 11.?The worst fears as to the enormity of the mine disaster in the Courrieres district of the pas-de-Palais Sat urday morning have been realiz ed. The death list numbers 1,100, and the whole of the region stands appalled at the terrible tragpd.y, which has brought sorrow to (5,000 fathers, mothers, wives and children. The last great mine disaster in France occurred in 1885, when 293 persons were killed and 80 injured; but that all others sink j into insignificance before Cour- I rieres. Dr. Manuel Quintana, presi dent of the Argentine republic, died Sunday at Buenos Ayres. He was 71 years of age and for ( many years had been regarded as one of the ablest lawyers of his country. He was a promi nent figure in national politics j from his early life. 1 STATE: NEWS. Fire in the< >dell Hard ware Co's. store at Greensboro Friday caus ed a loss of $10,000 to $15,000. I)r. A. J. McKelway's libel suit against the Charlotte Observer will probebly be tried in Mecklen burg court next week. The Seaboard Cotton Ware house in Raleigh was destroyed by fire Monday nieht causing a loss of 77 bales of cot ton valued at $4,000. Oak Ridge has been chosen as the location for the proposed Methodist Protestant College. Profs. M. H. and J. A. Holt, principals of Oak Ridge Institute, will be at the head of the new college. The generator house of the Salisbury and Spencer Gas and Electric Company in Salisbury was destroyed by fire Saturday afternoon, entailing a loss to building and machinery of about $(>,000. Senator Hansbrough has re ported favorably from the com mittee on library, a bill provid ing for the erection of a statute of General Nathaniel Green, on the battlefield of Guilford Court House, North Carolina. The North Carolina Farmers' Protective Association, an or ganization formed to fight the Tobacco Trust, was in session at Durham last week and it was de cided to establish manufactur intr tn f?rrht- tlio frnaf 4 11 ^ | ' 1 1111 to W 11^ >1 U 1UC 1>1 UOUi Insurance Commissioner Young Wednesday approved thj charter of the Pixie Fire Insurance Corn pan", of Greensboro, N. C., the authorized capital stock is $500, 000, with a surplus of $250,000. Hon. Ashley Home, of Clayton, is one of the incorporators. A conference of delegates from all the branches of the Presby-1 terian and reformed churches in America, in an effort to bring about closer relations began in Charlotte, Wednesday. Rev. John Preston Sarles. of New Brunswick. N. J., will preside, over the sessions, which will be held in the First Presbyterian church. Late Monday afternoon a child of William Hall, living in East Durham, was missed, and the father while searching heard her cries and she was then found in a well, which was fifteen feet deep to the water. The father jumped into the well in time to save the child, a 5 year-cld daughter She was almost .drowned and chilled, but otherwise unhurt. John Corn, aged 22 years, was killed near Campbell, Stokes county, a few days ago, while trying to adjust a loose belt at T. W. Ilylton's grist mill. He was caught in the folds of the strong band of leather and wound round the shaft many times before the engine could be stopped. The unfortunate young man's body was frightfullv mangled, one leg being torn off while his skull was crushed. J de htatesville Landmark savs: The dead body of dim Mc (iee, colored, who lived near Elm wood, was found early Saturday morning lying beside the tracks of the Southern railway, two miles west of Elmwood. It is supposed that he was run over by a passing train. Jim was an inoffensive, hard-working negro but often let whiskey get the bet ter of him and it is thought that he had gone to sleep on the track in a drunken condition when he was struck by a train. In Surry county a few days ago Jack Joyce joined with his neighbor, J. N. Hollingsworth, who makes and sells brandy, in a drunk at Hollingsworth's house. Hollingsworth got disabled and went to bed and Joyce went away. Later he returned and asked for more brandy, which Mrs. Hollingsworth refused him. Then the drunken brute broke the door down, beat the woman into insensibility and threw the body into the yard, her husband being too drunk to defend her. The woman was in a delicate condition but she may recover. Joyce is in jail. He really de serves killing and should have at least 10 or 15 years in the peni tentiary.?Statesville Landmark. TRAGIC DEATH AT DEPOT. Thomas H. Sasser Killed by Coast Line Train Last Friday. Friday, March 9th, Mr. Thorn as H. Sasser was killed by e northbound freight train about one hundred yards from the de pot, at Smithtield. He had beer here attending court and it was late Thursday before the cast with which he was connected was decided and so he did not start for home until next morning IIits home is betweeu Pine Leve and Princeton and it seems hi had decided to walk home. Leav ing the Goldsboro road at thi crossing he took the railroad and started toward Selraa. It is thought he heard the train but supposed it would keep the mair track so he took the side track and was walking on the ends ol the cross ties fartherest from ths main track. The train instead of keeping the main track turned in on the siding to get out of tht way of another train which was about due. The train running in on the side track overtook Mr Sasser, knocking him down and tearing his clothes badly and bruising him in several places sufficient to cause death. H< lived thirty or forty minutes bul seemed unconscious all the time At one time he called for some body to help him. TT ? I_ 1 A. _ I _ A A1 xi is uouy was taxeu to tne ue pot where it was viewed by many people who were in attendanct at court and others. The family was notified of his death and the body was taken away Friday afternoon for burial. He wat well known in the eastern part of the county. He was, we sup pose, about sixty years old. Two /Vien Crushed to Death Neai Raleigh. W.J Weir and John Whitelaw members of the Wake Granite Co and prominent and esteemed citizens of Haleigh, were crushed to death Saturday afternoon by being caught under a huge boiler which they were having placed in position at the rock quarry ol the Wake Granite Co., two miles east of Kaleigh They were Lav ing the boiler delivered at the quarry. It was on a big wagon tor moving boilers and was be ing driven down a steep incline to the quarry when the wheels on the right struck a boulder that protruded in the road six inches or more. A big iron cuff about the rear ax'e snapped in two, the wagon lurched to the left with such force as to over turn wagon and boiler. Both Mr. Weir and Mr. Whitelaw were walking on the left side of the boiler and were caught under it in such a way that Mr. Weir's chest was crushed in and the side of Mr. Whitelaw's head crushed in. It was necessary for the boiler to be jacked up and con siderable digging to be done be fore the fwo men could be extri cated. Both men were well known con tractors and both leave large families?Exchange. IK Remarkable February. lu the year 18(> In the north of France Mon ; day 17 men lost their lives while j . searching for bodies in the coal j 1 mine in which over 1,000 were ? killed on Saturday. In Augusta. Ga., Thursday, I [ M. L Cohen, who had been mar | ried but six weeks, shot and kill *1 ed his wife and then killed him self. No cause assigued. Mrs. Standifer, who on Friday [ kil'ed her sister in Atlanta has . j been admitted to bail in $5,000 [ for the reason that she is a con [ sumptive and her confinement . will endanger the life of herchild. ' In answer to criticisms of the wanton slaughter of Moros in ? the recent battle, General Wood [ explains that the women killeu ' wore trousers and the children ' were used as shields by the fight 5 ers. The French Chamber of I)epu j ties on Monday unanimously voted $100,000 for the relief of j the victims of the Courriere's dis- j . aster. The Miners Association i ,' has voted $40,000 for the same II purpose. . rrn? u., I i uc t uii/uv* utai/co oajJlCllie i ' Court haw filed a decision re-' ? manding the case of Caleb Cow ers to the Kentucky courts; he is j under sentence of 20 years for participation in the association of Governor Goebel. Andrew Carnegie, who arrived in Richmond Tuesday en route for Hot Springs, Ya., gave $10, > 000 to the Rai'road Y. M. C. in ) Richmond and increased his library offer to the citv bv $100,. 000, making it $200,000. L. Ktuckey, editor of the Peo-| pie's Demands, was shot and kill ed at Colfax, La., Thursday, by J A. M. Goodwin, editor of theCol fax Chronicle. The cause of the tragedy was the publication of an article by Stuckey which, it is alleged, was a reflection on the, Character of Goodwin. On Sunday night 150 miles off Sable Island, the steamer British King foundered and 27 men went down with her; two steam ers stood by and at great peril IB men were saved by one and 1 11 by the other; rescue work had 1 to cease on account of rough sea and darkness and during the night the ill-fated vessel plunged to the bottom the rest on board, 1 John Mitchell, president of the United Mine Workers of Amen- ; ca, returned to Indianapolis Monday to preside at the Nation al Convention of Miners on Thursday. When asked con cerning the refusal of the anthra cite operaters to grant the de mand to the miners, he said it looked as though the operators "are looking for a strike." Presi dent Roosevelt is not taking any furtner action for the present. rrilrt Dl, K mi* WJ. ?. * *-!. X Lie t- Li L/-1 .* fill 11J I l?TCX' U1 l/Lltf House Committee on Naval Af fairs to investigate hazing at Annapolis, madnits report Tues day. The officers of the Acade my are censured for permitting hazing and graduated punish ment for hazing is recommended, as the committee thinks the pres ent system of expelling midship men of hazing is vicious and too sweeping. It was found that 281 members of the three upper classes have been guilty of hazing and could have been expelled, in cluding the class recently gradu ated. A Scientific Wonder. The cures that stand to its credit make Bucklen's Arnica Salve a scientific wonder. It cured E. R. MuPord, lecturer 1 for the Patrons of Husbandry. Waynesboro. Pa , of a distress ' ing case of Piles. It heals the : worst Burns, Sores, Boils, Ul cers, Cuts, Wounds, Chilblains i and Salt Rheum. Only 25c. at < Hood Bros, drug store. 600 MOROS SLAIN. Fierce Battle In Philippines?Ameri can Losses 18 Killed and 52 Wounded. Clambering up the side of a mountain covered with lava ridges and a thick growth of tim ber, a force o? American soldiers and bluejackets, assisted by a detachment of native constabu lary, stormed a hostile Moro fortress in the crater of Mount Dajo, on the island of .Jolo, and completely routed the enemy, killing more than (500 Mortis. l'he American losses were tit' teen killed and thirty-nine wound ed, the Philippine constabulary losing three men and having thirteen wounded, making a to tal American loss of eighteen killed and lift}-two wounded. Hostilities began on the after noon of March <>tb and ended on the morning of March 8th. The mountain is 2,100 feet high, and is covered with ridges of lava and dense timberland. The last 500 feet has an angle of fifty de crees, and the dispatch states that the artillery was hoisted by means of a block and tackle by the American soldiers under a fierce fire by the enemy. Reaching the crater, a disper ate encounter took place, as the Moros felt it was their last stand. Finally, they were forced to lay down their arms, after (500 of their dead lay on the lava beds uniumi nielli. The top of the mountain was defended by rude fortifications and was the one stronghold in the Philippines that had never been taken by the American forces in battle. Once, by means of strategy, the United States troops occupied the fort. Those who know the steep ascent of the mountain and the strength of the fort say the feat is the great est achievement yet accomplish ed by the American army in the Philippines.? Washington Post. /Viet Shocking Death. We have learned that Mr. Whitfield Wood, one of the most prosperous young farmers of the Hlackman's X lioads section, met a most shocking death last Saturday. While felling some trees he cut one that lodged against an other. To dislodge this tree he cut another against it which also lodged. While go ing forward to make a survey of the situation the last tree cut suddenly gave way aud fell, catching Mr. Wood under it, killing him instantly. The deceased was a highly re spected young man and his sad death has cast a gloom over the entire community He leaves a young widow and three small children to mourn his untimely death. Tongue Twisters. Some elocutionist has made a collection of more than two hun dred ''tongue twisters." "A growing gleam glowing green." "'me black breeze blighted the bright broom blossoms," "Flesh of freshly dried flying fish." "Six thick thistle sticks." "Two toads tried to trot to Tedbury." "Give Grimes Jim's great gilt gig whip." "Strict, strong Stephen String er snared slickly six sickly silky snakes." "She stood at the door of Mrs. Smith's fish sauce shop welcom ing him in." The first three are the gems of the collection. It is said to be impossible for any one to repeat them rapidly.?New York Tri bune. A Lively , ussle with that old enemy of the race, Constipation, often ends in Ap pendicitis. To avoid ali serious trouble with Stomach, Giver and Bowels, take Dr. King's New Life Pills. They perfectly reg ulate these organs, without pain >r discomfort. -5c. at Hood Bros., druggists. EXTERMINATION OF MOROS. General Wood Says Women Wore Trousers in Battle. Washington, March 14.?A cablegram from General Wood regarding criticisms of the recent battle of Mt. Dajo on the Island of .lolo. together with correspon dence between the President and Secretary Taft on the subject were made public today. General Wood's cablegram was in answer to one sent to him at the direc tion of Secretary Taft who called attention to the criticisms of ?'wanton slaughter of Moros" and asked him to send all the particulars. General Wood's re ply denies that there was any wanton killing in the Hght be cause they were actually in the works when assaulted; that the Moro women wore trousers and that children were used as shields. The reply was sent by Secretary Taft to the President with a note in which the Secretary says that General Wood's answer seems to have shown to him most clearly that the unfrotunate loss of life was wholly unavoidable, to which the President replied that Gen Wood's answer "is of course en tirely satisfactory." CLAYTON NOTES. Messrs. George lOllis A Son lost ; a fine mule Sunday. Messrs. L. W. & J. H. Brannan, of VVilders, were here on business Wednesday. Dr. T. N. Ive.v preached at the Methodist church Sunday morn ing and evening. Mrs. Ashley Home is visiting hereister, Mrs. George L. Walker, in Atlanta, (la. The farmers of this section are preparing to plant a smaller cotton crop and manure better. Mr. aud Mrs. John A. Young will move to the residence recent ly vacated by Rev. aud Mrs. j. W. Smith. Our town was again beseiged by drummers Wednesday There were not less than a half dozen here at one time. Rev. and Mrs. J. W. Smith left Wednesday for Onslow county, where Rev. Mr. Smith has accept ed a call to preach. Miss Craig, Mrs. Etta V. John sou's very popular milliner, is away at Northern markets, buy ing a big supply of Spring and Summer millinery. Tue Clayton Oil Mill Co. is put ting out a quantity of guano this season, and we hear the far mers saying it's as good as any fertilizer they have ever tried. We are glad to note that Miss Pauline Gulley is steadily im proving, after such a severe at tack of pneumonia. We hope ere long she will be fully recover ed. Mr. Frank L. Jones, the con tractor, who is moving the old Methodist parsonage, is going right along with the work. It was quite a job to get the thing started, though. mere win De a great entertain ment here Monday night, March 19th. Some of the very best lo cal talent will be displayed?and there's something fine in store for all who are fortunate enough to take advantage of it. March 14th. Yelir. Doctors Are Puzzled. The remarkable recovery of Kenneth Mclver, of Vanceboro, Me., is the subject of much in terest to the medical fraternity and a wide circle of friends. He says of his case: "Owing to se vere inflammation of the Throat and congestion of ihe Lungs, three doctors gave me up to die. when, as a last resort, I was in duced ,o try Dr King's New Discovery and I am happy to say, it saved my life."' Lures the worst Coughs and Colds, Bron chitis, Tonsilitis, Weak Lungs, Hoarseness and LaGrippe. Guar anteed at Hood Bros, drugstore. 50c. and $1.00. Trial bottle free. A special term of 'he Federal Court has h ? n culled nf (ireens boro. April 17th, for "h.. rial of Congres man Blaekou ...